section_path: History/Burning during War of 1812
section_name: Burning during War of 1812
paragraph_text: Burning during War of 1812
  
  On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded and occupied the city after defeating an American force in the war's Battle of Bladensburg. In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas, British troops set fire to government buildings in the city, gutting the U.S. Capitol, the Treasury Building, and White House in what became known as the burning of Washington. The damage of the city's burning could have been more extensive, but a storm forced the British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours. Most government buildings were repaired quickly, but the Capitol, which was then still under construction, was not completed in its current form until 1868.