Transcript
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If you've ever visited Washington D.C. you've probably craned your neck to get a good shot of the Washington Monument and the steps on the Lincoln Memorial. Maybe you snapped a picture of the Capitol dome or in front of the White House. And even if you've never visited these iconic structures in person, it's hard not to think about how immovable it all feels in a world that's constantly changing. It seems like these buildings in Washington D.C. have always stayed the same. The iconic white marble columns are just too solid. The thought of the White House being destroyed is so outlandish that we have aliens blow it up in the movies. But our nation's capital was, at least at one point, more vulnerable than you'd think. During The War of 1812, when America and England staged a rematch of the American Revolution, the British tore through the city, setting fire to the most important parts. And as the future of the young nation's capital was hanging in the balance, the only thing the Americans could do was pray for a stroke of luck. On today's episode, the miracle of D.C. this is a twist of history. It's late in the afternoon on August 19, 1814, and the President of the United States, James Madison, is pacing nervously back and forth across his office. It's not just the brutal Washington D.C. humidity that's making him sweat. He's just received word that the British army has arrived in Benedict, Maryland, a mere 25 miles southeast of the nation's capital. He shoots a glance toward the door. Members of his cabinet will start arriving any moment now, and together the men will determine a course of action. Madison stands at only 5 foot 4, but what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for in strategic intelligence. With the British army approaching, he knows he needs to act fast and smart. If he slips up, the United States of America could end less than 40 years after it began. Back in 1776, the Founding Fathers, many of them Madison's closest friends, declared independence from the British Empire. After seven long years, the Americans defeated the most powerful military on the planet and set about creating a new nation. But the so called American experiment had shaky foundations from the start. Gaining independence was the easy part. Now the time had come to see if they could keep it. In 1812, after years of being bullied by the British post Revolutionary War, President Madison had taken action. Fed up with the British infringing on US Shipping lanes, seizing American sailors and forcing them to join the British Navy, and preventing America from expanding its territory, President Madison declared war. The War of 1812. But now two years in the war has become about much more. Madison used to think of himself as a Virginian first and an American second. Like most of his countrymen, the identity of his state had taken far more precedence over any kind of national identity. But standing up to the British, as they had during the Revolution, has changed a lot of minds, including Madison's. The people are uniting once again under the Stars and Stripes. And Madison, for perhaps the first time in his career, is seeing the value of a strong federal government. Without it, the Americans wouldn't have achieved any of the progress they've made against the British. But Madison knows that if he loses the war, that progress will be lost. The British will likely carve up American territory and keep them confined, unable to assert their own independence as a nation. The United States as they know it will be over. President Madison hears the door to his office swing open. He turns and smiles with relief to see his old friend and his Secretary of State, James Monroe, standing in the doorframe. President Madison has known his fellow Virginian Monroe for over 30 years. They first met after their service in the Revolutionary War. Madison as a congressman, Monroe as a soldier. Thomas Jefferson, also a Virginian, was the one to introduce them, and they went on to work together in his administration. Today, there is no one in government President Madison trusts more than Monroe. President Madison tells his friend the news about the British advance, all the while trying to hide his anxiety. But Monroe sees right through it. He knows better than anyone how high the stakes are. The President can see the war's effects on his Secretary of State, too. Monroe's long, dark hair has increasingly become flecked with streaks of gray these past two years. And now war is coming to the Capitol. Slowly but surely, the other members file into the office. Amidst the turmoil of the war, Madison's barely been able to keep a consistent Cabinet. It's been hard finding advisors willing to put their egos aside for the good of the country, and Madison has had to fire several of them. He suspects he'll have to replace a few more of them by the end of the year. The last to arrive is John Armstrong, the Secretary of War, who's held the position a little more than a year. As he arrives, he cracks a joke about the British getting stuck in the mud in the Chesapeake Bay. A few of the Cabinet members chuckle, but Madison doesn't. Armstrong strikes Madison as too unbothered for a man leading a war, especially one that's here on their doorstep. But for now, President Madison chalks it up to bravery in the face of danger. He fills his cabinet in on the British arrival at Benedict. Armstrong pipes up and assures the room that the American militias will have no problem wiping out the British troops. Based on early estimates, they outnumber the British almost 4 to 1. Furthermore, he predicts the British have no intention of coming to Washington D.C. at all. In his view, it it's obvious that their real target is the nearby city of Baltimore. Not only is Baltimore a much bigger city than Washington, but Baltimore's port makes it far more important to the British war effort. With that, Armstrong sits back in his seat. President Madison furrows his brow. The British are closer to DC Than they are to Baltimore. Shouldn't they focus on protecting the Capitol, the seat of their young nation's federal power? Armstrong stands up in a huff, his high collar accentuating a sour expression. He tells Madison he's being alarmist. There's no need to protect the city because the British aren't coming to the capital. He says they'll turn away and move to attack Baltimore. He's sure of it. President Madison shoots a glance in Monroe's direction, but he's unable to glean anything from his friend's neutral expression. Tapping the arm of his chair with his fingertips, the President takes a deep breath, pausing to think. He's puzzled by this Baltimore theory, but he trusts Armstrong's judgment. He can be hot headed and fierce, both on the battlefield and in the Cabinet Room, which makes him a worthwhile Secretary of War. And they are, after all, in the middle of a war. Making up his mind, President Madison agrees that Armstrong is probably right. But still, he wants to prepare for the worst case scenario. After all, the British aren't just attacking for strategic reasons. They want revenge. Just three months earlier, in May 1814, American forces raided the Canadian capital of York, then a British colony. The Americans burned everything in sight and destroyed the countryside. Now it's entirely possible that the Brits intend to give