The Backstory: The influencer who packed up the White House as it burned!

George Washington never lived in the White House or Washington, DC. The White House wasn’t white when it was built, and it wasn’t called the White House for its first 100 years. The famous portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room isn’t the original. Those stories...and the famous DC influencer who saved the day when the White House burned.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, it's kind of ironic. Our first president, George Washington,
never lived in the White House, and in fact, he
never even lived in Washington, d C. And while his
iconic portrait hangs in the East room of the White House,
get this, the building wasn't originally called the White House,
and that portrait was actually a copy of the eighteenth
century original. But the saving of it during the War

(00:23):
of eighteen twelve energized American patriotism. I'm Patti Steele. She
was the ultimate influencer of her time. First Lady Dolly
Madison had nerves of steel and she had vision. That's
next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. With

(00:44):
everything going on in Washington, DC these days, we forget
that the city, created by an Act of Congress, has
been a hotbed of national emotion since it became the
US capital in eighteen hundred. When George Washington was made
president in seventeen eighty nine, he lived in a number
of different houses in our first capital, New York City,

(01:05):
and then a couple more in Philadelphia, which was the
capital from seventeen ninety to eighteen hundred. The White House,
or as it's been called over all those years. The
President's House or Executive Mansion, wasn't finished until after John
Adams became our second president, and he only lived there
starting November first, eighteen hundred, for his last four months

(01:27):
in office. When Adams was there, the President's House was
painted a pale gray yellow look, but because most of
the buildings around it at that time were red brick,
folks took to informally calling it the White House. Then
just twelve years later, the War of eighteen twelve broke out.
By summer of eighteen fourteen, British forces were moving closer

(01:49):
to their objective, capturing and burning Washington, d C. Okay,
it's August twenty fourth, eighteen fourteen. The heat is sweltering,
and you can add two that the mounting dread in
the nation's capital. As news reached Washington the British troops
were advancing, there was total panic in the city. Officials

(02:09):
scrambled to evacuate, taking with them as many important documents
and valuables as they could possibly manage. President James Madison
had already left to join American troops in the field.
His wife Dolly, stayed back to oversee the evacuation of
the White house or executive mansion. Now here's the thing.
Dolly Madison was no ordinary first lady, known for her charm,

(02:33):
intelligence and powerful will. The public absolutely adored her, but
her job on this day would test her strength. She
had made the difficult decision to stay in the house
as long as possible, trying to save as many national
treasures as she could. But as the sound of approaching
British troops closed in, Dolly urgently directed the staff to

(02:55):
move furniture, gathered documents, and pack up valuables. It was
total chaos, but one of them caught her eye, a
full length portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stewart.
It actually was a copy by Stuart of an original
painting he'd created in seventeen ninety six for believe it
or not, a British aristocrat. But the portrait was more

(03:17):
than just a painting of our first president. It was
a powerful symbol of huge sentimental and historic value. Dolly
knew it couldn't fall into the British hands. Now. The
problem is the framed painting was over eight feet tall
and more than five feet wide, and the frame itself
was bolted to the wall. There was no time to

(03:38):
carefully take it apart, So Dolly ordered the frame to
be broken apart and the canvas removed and rolled up
and taken away. It was the only way to save
the iconic image of George Washington. Finally, with the portrait
secured and as many valuables as they could carry, Dolly
reluctantly fled the White House. She left behind a note

(04:00):
for her husband in case he should return, detailing the
evacuation and her sorrow at leaving the house to the
fate of the British. The mansion stood silent, dark and empty.
When British troops arrived in Washington that sultry night, they
found the city mostly abandoned, the White House empty, and
the American symbol of resistance, the portrait of George Washington gone.

(04:25):
They set fire to the White House, and flames quickly
ate through it, turning the building into a blazing inferno
with heat that was so intense it actually melted the
glass and caused the building's walls to crack. The British
also targeted other key government buildings that night, including the
Capitol and the Treasury. As the fires raged, the burning

(04:48):
buildings of the brand new capital gave off an eerie glow.
Smoke filled the air, and the few city residents still
there watched as their capital was reduced to ashes. So
the British burned the White House that sultry night and
managed to almost completely destroy the building and the city.
As dawn broke on August twenty fifth, the British, having

(05:11):
achieved their goal, withdrew from Washington. The fires continued to smolder,
leaving behind a scene of ruin and desolation, but again
they didn't capture the prized portrait. And what actually lit
a fire, so to speak, under American patriotism, was the
saving of that portrait. Dolly Madison's actions would become legendary,

(05:36):
and as news of her bravery spread, she was called
a national hero. Saving George Washington's portrait became a symbol
of defiance against the British and of the enduring American spirit.
As far as the White House goes, the Madisons were
never able to move back in after the fire because
James Madison left office after his second term ended in

(05:58):
eighteen seventeen, and it wasn't until later that same year
the house was finally finished enough to be habitable. That's
when it was painted white, but it wasn't until nineteen
oh one that President Teddy Roosevelt directed all staff to
formally refer to the Executive Mansion as the White House
from then on. The portrait of George Washington that Dolly

(06:21):
Madison had saved, again actually a copy done by the
original artist, Gilbert Stewart, was restored to the East Room
in the White House, where it has hung ever since.
The original portrait spent over one hundred and seventy years
in England and was finally purchased by our National Gallery
in Washington in two thousand and one. Now, ironically, Gilbert

(06:44):
Stewart the artist was a British loyalist during the Revolution
and he spent the war years away from the US.
He returned just a few years before painting one of
the greatest symbols of American strength, and Dolly Madison sealed
that nation. I hope you like the backstory with Patty Steele.

(07:11):
I would love it if you would subscribe or follow
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free to dm me if you have a story you
would like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele,
and on Instagram, Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The
Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group,

(07:34):
and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our
writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
Feel free to reach out to me with comments and
even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and
on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the
Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't

(07:55):
know you needed to know.