Ralph J. Bunche Library to begin a collection of laws of the states, and $25 for the purchase of foreign gazettes and subscriptions to American newspapers that would be sent to American representatives overseas. In that same year, the Library also became, by law, the office of record to receive laws, public documents, and copyrights. During the War of 1812, the invading British burned the Capital, the White House, and other government buildings including that which housed the State Department and its library on August 24, 1814. While Dolley Madison famously saved the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington hanging in the White House,
USS Wasp (1814) The American warship continued her ravages of the British merchant marine. On 12 September 1814, she encountered "Three Brothers", a brig, and scuttled her. On 14 September 1814, she sank the brig "Bacchus". On 21 September 1814, an eight-gun brig, (or "Atlanta"), ran afoul of "Wasp", and she, too, suffered the ignominy of capture. Deeming "Atalanta" too valuable to destroy, Blakeley placed her under the command of Midshipman David Geisinger and sent her to the United States. She entered Savannah, Georgia safely on 4 November 1814. After "Wasp" and "Atalanta" parted company, on 9 October 1814 she spoke the Swedish