History of Washington, D.C. problems, and plans for further construction to reach the Ohio River were abandoned. During the War of 1812, British forces conducted an expedition between August 19 and 29, 1814, that took and burned the capital city. On August 24, the British routed an American militia, which had gathered at Bladensburg, Maryland to protect the capital (see Battle of Bladensburg). The militia then abandoned Washington without a fight. President James Madison and the remainder of the U.S. government fled the capital shortly before the British arrived. The British then entered and burned the capital during the most notably destructive raid of
Battle of Pensacola (1814) The presence of the Creek refugees had motivated British Brevet Captain George Woodbine of the Royal Marines to travel to Pensacola in July 1814. Woodbine's liaisons with the refugees and the Spanish governor of Pensacola would subsequently lead to the British having a military presence at Pensacola from August 23, 1814, initially occupying Fort San Miguel. and the town itself. The potency of the British force, and its perceived ability to see off any American forces were leveraged by Edward Nicolls in his negotiations with the Spanish. The measure of perceived potency, however, was somewhat reduced in the aftermath of