The Tornado that Saved DC

If you've ever visited Washington, D.C., you've probably craned your neck to get a good shot of the Washington Monument and the steps on the Lincoln Memorial.

Maybe you snapped a picture of the Capitol Dome or in front of the White House.

And even if you've never visited these iconic structures in person, it's hard not to think about how immovable it all feels.

In a world that's constantly changing, it seems like these buildings in Washington, D.C.

D.C.

have always stayed the same.

The iconic white marble columns are just too solid.

The thought of the White House being destroyed is so outlandish that we have aliens blow it up in the movies.

But our nation's capital was, at least at one point, more vulnerable than you'd think.

During the War of 1812, when America and England staged a rematch of the American Revolution, the British tore through the city, setting fire to the most important parts.

And as the future of the young nation's capital was hanging in the balance, the only thing the Americans could do was pray for a stroke of luck.

On today's episode, The Miracle of DC.

This is a twist of history.

It's late in the afternoon on August 19, 1814, and the President of the United States, James Madison, is pacing nervously back and forth across his office.

It's not just the brutal Washington, D.C.

humidity that's making him sweat.

He's just received word that the British Army has arrived in Benedict, Maryland, a mere 25 miles southeast of the nation's capital.

He shoots a glance toward the door.

Members of his cabinet will start arriving any moment now.

and together the men will determine a course of action.

Madison stands at only 5'4 ⁇ , but what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for in strategic intelligence.

With a British army approaching, he knows he needs to act fast and smart.

If he slips up, the United States of America could end less than 40 years after it began.

Back in 1776, the Founding Fathers, many of them Madison's closest friends, declared independence from the British Empire.

After seven long years, the Americans defeated the most powerful military on the planet and set about creating a new nation.

But the so-called American experiment had shaky foundations from the start.

Gaining independence was the easy part.

Now, the time had come to see if they could keep it.

In 1812, after years of being bullied by the British post-Revolutionary War, President Madison had taken action.

Fed up with the British infringing on U.S.

shipping lanes, seizing American sailors and forcing them to join the British Navy, and preventing America from expanding its territory, President Madison declared war.

The War of 1812.

But now, two years in, the war has become about much more.

Madison used to think of himself as a Virginian first and an American second.

Like most of his countrymen, the identity of his state had taken far more precedence over any kind of national identity.

But standing up to the British, as they had during the Revolution, has changed a lot of minds, including Madison's.

The people are uniting once again under the stars and stripes, and Madison, for perhaps the first time in his career, is seeing the value of a strong federal government.

Without it, the Americans wouldn't have achieved any of the progress they've made against the British.

But Madison knows that if he loses the war, that progress will be lost.

The British will likely carve up American territory and keep them confined.

unable to assert their own independence as a nation.

The United States as they know know it will be over.

President Madison hears the door to his office swing open.

He turns and smiles with relief to see his old friend and his Secretary of State, James Monroe, standing in the doorframe.

President Madison has known his fellow Virginian Monroe for over 30 years.

They first met after their service in the Revolutionary War.

Madison as a congressman, Monroe as a soldier.

Thomas Jefferson, also a Virginian, was the one to introduce them, and they went on to work together in his administration.

Today, there is no one in government President Madison trusts more than Monroe.

President Madison tells his friend the news about the British advance, all the while trying to hide his anxiety.

But Monroe sees right through it.

He knows better than anyone how high the stakes are.

The president can see the war's effects on his Secretary of State, too.

Monroe's long dark hair has increasingly become flecked with streaks of gray these past two years.

And now, war is coming to the Capitol.

Slowly but surely, the other members file into the office.

Amidst the turmoil of the war, Madison's barely been able to keep a consistent cabinet.

It's been hard finding advisors willing to put their egos aside for the good of the country, and Madison has had to fire several of them.

He suspects he'll have to replace a few more of them by the end of the year.

The last to arrive is John Armstrong, the Secretary of War who's held the position a little more than a year.

As he arrives, he cracks a joke about the British getting stuck in the mud in the Chesapeake Bay.

