Ross and the White House
Above: Image of the burnt 'White House'.
British Army
Major General Robert Ross from Rostrevor, County Down, Northern
Ireland, will forever be associated with the burning of the public buildings
in Washington in 1814, including the Capitol, Washington Navy Yard and, most famously or infamously of
all - The ‘President’s Mansion’ or 'President's House'. That the
building was renamed the 'White House' as a direct result of the
fire caused by Ross' forces is revealed as a myth by the White House
Historical Association:
It has nothing to do with the burning of the house by the British in
1814, although every schoolchild is likely to have heard the story
that way. The building was first made white with lime-based
whitewash in 1798, when its walls were finished, simply as a means
of protecting the porous stone from freezing. Why the house was
subsequently painted is not known. Perhaps presidents objected to
the dirty look as the whitewash wore away. The house acquired its
nickname early on. Congressman Abijah Bigelow wrote to a colleague
on March 18, 1812 (three months before the United States entered war
with England): "There is much trouble at the White House, as we call
it, I mean the President's" (quoted in W. B. Bryan, "The Name White
House," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 34-35 [1932]:
308). The name, though in common use, remained a nickname until
September 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt made it official.
See
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_history/history_faqs-01.html
Be that as it may, the burning of the president's home by the
British army under General Ross has been immortalised in history. (One eyewitness testified to
Ross personally being involved in piling up the furniture prior to
the building being set alight). Interestingly, as
Anthony Pitch points out in his book, "Invasion": The Burning of Washington –
the British Invasion of 1814, p.xi, the White House still bears
the scars from Ross’ visit; ‘scorch marks are still visible from the
fire of 24 August 1814 on the stone archway leading into the
kitchens below the north portico’.
The burning of the public buildings in Washington continues to stoke
up a lively debate with some arguing that it was carried out in
retaliation for the Americans burning British-controlled York
(modern-day Toronto), Upper Canada, in April 1813. Others, by
contrast, believe that the decision was influenced by events when
General Ross approached the city following his decisive victory at
the Battle of Bladensburg (24th August 1814). His
original intention, it has been argued by some, was to secure a ransom for the city. Entering Washington
under a flag of truce, a volley of shots was fired at Ross from a
nearby house (and perhaps from the Capitol - as some British
officers alleged at the time), killing Ross’ horse,
several of his men and wounding others. The intention to exact a
ransom from the American government in lieu of burning the public
buildings was abandoned as a result. Whatever the reason, both
American and British accounts agree that General Ross ensured that
private property was respected in Washington. The violation of the
flag of truce, it was argued by some on the British side at the
time, exposed Washington to total destruction by the prevailing
conventions of warfare. Most commentators, both contemporary and
modern, agree that the notorious Admiral Cockburn who accompanied
Ross to Washington would have laid the entire city in ashes had he
not been restrained by Ross.
Above: A mural depicting the burning of the Capitol by the British
Army led by General Ross. Mural
by Allyn Cox, Oil on Canvas,
1973-1974, located in
the
Hall of Capitols in the Capitol.
