U.S. Capitol - Washington, DC - Political Revolutions on Waymarking.com

Photos were taken in 2013 when I visited the Capitol Building on a hot summer day (100+ F). In 1814, the capitol building looked much different than the finished product today. Back then, during the Burning of Washington, it did not have a dome. It did have the two chambers of congress (the House and Senate). Taken from Wikipedia, "The Capitol was, according to some contemporary travelers, the only building in Washington "worthy to be noticed". Thus, it was a prime target for the British, for both its aesthetic and its symbolic value. Upon arrival into the city via Maryland Avenue, the British targeted the Capitol (first the southern wing, containing the House of Representatives, then the northern wing, containing the Senate). Prior to setting it aflame, the British sacked the building (which at that time housed Congress, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court).

Items looted by troops led by Rear-Admiral Cockburn included a ledger entitled "An account of the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the year 1810"; the admiral wrote on the inside leaf that it was "taken in President's room in the Capitol, at the destruction of that building by the British, on the capture of Washington, 24th August, 1814". He later gave it to his elder brother Sir James Cockburn, the Governor of Bermuda. The book was returned to the Library of Congress in 1940.

The British intended to burn the building to the ground. They set fire to the southern wing first. The flames grew so quickly that the British were prevented from collecting enough wood to burn the stone walls completely. However, the Library of Congress's contents in the northern wing contributed to the flames on that side. Among the items destroyed was the 3,000-volume collection of the Library of Congress and the intricate decorations of the neoclassical columns, pediments, and sculptures designed by William Thornton in 1793 and Benjamin Latrobe in 1803. The wooden ceilings and floors burned, and the glass skylights melted because of the intense heat. The building was not a complete loss; the House rotunda, the east lobby, the staircases, and Latrobe's famous Corn-Cob Columns in the Senate entrance hall all survived.[25] The Superintendent of the Public Buildings of the City of Washington, Thomas Munroe, concluded that the loss to the Capitol amounted to $787,163.28, with $457,388.36 for the North wing and main building, and $329,774.92 for the South wing."

Name of the revolution that the waymark is related to: War of 1812 Civil War WWI WWII Adress of the monument: Washington, DC What was the role of this site in revolution?: Congress Link that comprove that role: Not listed When was this memorial placed?: Not listed Who placed this monument?: Not listed

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