A few of the cabinet members chuckle, but Madison doesn't.

Armstrong strikes Madison as too unbothered for a man leading a war, especially one that's here on their doorstep.

But for now, President Madison chalks it up to bravery in the face of danger.

He fills his cabinet in on the British arrival at Benedict.

Armstrong pipes up and assures the room that the American militias will have no problem wiping out the British troops.

Based on early estimates, they outnumber the British almost 4 to 1.

Furthermore, he predicts the British have no intention of coming to Washington, D.C.

at all.

In his view, it's obvious that their real target is the nearby city of Baltimore.

Not only is Baltimore a much bigger city than Washington, but Baltimore's port makes it far more important to the British war effort.

With that, Armstrong sits back in his seat.

President Madison furrows his brow.

The British are closer to D.C.

than they are to Baltimore.

Shouldn't they focus on protecting the capital, the seat of their young nation's federal power?

Armstrong stands up in a huff, his high collar accentuating a sour expression.

He tells Madison he's being alarmist.

There's no need to protect the city.

because the British aren't coming to the capital, he says.

They'll turn away and move to attack Baltimore.

He's sure of it.

President Madison shoots a glance in Monroe's direction, but he's unable to glean anything from his friend's neutral expression.

Tapping the arm of his chair with his fingertips, the President takes a deep breath, pausing to think.

He's puzzled by this Baltimore theory, but he trusts Armstrong's judgment.

He can be hot-headed and fierce both on the battlefield and in the cabinet room, which makes him a worthwhile Secretary of War.

And they are, after all, in the middle of a war.

Making up his mind, President Madison agrees that Armstrong is probably right.

But still, he wants to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

After all, the British aren't just attacking for strategic reasons.

They want revenge.

Just three months earlier, in May 1814, American forces raided the Canadian capital of York, then a British colony.

The Americans burned everything in sight and destroyed the countryside.

Now, it's entirely possible that the Brits intend to give America's capital the exact same treatment as payback.

Madison commands that Washington, D.C.

be barricaded and prepared for an invasion.

He orders the country's most important documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, to be packed up safely and moved to a secure location.

Finally, the president asks for a volunteer.

He needs someone trustworthy to ride out and report back on the British troops' movements.

Without a scout, they have no way of knowing which city the British are currently advancing toward.

All eyes shift toward Armstrong.

If there's any member of the cabinet for the job, it should obviously be the Secretary of War.

But Armstrong doesn't reply.

He hesitates, as if confused why an advisor of his stature would be asked to perform such a menial task.

But in that gap of silence, another cabinet member's hand shoots up.

It belongs to James Monroe, and Madison gives him a grateful smile.

It's settled.

Monroe will ride out and scout the British position.

The president hopes for good news.

Lately, he hasn't been getting much of it.

Two days later, James Monroe is on his horse, moving across the Maryland countryside as fast as he can.

His horse labors to keep up a full gallop.

The heat is starting to get suffocating, and there are no clouds to block out the afternoon sun.

The absurdity of the situation isn't lost on Monroe.

He's the nation's Secretary of State, and here he is riding along through the countryside in civilian clothing on a scouting mission that's entirely outside his job description.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

He understands they're at war, and America's army is woefully small and underfunded.

The president needs this done by someone he trusts, someone who's a strong rider and has a military background.

And no one fits the bill more than Monroe himself.

Besides, he's happy to do it.

He's eager to prove himself however he can.

Monroe slows his horse to a trot as he approaches the British position in the fields of Baden, Maryland.

Keeping his head low, he takes out a spyglass and looks out over the thousands of soldiers marching north.

He can see the British Major General Robert Ross barking orders from atop his horse.

Monroe estimates the British have about 3,000 soldiers, far less than the American militias they'll be fighting against.

More than that, the weather seems to be affecting them greatly.

Monroe watches as Ross struggles to get his soldiers to march in the brutal heat.

Several of his soldiers collapse from heat exhaustion.

At their current pace, Monroe estimates it would take these soldiers three days to reach DC.

But at this point, it's impossible for Monroe to tell whether the British are marching toward Washington, D.C.

or Baltimore.

