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
USS Jones (1814) USS Jones (1814) USS "Jones" was a brig in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. "Jones" was built at Sacketts Harbor, New York, for service in Commodore Isaac Chauncey's fleet on Lake Ontario and was launched on 10 April 1814. Most of the cannon for the new American ships had not reached Sackett's Harbor on 19 May when the British fleet arrived off the American base and established a strict blockade which temporarily bottled up the heavily outgunned American squadron. After the British commander, Sir James Yeo, raised the blockade on 6 June, an epidemic struck the