Flight of the Madisons

Gallery

1 of 16

A generalized map of James Madison's flight route when Washington was burning in 1814.
White House Historical Association
2 of 16

Madison flees with a bundle of papers in this British satirical broadside "The Fall of Washington--or Maddy in full flight" S.W. Fores, 1814. On August 24, 1814 the British routed the American militia forces at the Bladensburg Battlefield, and James Madison was there. Major General Robert Ross and his army, hardened veterans of the Duke of Wellington's campaigns during the Peninsular War of 1808-1814, completely outmatched General William Winder and the ill-equipped and inexperienced American militia. Bladensburg Waterfront Park maintains the historic site where the British crossed a bridge over the Eastern branch of the Anacostia River to begin the battle that ended in a decisive American defeat.
Library of Congress
3 of 16

The President's House as it appeared before the 1814 fire, the frontispiece to The Stranger in America by Charles William Jansen, 1807. After leaving Bladensburg Battlefield, an exhausted James Madison, accompanied by Brigadier General John Mason and Attorney General Richard Rush, returned to the President's House to find Mrs. Madison. He arrived at the Executive Mansion at about 4:00 p.m. to find that she had already left. Despondent and shaken by the ease of the British victory, Madison declined offers of food and had only a glass of wine before beginning his flight to avoid capture.
White House Collection/White House Historical Association
4 of 16

After leaving the president's house, James Madison stopped at Wren's Tavern in Falls Church, Virginia, to obtain the latest updates on the military situation, and two armed cavalrymen were provided by Captain George Graham to escort him. James Wren, builder of Christ Church in Old Town Alexandria and the Old Fairfax Courthouse, maintained an ordinary (a tavern that served regular meals) as part of the Federal-style mansion on his 145-acre estate. The tavern is no longer in existence but the site is marked by a sign erected by the City of Fairfax, Virginia.
Photo by Craig Swain
5 of 16

Minor's Hill and Wren's Tavern located on a contemplated turnpike route from Alexandra to Difficult Run, a detail from a plat by I.A. Sommers in 1837. During his flight from burning Washington, James Madison paused for a respite at Minor's Hill, which overlooked the village of Falls Church and was the highest elevation in Arlington County. He didn't stay because the cabin-style house was too congested with other evacuees fleeing the British.
Office of Comprehensive Planning, Fairfax, VA
6 of 16

Salona is a Federal-style farmhouse built c. 1800 and purchased in 1812 by Rev. William Maffitt. Unable to find a room at Minor’s Hill when he was fleeing while Washington was burning, James Madison stayed at Salona on the night of August 24, 1814. Today it is a privately-owned home in McLean, Virginia.
White House Historical Association (Matthew D'Agostino)
7 of 16

Wiley's Tavern was located on the plat by I.A. Sommers in 1837. President Madison reunited with his wife, Dolley, at Wiley’s Tavern. The tavern was owned by James Wiley and was located on the south side of Difficult Run--so called because it could not be crossed by wagons, only by horseback in low water. It was on a road that ran from the Shenandoah Valley to Alexandria. The tavern is no longer in existence.
Office of Comprehensive Planning, Fairfax, VA
8 of 16

Conn's Ferry illustrated on a "Plan and profile of an unfinished survey and level for a proposed canal from Goose Creek in Loudoun county to Hunting Creek near Alexandria," by Loammi Baldwin, 1818. President Madison and his companions left Wiley's Tavern and Mrs. Madison at midnight on August 25, 1814, headed for Conn's Ferry to join troops at the Montgomery Court House in Maryland (now Rockville), 16 miles away. They were delayed by a severe morning thunderstorm that made the Potomac River impassable. By the time they arrived in Rockville early in the afternoon the American troops had already left, so they continued 11 more miles to Brookeville, seeking a safe haven.
Library of Virginia
9 of 16

Built c. 1800, this Federal-style house in the Quaker settlement of Brookeville, Maryland, was owned by Quaker Caleb Bentley, a storekeeper and postmaster. The house served as a temporary Executive Mansion and it was here that on the night of August 26 President Madison learned that the British had abandoned Washington, and he ordered his cabinet to return to the city. Today the house is a private residence, and Brookeville is a residential historic district known as the "United States Capital for a Day."
White House Historical Association (Matthew D'Agostino)
10 of 16

A generalized map of Dolley Madison's flight route when Washington was burning in 1814.
White House Historical Association
11 of 16

An early 20th century artist's depiction of Dolley Madison saving the state papers just before she left the President's House. Dolley Madison awaited her husband's return from Bladensburg Battlefield in Maryland, but as news of the rout and a note from her husband reached her, she decided to depart. She directed the president's manservant Paul Jennings, doorman Jean Pierre Sioussat (also known as French John), and gardener Thomas Magraw (or McGraw), to pack trunks of valuables such as Cabinet papers, silver, and even the red velvet draperies from the oval drawing room. Mrs. Madison insisted on having George Washington’s portrait removed, sending it off with two men from New York (Jacob Barker and Robert G.L. De Peyster) for safekeeping.
Library of Congress
12 of 16