The soldiers are on a road that takes them in the general direction of both cities.

It won't be clear which city they're headed for until they advance further north and reach a fork in the road.

Monroe turns around and rides back to the capital.

Even though he doesn't want to admit it, maybe Secretary Armstrong is right.

It's still quite possible that the British will go past Washington and attack the key port of Baltimore.

But Monroe disagrees with almost every one of Secretary Armstrong's assessments of the war.

As an experienced soldier, he has his own ideas of how to fight back against the British, but also knows the importance of holding his tongue.

The president has chosen him as Secretary of State, not war, so he'd be wise to stay in his lane unless called upon.

Still, Monroe desperately wants more responsibility.

He's in charge of diplomacy, and the British, sure of their impending victory, have refused all attempts at negotiation.

The governments of Europe refuse to help too.

America is on its own, and Monroe often finds himself wondering if he'll get an opportunity to really prove himself before it's too late.

Monroe rides up over a ridge overlooking the Potomac River and his heart skips a beat.

Below, he spies a British detachment with another 1,500 soldiers floating up the river on barges.

Leading them is Rear Admiral George Cockburn.

It's hard to miss him in his feathered hat.

The Potomac leads straight to the capital, and in an instant, Monroe knows Armstrong is wrong.

The British are coming to Washington, D.C., not Baltimore, and they're going to attack from two fronts.

Monroe realizes that the Americans, despite their superior numbers, aren't prepared to defend Washington, D.C.

against this.

Because Armstrong was so sure about Baltimore, they now have precious little time to get troops and militia moved into position.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Monroe spurs his horse down the road as quickly as it can move through the thick summer air.

They can rest once they get to D.C.

Monroe needs to warn the president.

Now.

Two nights later, it's the eve of battle.

President Madison is finally alone again in his office.

Collapsing into the chair at his desk, he exhales loudly.

He's been working in politics since before the United States was established.

He served in the Continental Congress before the Revolution was won.

He wrote the Bill of Rights.

He's been president for eight years.

But in all that time, he's never seen things so fraught as these past two days.

With the British at their doorstep, Madison and his cabinet have been in a frenzy.

And although they've all retired for the evening at this point, the room is still stifling.

Madison can hardly breathe.

He walks over to the window and opens it.

He catches a slight breeze and hears a few carriages roll by in the the distance.

The British are just outside the city, and yet the people of Washington are more or less going about their business as usual.

Perhaps they see it the way Armstrong does and assume the relatively meager British forces pose no real threat.

Just because the battle is being fought near Washington, D.C., it doesn't necessarily mean the British will enter the city if they win.

They don't have nearly enough troops to occupy the city after all.

And besides, they won't win.

They can't possibly, not when they're so severely outnumbered by the Americans.

But whatever their reasoning, the citizens of Washington seem less concerned about tomorrow's battle than President Madison is.

He hopes they're right to carry on.

First Lady Dolly Madison walks into the room with a sympathetic smile and some tea.

She says her husband looks like he hasn't slept in days.

President Madison tells her about the pressure he's under.

It's hard enough fighting a war at the edges of the country, let alone one mile from home.

He's not one to ever admit when he's done something wrong, but he has a creeping feeling he made a mistake going to war with the British.

Dolly assures him they're going to be fine.

She reminds him that the early estimates seem to have been correct, and tomorrow, the American militias will outnumber their opponents 4 to 1.

They've beaten the British before.

and they'll do it again.

Madison exhales and gives her a relieved smile.

He asks Dolly if she's really sure.

She says yes, 100%.

So much so that she will have a feast waiting for him and his generals when they return from the battlefield.

But for now, tea will have to do.

She pours Madison a cup and he drinks it slowly, trying to let go of his stress.

Dolly says he should get some sleep.

Tomorrow's supposed to be a scorcher.

He's going to need it.

The next day, on August 24th, 1814, around 11 a.m., James Monroe is back atop his horse, riding again in the blistering heat.

Out here on the fields of Bladensburg, Maryland, just outside Washington, the sun is oppressive and the air is thick.

It's over 100 degrees with storm clouds on the horizon.

Monroe hopes it's not a bad sign.

President Madison has asked Monroe, with his experience as a soldier during the Revolution, to try and help organize the ragtag collection of American troops for the fight to come.

Monroe rides across the field swiftly, checking the handiwork of the battle's generals.

Thanks to Secretary Armstrong's continued insistence that Baltimore is the real target, the generals have had limited time to prepare for this battle.

They were promised 15,000 troops and received less than half that, most of them militia volunteers with little to no training or combat experience.

The troops are positioned by the river, backed up against the hillside.

As Monroe rides through the battlefield, he realizes how exposed they are to being flanked.

A horrifying thought begins to take hold of him.

This battle may not go the way they planned.

The British will be arriving any moment now.

There's barely any time to fix the positioning of the troops.

Frantically, Monroe starts ordering troops to move to more defensible positions.

He begins moving artillery and orders a professional unit to defend a ravine behind the infantry.

Monroe can barely keep his head on straight as he darts around the battlefield.

Units frantically scurry around him trying to follow their conflicting orders.

Monroe turns his eyes to the hill overlooking the battlefield where President Madison and the other members of his cabinet are watching.

Monroe can only think one thing.

Why is he down here while Secretary of War Armstrong is up there?

A cannon booms in the distance.

It announces the arrival of the British.

A chill goes down Monroe's back.

He can now do nothing more.

It's now up to the generals to lead their units on the battlefield, and Monroe rides up to take his place next to President Madison.

As Monroe watches the battle unfold, his stomach drops.

Almost immediately, it's apparent how unprepared the Americans are.

British Major General Ross faints left and moves right, flanking the American position.

The British regiments cross the river, attacking on two fronts, just as Monroe anticipated.

Chaos erupts within the American lines.

The untrained, undisciplined militia volunteers can barely hold their position.

Monroe watches as a musket ball blasts through an American soldier's chest, sending chunks of flesh blowing out of his back.

Despite outnumbering the British considerably, within minutes, Americans start retreating.

The British Army's Congreve rockets, which explode loudly and in terrifying red bursts, are like nothing the Americans have ever witnessed.

Despite orders to reform ranks, they run for the hills.

Monroe mops the sweat from his face, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He looks out past the battlefield, at the storm clouds growing ever closer.

His gut was right.

They are a bad omen.

A couple hours later, President Madison is still glued to the action, watching the battle below.

It's all but over for the Americans by now.

The British have driven them back repeatedly and have begun pushing through the American lines.

The British are marching toward the city, not Baltimore.

They're definitely headed for Washington just six miles away.

And as they advance, the British troops are also getting extremely close to the President's hilltop position.

President Madison swallows his fear.

He needs to make a plan, figure out how to save the capital.

He pushes past the other members of this cabinet and gets gets in Secretary of War Armstrong's face, at least as much as his short stature will allow.

He tells Armstrong that there's still some time to slow the British advance into Washington.

What's the plan for defending the city?

Armstrong, flustered, stammers out that he has no plan.

He was certain the British would be headed to Baltimore, even after Monroe reported seeing Cockburn's troops on the Potomac.

and now it's simply too late.

Madison rubs his eyes in frustration.

Plenty of people people told him not to appoint Armstrong as Secretary of War.

Armstrong barely passed confirmation in the Senate, but Madison believed he would be as assertive on the battlefield as he was in the cabinet room.

Clearly, Madison realizes he was wrong.

Madison hears shouts coming from around him.

The British are rapidly advancing toward their position.

He's running out of time to escape.

Bullets zip by Madison's head as he clambers onto his horse.

He takes one look at the Capitol before riding off in the opposite direction.

He doesn't look back again.

Madison rides for 20 miles, all the while praying for the safety of the people in the Capitol, especially Dolly, who at this very moment might still be preparing a victory feast at the White House, unaware that the city is now completely unprotected.

In the small town of Brookville, Maryland, He gets off his horse and knocks on the door of a small house.

