Name the American General that lost the battle on White House Lawn to the British in 1812 please!

Question

I cannot find any information about this General in any American History Books!

Information needed for Grandaughter's History Project!

Answer 1

The White House was actually burned down in 1814 during the 1812 war as retaliation for US troops' attacks on Canada. There was no particular battle on the lawn, or surrender at that point; In fact, the war continued until the British lost the battle of New Orleans in 1815, ending the war.

More info here;

http://www.whitehousehistory.org/04/subs...

The White House has it's name from the hasty repainting in 1814 to cover the scorch marks.

A very interesting eye witness account here;

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/washi...

Answer 2

The Canadians and Brits are so proud that they burned down the white house they don't talk about their n**i like book burnings nor that we yanks burned the city of Ottawa to the ground or that we declare war on them or the butt kicking they toke in New Orleans that resulted in A Jackson becoming president and on our $20 They don't want to talk about their betrayal of the American Indian in both of our wars by exciting and paying them to kill us and than never mentioning them in both of their peace treaties with us which resulted in the trail of tears

Answer 3

Another useful re-writing of US history from Ray N - do a little research will you guy.  The "Trail of Tears" took place in 1830/1 a very long time after the British defeat in New Orleans - come on Ray - you`re not Japanese are you by any chance?  Have a nice day y`all.

Answer 4

August 24, 1814 the battle of Bladensburg in which British (under Ross) routed the Americans (under Winder) so quickly that it came to be called the "Bladensburg Races". This battle opened the way for the British to march to Washington, which they burned

Ross landed his forces in Maryland in August 1814 and marched up the Patuxent River. The American commander was Brigadier General William H. Winder, an inept leader who had been recently exchanged after being captured at the July 1813 Battle of Stoney Creek. Winder had at his immediate disposal 120 Dragoons and 300 Regulars, but the rest of his force consisted of 1,500 poorly trained and equipped militia. On the day of the battle some 5,000 more militiamen began arriving on the field. Winder had the numerically superior force, but he was opposed by experienced British regulars.

By August 21, Winder had advanced south to the vicinity of Long Old Fields and Wood Yard [off modern Route 5] to confront the British at Upper Marlboro. Though he rode with the force directly challenging the British, he realized that Bladensburg was the key to the defense of Washington. By holding Bladensburg, Winder kept open the roads to Baltimore and Annapolis, roads upon which reinforcements were already moving. He also blocked one of only two routes available to the British for an advance on Washington, the preferable route, as it happened, because the Eastern Branch [Anacostia River] was easily forded there. Winder ordered General Tobias Stansbury to "take the best position in advance of Bladensburg...and should he be attacked, to resist as long as possible."

General Stansbury posted Ragan's, Schutz's, and Sterrett's regiments, Pickney's riflemen, and the artillery atop Lowndes Hill, just east of town. The road from Annapolis bisected the hill; the road from Upper Marlboro ran to its right and rear. The roads to Washington, Georgetown, and Baltimore intersected behind it. From this position, Stansbury dominated the approaches available to the British while controlling all lines of communication.

At 2:30 a.m., August 23, Stansbury received a message from Winder describing the latter's withdrawal across the Easter Branch and his intention to fire the lower bridge. Surprised, Stansbury was seized by an irrational fear that his right would be turned. Rather than further strengthen an already commanding position, he immediately decamped and marched his exhausted troops across Bladensburg bridge, which he did not burn, to a brickyard 1 1/2 miles further on. In so doing, he had thrown away almost every tactical advantage available to him.

Around noon on August 24, Ross's army reached Bladensburg. Stansbury's tactical errors quickly became apparent. Had he held the heights, Stansbury could have made the British approach a costly one. Had he held the brick structures of Bladensburg, ready-made mini-fortresses, he might have embroiled Ross' troops in bloody streetfighting. Because the bridge had not been burned, it had to be defended. Stansbury's infantry were posted too far from the river's edge to contest a crossing. The Baltimore artillery, armed only with solid shot and posted to the north of the bridge, could not, with oblique fire, prevent the bridge from being seized. President James Madison, having ridden out to see the battle, was nearly captured as he approached the bridge.

The first line of American militia quickly broke and fled before the British regulars. Despite a brave show of resistance by 400 sailors and Marines—who fought against the enemy hand to hand with cutlasses and pikes—under the command of Commodore Joshua Barney at the second American line, these defenders were also forced to fall back when they were in danger of being cut off. Barney, severely wounded with a musketball in the thigh, was captured. Winder had failed to give any instructions in the case of a retreat, and the militia simply fled the field with no destination in mind.

The hasty and disorganized American retreat was so great that the battle became known as the Bladensburg Races from an 1816 poem. The American militia actually fled through the streets of Washington. President Madison, along with the rest of the federal government, soon followed. Thanks to the efforts of the President's wife, Dolley Madison, several historic paintings and other artifacts were saved from the White House. That same night the British entered Washington unopposed.

Stansbury chose a defensible position, but not the best position, on the western side of the Eastern Branch of the Potomac (now called the Anacostia River), across from the town of Bladensburg, east of Washington.