A contemporary view of Bellevue (Dumbarton House). A Federal-style house built in 1799 for Samuel Jackson, a Philadelphia merchant, Bellevue was purchased by Charles Carroll in 1813. Carroll was among those who convinced Mrs. Madison to leave the President's House during the burning of Washington in 1814, and he escorted her to Bellevue along with her enslaved maid Sukey, her sister Anna Cutts, and Anna's children. Located in Georgetown in the middle of Q Street, in 1915 Bellevue was moved 100 feet to its present site to avoid demolition. It was renamed Dumbarton House in 1928 when the National Society of Colonial Dames of America acquired the property and established it as a historic house museum and the national headquarters for the organization.
White House Historical Association (Matthew D'Agostino)
13 of 16

The former site of Rokeby Farmhouse, which no longer exists. The house at Rokeby Farm, owned by Richard and Matilda Lee Love, was built in 1813 and later rebuilt around 1820 after a fire. On the night of August 24, 1814, it was crowded with people seeking refuge from British-occupied Washington. Legend holds that from this house, Dolley Madison watched the red sky from the fires burning in the capital city. The Rokeby Farmhouse is no longer in existence. The property, now occupied by Rokeby Farms Stables, is not open to the public.
Google Maps
14 of 16

Salona or "Smoot's House" after the Smoot family that owned the house during the Civil War when this photograph was taken. Salona is a Federal-style farmhouse built c. 1800 and purchased in 1812 by Rev. William Maffitt. Dolley Madison briefly stopped through Salona en route to Wiley's Tavern. Today it is a privately-owned home in McLean, Virginia.
George H. Houghton, Vermont Historical Society
15 of 16

Wiley's Tavern located on the plat by I.A. Sommers in 1837. A severe thunderstorm hit the Washington area on August 25, 1814, and lore says that Dolley Madison arrived at Wiley's Tavern and made her way upstairs to rest. The tavern owner's wife, angry because her husband had been drawn into the fighting, supposedly told the first lady to "come down and go out!" President Madison met his wife here after the storm. The reunion was brief and Madison left around midnight to go to Maryland. Mrs. Madison would return to Falls Church along the Leesburg Pike to Minor's Hill.
Office of Comprehensive Planning, Fairfax, VA
16 of 16

Minor's Hill evolved over time from a cabin style house in 1814 to a more expansive country residence in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During her flight from Washington as it was burning, Dolley Madison and her entourage spent the nights of August 26-27, 1814, at Minor's Hill. The house was named for the family of Colonel George Minor, who had earlier led a Virginia militia detachment to fight at Bladensburg, but when they encountered escaping U.S. troops they realized the battle was over.
White House Historical Association (Matthew D'Agostino)

The afternoon of August 24, 1814, President James Madison was on the field of battle at Bladensburg, Maryland, when British troops overran American militia forces. Receiving word that General William Winder had called a retreat, he made his way back to the President's House. After assessing the situation, getting a fresh horse and packing a few items, he escaped from the city taking the Georgetown Ferry to Mason's Island and crossed over the Causeway into Virginia. He traveled the Georgetown Road to the Alexandria & Leesburg Road, where he headed west, stopping at Wren's Tavern in Falls Church. He later rode up to Minor's Hill, but did not stay there long because it was filled with refugees from Alexandria; it is thought that he spent the night the British burned the nation’s capital city at Salona (McLean). President Madison was back in Falls Church the following day.

Captain George Graham provided two guards and the president traveled on to Salona expecting to find Mrs. Madison, but discovered that she had already left. The president's flight inward down the Little Falls Road (Chain Bridge Road) was stopped by a ferocious storm. He found shelter at a location simply known as the crossroads; this is probably the area of today’s Tysons Corner. After the storm, he continued on to Wiley's Tavern on the Alexandria & Leesburg Road, and met the first lady who was already there. After a few hours rest, Madison, intent on joining Winder's troops gathering at Montgomery Court House (Rockville) in Maryland, set out for Conn's Ferry, located in what now is Riverbend Park. A hurricane-force storm made the Potomac impassable, but after it passed he was ferried over to Maryland the afternoon of August 26. After a brief stop at Montgomery Courthouse, where he learned the American troops had already moved on toward Baltimore, he continued further, ending the day at Brookeville, Maryland.

Dolley Madison's Flight

After seeing to the safety of the full-length portrait of George Washington, Dolley Madison left the President's House, making her way to Bellevue (Dumbarton House) to await the arrival of her husband. She received word that his plans had changed and that he would not be able to join her, but would simply meet her on the other side of the Potomac. After a failed attempt to link up with him at the Georgetown Ferry, the first lady traveled north to the Chain Bridge near the Little Falls and crossed into Virginia. She traveled up the very steep Falls Road and turned off for Rokeby where she spent the fiery night of August 24. The following morning Dolley stopped briefly at Salona before making her way further inland to Wiley's Tavern on the Alexandria & Leesburg Road, where she spent the night. On August 26, Dolley headed back toward the still smoldering capital city, but remained in Virginia at Minor's Hill, the highest point in the area. She spent two nights there, before leaving the morning of the 28th, to return to Washington City. The President's House was totally destroyed by the fires, so she went to the home of her sister Anna and her husband, former Congressman Richard Cutts, on F Street.