An elderly Quaker opens the door, flabbergasted at the sight of the president standing there, looking exhausted and terrified.

He welcomes Madison in and gets him a glass of water.

Madison doesn't have time to rest.

He needs to figure out how he can possibly take the city back from the British.

But first,

he needs to send a message to his wife.

That night, British General Robert Ross rides through the streets of Washington, D.C.

with his troops in tow.

It seems darker than usual tonight, and Ross casts his eyes upward to find that the moon and stars are obscured by thick clouds.

Ross's troops are flying a flag of truce in the hopes they might discuss terms, but so far, they haven't been able to find any authorities to negotiate with.

If the residents of Washington weren't concerned about the British before, they certainly are now.

Ross sees Americans cowering in their ramshackle homes, having been abandoned by their soldiers.

They know what the British are there to do.

Tear the city and the the American government to the ground.

Riding alongside Ross is George Cockburn, the Rear Admiral of the Navy.

If it wasn't for Cockburn, they wouldn't be here at all.

The city of Washington, D.C.

isn't important strategically or geographically.

Initially, Ross intended to head directly for Baltimore, but Cockburn convinced him to make this pit stop along the way.

It's no mystery to Ross why Cockburn wanted to come here, and he notices a hunger in Cockburn's eyes as they ride together through the city.

What Cockburn and many of their soldiers want is revenge for when the Americans burned down York.

They want to burn Washington to the ground.

And Ross certainly understands the urge.

He feels it tugging at him too.

But he reminds himself that their fight is with the American government, not the civilians cowering in their homes, peering out at them from their windows.

He resolves to focus on destroying government buildings and strategic infrastructure, though he knows his men might not buy into the idea.

General Ross ducks as a gunshot echoes around him, then another, and another.

An American is shooting at the soldiers from a brick house nearby.

Four soldiers are shot as the British try to knock down the door.

Ross orders his men to aim the cannons at the brick building.

They aim, light the powder, and...

The destruction of Washington has begun.

This wasn't Ross's plan, but as he watches the brick wall crumble before him, he begins to reconsider.

If these Americans won't respect a truce, and if they aren't coming to the negotiation table, then perhaps a show of force is just what they need.

Ross orders his men to destroy the stately white government buildings that dominate the young city.

He finds it somewhat astonishing how much progress the Americans have made in building this city in only a quarter century.

It's a shame, he thinks, that it's not going to last.

First, Ross's men burned the Capitol Building, a building so new it's still under construction, and then the Treasury.

But to Ross, those buildings are just the appetizer.

The main course is the President's House, sometimes referred to as the White House because of its whitewashed stone exterior.

And it's the perfect target because not only is the White House the most iconic symbol of the American government, It's also the home of James Madison, the president who declared war against the Crown a second time.

As they arrive at the president's mansion, a carriage pulls away from the house.

Ross squints.

A middle-aged woman looks back at him from inside.

He realizes this must be President Madison's wife.

Ross orders his men to let her go.

They have more important things to attend to.

Ross dismounts his horse and walks in through the front doors.

No one's home.

Together with his officers, he walks through the empty halls with a smile on his face.

Despite being greatly outnumbered, he was simply the better general today.

It feels good to win so decisively.

Ross stops in the middle of the hall.

Something smells...

good.

He follows his nose to a large ballroom, where he's met with an incredible sight.

A beautiful feast is laid out on all the tables.

There's meat, bread, beer, cheese, and even some desserts for at least 40 people.

Clearly, the Americans expected they would come home victorious.

Rear Admiral Cockburn pats Ross on the back.

He says it was nice for Mrs.

Madison to make them a victory dinner.

Over the next two hours, Ross and his officers eat and drink their fill.

As their men stand guard outside the White House, the officers sing songs, tell stories, and laugh together.

Ross watches as Admiral Cockburn stands on the table and lifts his tankard of ale.

I say we drink to Jemmy's health, he says, referring to President James Madison.

Ross laughs and everyone clinks their mugs.

Ross waits for Cockburn to sit down, but he's not finished.

Cockburn downs the rest of his drink and loudly declares they should start a fire, a big one.

