The Taking of the City of Washington in America This London engraving celebrates Britain’s devastating attack on Washington in 1814. Troops fire cannons on the city while other redcoats burn ships and bridges. In the background, huge flames leap from the “Presidential Palace” (so named in the picture’s key). Some soldiers sought trophies of war. Above is James Madison’s medicine chest, plundered that night. In 1939, the souvenir was returned to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Engraving: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-31113; medicine chest: From White House collection, photo courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARA.