British engraving of 1814, depicting the burning of Washington on August 24, 1814, during the...

British engraving of 1814, depicting the burning of Washington on August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812. This view is from what is now 'Piscataway Park', just south of Fort Washington on the Potomac River, in Maryland, about 14 miles south of Capitol Hill. The soldiers and ships are the British secondary force, that progressed up the Potomac river only as far as Alexandria, Virginia. Fort Washington, across the water, directs Artillery fire at the British. In the distance, the Capitol burns, set on fire by the British primary force, that marched 50 miles overland after landing at the Patuxent River (BSLOC_2019_6_111)