All eyes turn to Ross.

He nods and gives the order:

Burn down the White House.

The next morning, Ross is back atop his horse and riding through the city.

Washington, D.C.

is ablaze, and they're only getting started.

Last night, Ross's men torched the White House.

They cheered as they watched the flames burst through the windows, leaving a scarred husk of the mansion.

The president's home, one of the most powerful symbols of the country, is in ruins.

A rainstorm in the night put out fires around the city, but now the Brits are back to setting them.

As Ross rides, he notices the weather is changing.

The air feels thick and still.

The sky is turning a dark greenish color.

He chalks it up to the smoke from the fires poisoning the sky.

Ross reaches his destination, a bridge connecting DC to Maryland over the Potomac, which is currently on fire.

He sent Rear Admiral Cockburn's contingent to torch it.

It will give them some time to fortify against an American counterattack, and could help them win the whole war.

Cockburn's men cheer as the bridge collapses into the river, sending smoke and steam into the air.

Cockburn loudly orders his men to keep going into the heart of the city.

and burn down any houses in their path.

Ross would still prefer they focus on burning government buildings.

But then again, the wind is beginning to pick up.

There's no telling how the fires might spread through the city, so perhaps Cockburn will get his way after all.

Ross orders their next target, the Library of Congress.

As the men march down the streets, torches in hand, they suddenly hear something that stops them dead in their tracks.

Deafening thunderclaps almost directly overhead.

The wind is blowing extremely hard now, now, swirling around the British troops.

In an instant, rain starts to come down hard.

The fires sizzle and die as the downpour douses them with water.

The British soldiers scramble for cover.

Ross barks out some orders, but no one can hear him over the rushing wind.

Another boom of thunder cracks above them, causing Ross's horse to rear up in fear.

Ross slips off his saddle and falls onto the mucky street.

He finds himself being pelted with hail now and struggles to get up.

When Ross finally manages to get to his feet, he squints up into the sky.

He watches with horror as a swirling funnel of air descends from the clouds.

A tornado has hit Washington, D.C.

Ross starts running away, moving into the crowd of British soldiers and terrified Americans running from their homes.

Nearby, he hears a horrible creaking sound.

He turns just in time to see the tornado pick up a two-ton cannon and hurl it 20 feet as though it was made of tin.

The cannon strikes British soldiers and American citizens as it lands, crumpling them into the cobblestone.

Over the din of the storm, Ross hears Rear Admiral Cockburn call out to an American woman.

Great God, madam, he says, is this the kind of storm to which you are accustomed in this infernal country?

The lady answers, No, sir.

This is a special interposition of Providence to drive our enemies from our city.

Cockburn calls out to the woman.

Not so, madam.

It is rather to aid your enemies than the destruction of your city.

Ross isn't sure he agrees with his fellow officer.

The storm came just in time.

Ross isn't a religious man, but the timing of the storm to him feels impossible.

Without it, the British would have destroyed the city.

Ross hurries for shelter, eventually ducking into a pub.

Dozens of people, including British soldiers and American civilians, huddle inside as the wind whips around the building.

Ross is a veteran of many battles.

Earlier this year, he even survived a shot to the neck, but he quietly admits to himself that he's never been more scared.

Ross realizes he has to get out of here.

He wants no part of this strange and destructive episode.

He stands tall and orders the other British who would have taken refuge in the tavern to get their supplies and spread the word.

The British are leaving the city after only 26 hours.

Ross exits the pub, trying to get his bearings in the whipping rain.

He would have liked to destroy more of the city, but between the fires and the storm, he feels the damage has been done.

The Americans have gotten one miracle.

It'll take another one for them to come back from this.

Two days later, on the cloudless morning of August 27th, 1814, James Madison is in a military convoy riding back to the capital in a black carriage.

It seems appropriate.

It feels like he's going to a funeral.

He received word that the storm forced the British to vacate DC, and he can only imagine the state they left it in.

Madison looks solemnly out the window as they move across the countryside.

The closer they get to the city, the more destruction he can see.