America's capital the exact same treatment. As payback, Madison commands that Washington D.C. be barricaded and prepared for an invasion. He orders the country's most important documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, to be packed up safely and moved to a secure location. Finally, the President asks for a volunteer. He needs someone trustworthy to ride out and report back on the British troops movements. Without a scout, they have no way of knowing which city the British are currently advancing toward. All eyes shift toward Armstrong. If there's any member of the Cabinet for the job, it should obviously be the Secretary of War. But Armstrong doesn't reply. He hesitates, as if confused why an advisor of his stature would be asked to perform such a menial task. But in that gap of silence, another cabinet member's hand shoots up. It belongs to James Monroe. And Madison gives him a grateful smile. It's settled. Monroe will ride out and scout the British position. The President hopes for good news. Lately, he hasn't been getting much of it. Two days later, James Monroe is on his horse, moving across the Maryland countryside as fast as he can. His horse labors to keep up a full gallop. The heat is starting to get suffocating, and there are no clouds to block out the afternoon sun. The absurdity of the situation isn't lost on Monroe. He's the nation's Secretary of State, and here he is, riding along through the countryside in civilian clothing on a scouting mission that's entirely outside his job description. But desperate times call for desperate measures. He understands. They're at war, and America's army is woefully small and underfunded. The president needs this done by someone he trusts, someone who's a strong rider and has a military background. And no one fits the bill more than Monroe himself. Besides, he's happy to do it. He's eager to prove himself however he can. Monroe slows his horse to a trot as he approaches the British position in the fields of Baden, Maryland. Keeping his head low, he takes out a spy glass and looks out over the thousands of soldiers. Soldiers marching north. He can see the British Major General Robert Ross barking orders from atop his horse. Munro estimates the British have about 3,000 soldiers, far less than the American militias they'll be fighting against. More than that, the weather seems to be affecting them greatly. Munro watches as Ross struggles to get his soldiers to march in the brutal heat. Several of his soldiers collapsed from heat exhaustion. At their current pace, Monroe estimates it would take these soldiers three days to reach D.C. but at this point, it's impossible for Monroe to tell whether the British are marching toward Washington, D.C. or Baltimore. The soldiers are on a road that takes them in the general direction of both cities. It won't be clear which city they're headed for until they advance further north and reach a fork in the road. Munro turns around and rides back to the capital. Even though he doesn't want to admit it, maybe Secretary Armstrong is right. It's still quite possible that the British will go past Washington and attack the key port of Baltimore. But Monroe disagrees with almost every one of Secretary Armstrong's assessments of the war. As an experienced soldier, he has his own ideas of how to fight back against the British, but also knows the importance of holding his tongue. The President has chosen him as Secretary of State, not war, so he'd be wise to stay in his lane unless called upon. Still, Monroe desperately wants more responsibility. He's in charge of diplomacy, and the British, sure of their impending victory, have refused all attempts at negotiation. The governments of Europe refuse to help, too. America is on its own, and Monroe often finds himself wondering if he'll get an opportunity to really prove himself before it's too late. Munro rides up over a ridge overlooking the Potomac river, and his heart skips a beat. Below, he spies a British detachment with another 1500 soldiers floating up the river on barges. Leading them is Rear Admiral George Cockburn. It's hard to miss him in his feathered hat. The Potomac leads straight to the capital, and in an instant, Munro knows Armstrong is wrong. The British are coming to Washington, D.C. not Baltimore, and they're going to attack from two fronts. Monroe realizes that the Americans, despite their superior numbers, aren't prepared to defend Washington, D.C. against this. Because Armstrong was so sure about Baltimore, they now have precious little time to get troops and militia moved into position. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Monroe spurs his horse forced down the road as quickly as it can move through the thick summer air. They can rest once they get to D.C. monroe needs to warn the president now, two nights later, it's the eve of battle. President Madison is finally alone again in his office. Collapsing into the chair at his desk, he exhales loudly. He's been working in politics since before the United States was established. He served in the Continental Congress before the Revolution was won. He wrote the Bill of Rights. He's been president for eight years, but in all that time, he's never seen things so fraught as these past two days with the British at their doorstep. Madison and his cabinet have been in a frenzy, and although they've all retired for the evening, at this point, the room is still stifling. Madison can hardly breathe. He walks over to the window and opens it. He catches a slight breeze and hears a few carriages roll by in the distance. The British are just outside the city, and yet the people of Washington are more or less going about their business as usual. Perhaps they see it the way Armstrong does and assume the relatively meager British forces pose no real threat. Just because the battle was being fought near Washington, D.C. it doesn't necessarily mean the British will enter the city. If they win, they don't have nearly enough troops to occupy the city after all. And Besides, they won't win. They can't possibly, not when they're so severely outnumbered by the Americans. But whatever their reasoning, the citizens of Washington seem less concerned about tomorrow's battle than President Madison is. He hopes they're right to carry on. First Lady Dolley Madison walks into the room with a sympathetic smile and some tea. She says her husband looks like he hasn't slept in days. President Madison tells her about the pressure he's under. It's hard enough fighting a war at the edges of the country, let alone one mile from home. He's not one to ever admit when he's done something wrong, but he has a creeping feeling he made a mistake going to war with the British. Dolly assures him they're going to be fine. She reminds him that the early estimates seem to have been correct and tomorrow the American militias will outnumber their opponents four to one. They've beaten the British before, and they'll do it again. Madison exhales and gives her a relieved smile. He asks Dolly if she's really sure. She says yes, 100%, so much so that she she will have a feast waiting for him and his generals when they return from the battlefield. But for now, tea will have to do. She pours Madison a cup and he drinks it slowly, trying to let go of his stress. Dolly says he should get some sleep. Tomorrow's supposed to be a scorcher. He's going to need it.