Even this far from the tornado's main path, debris from the storm litters the road.

One farmhouse is missing its roof.

The president dreads the thought of what Washington's going to look like.

Madison isn't sure he even has a city to return to.

In 1790, he helped choose it as the country's capital.

Now he wonders if he might have to choose a new city to try and reform what's left of the government.

The president's carriage crests a hill near the Potomac, and he prepares for the worst.

He looks out the window and gasps, the city is still standing.

Even from here, he can see that many of its structures survived the fire and the tornado.

The Capitol building is only partially destroyed from the British attack.

Much of it still stands on the hill.

The president thanks God for the storm.

If it wasn't for the weather, Washington might still be under British occupation.

Those buildings, and much of the rest of the city, may have gone up in flames.

The tornado saved Washington, D.C.

Still, Madison's heart stays heavy as they get closer to the city.

Even though it might have survived, the storm and the British did their damage.

Because the British burned the bridge over the Potomac, Madison's carriage is ferried over.

Madison shakes his head in shame as he moves through the city.

Ash litters the streets.

A number of buildings have been damaged by the tornado.

Looters have broken into empty businesses.

Coming back from this is not going to be easy.

But as Madison watches, He also begins to notice signs of hope all around him.

He sees a family working to repair the wood shingles of their roof.

Another family helps them repair their door.

Madison's heart lightens as he watches them.

It's his favorite thing about Americans.

It doesn't matter how big the obstacle is in front of them.

It can be a tyrannical government or a tornado.

They'll roll up their sleeves, be brave, and face it together.

The thought of it makes Madison smile.

Until he sees the White House.

He winces at the sight of it.

The brick walls of the building are still standing, but their white facades are stained with soot and ash, painted by the hot flames that erupted out the windows.

Madison can hardly believe it's the same place he drank tea with Dolly only a few days ago.

He feels a rush of relief that his wife was able to make it out of there alive and join them in Maryland.

As the British invaded, she remained the last symbol of the federal government's strength.

On her way out, she saved a number of irreplaceable keepsakes.

Among them is Gilbert Stewart's famous portrait of George Washington.

Madison wonders what the father of the country would think about all this.

The two of them were very close before Washington died.

Now, Madison felt like he'd betrayed him by allowing the British to ransack the city that bore his name.

But in his heart of hearts, Madison knows Washington would have forgiven him.

Washington often talked about his many failures as a young man.

how they helped him grow, what they taught him.

He'd probably recount a long story about his time in the military to try to make Madison feel better.

Madison knows he's made more than a few mistakes.

He owes it to the American people to make their sacrifices of life and property worthwhile and keep up the fight.

First, he's going to defeat the British.

Then, he's going to rebuild this city and the White House.

But before either of those things, he has to make some changes in his administration.

A week later, Secretary of State James Monroe arrives in Washington, D.C., brimming with anger.

He curses Secretary of War Armstrong's name under his breath.

If it wasn't for him, it wouldn't have taken a tornado to save D.C.

Monroe is here to discuss the impending British invasion of Baltimore.

If they lose Baltimore, trade will be deeply threatened.

He hopes he can plan a strategy a lot further in advance than the last battle.

But more than that, he's looking to give Secretary Armstrong a piece of his mind.

Monroe reaches James Madison's temporary headquarters at the Octagon House, a mansion one block over from the White House.

It survived the fires and the tornado with only minor damage.

He walks into Madison's study, finding him working with the other members of the cabinet on their plans.

Madison looks up as Monroe enters.

He seems happy to see his old friend.

But the first thing out of the president's mouth is that he and Monroe need to talk, now.

A pang of fear shoots through Monroe.

There's been a lot of turnover in the cabinet during the war.

Monroe is deeply disappointed in his inability to fix the mistakes at Bladensburg.

Even though he and Madison are close, there's no telling what the president might say.

Before Madison can speak, John Armstrong walks into the room with a full head of steam.

He seems angry and determined to get to work.

Monroe is about to start yelling at Armstrong, but he holds his tongue as Madison stands up calmly from the table.

The president tells Armstrong that because of his inability to protect the city, he can no longer serve as Secretary of War.

Armstrong seems completely taken aback.

He can barely get out a response.

Who could possibly replace him right in the middle of wartime?

No one else had the experience running a battlefield and serving in the cabinet.

Madison shakes his head.

There's one person who does.

Someone already in the cabinet.

Madison looks at the room and declares he's appointing James Monroe as the Secretary of War, while keeping him as Secretary of State.

Monroe is suddenly in a daze.

Whatever he was going to say to Armstrong isn't going to top that.

He can't believe this is actually happening.

Armstrong snarls at Monroe.

and storms out.

Monroe can't help but smile as he watches him leave.

Monroe turns to Madison and proudly accepts his new dual role.

He's never been one to back down from a challenge.

Ever since his time serving in the American Revolution, he's been fighting for what he believes in.

And he, like his fellow countrymen, believes they can defeat any foe in front of them.

Monroe sits down at the table next to Madison.

He's ready to hit the British back, hard.

A week later, on September 12, 1814, the Battle of Baltimore began.

It was James Monroe's first test as Secretary of War and a chance for British Major General Robert Ross to deliver an even more destructive blow to the American forces.

Thanks to the pause and fighting spurred by the tornado, the Americans were rested and far more prepared than they were at the Battle of Bladensburg.

In the first part of the battle at North Point, General Ross was shot in the chest by an American sharpshooter.

He died within minutes.

Without their Major General, the British lost decisively to the Americans in the second part of the battle at Fort McHenry.

The war continued for several more months after the battle ended, until the Treaty of Ghent marked its end.

Neither side definitively won or lost the war, but the outcome cemented America's sovereignty and legitimacy on the global stage.

And the Americans' victory in the Battle of Baltimore helped boost patriotism across the country.

Suddenly, citizens didn't just identify as as New Yorkers or Virginians, they were all Americans.

Among those watching the Battle of Baltimore from the harbor was a young poet named Francis Scott Key.

He was so moved by the American victory that he composed a poem about it, one he set to the tune of a popular song.

The new song, bolstered by that new strong national identity, became a huge hit.

It was called the Star-Spangled Banner.

His lyric, The Rocket's Red Glare, was actually a reference to the brilliant red Congreve rocket explosions overhead.

Major General Robert Ross's death greatly contributed to the British loss in Baltimore.

His body was stored in a barrel of Jamaican rum aboard the HMS Tannon to preserve it for return to England.

James Madison, who originally believed in limited government, saw the need for a strong federal government as the war progressed.

After its end, he started the Second Bank of the United States and developed the U.S.

Army into a professional military force, not just a loose conglomeration of militias.

James Monroe was elected president after Madison left office.

His time as both the Secretary of War and the Secretary of State greatly influenced his policies of asserting the United States' role on the global stage.

The America we know today might not exist if the British had gotten their way in Washington, D.C.

They could have done far more damage, not just to its buildings, but to the emerging national identity of its people.

They might have been able to do it, if it wasn't for the weather patterns that birthed a storm in the nation's capital.

The tornado that saved America.

From Balin Studios, this is a twist of history.

A quick note about our stories.

They're all heavily researched, but some details and scenes are dramatized.

A Twist of History is hosted by me, Joel Blackwell.

Executive produced by Mr.

Bollin and Zach Levitt.

Our head of writing is Evan Allen.

Produced by Perry Kroll.

This episode was written by Jake Natureman.

Story editing by Luke Baratz and Aaron Land.

Sound design and audio mixing by Colin Lester Fleming.

Post-production supervision by Jeremy Bone and Cole Lacasio.

Research and fact-checking by Abigail Shumway, Camille Callahan, Evan Beamer, Alex Paul, Patricia Nicole Florentino, Calvin Riley-Holgate, Matt Gilligan, Matt Teemstra, production coordination by Delena Corley and Samantha Collins, artwork by Jessica Klogston-Kiner and Robin Vane.

Thanks for listening to A Twist of History.

You can listen to more of me over at the Let's Read podcast and Let's Read YouTube channel.

See you next time.