Bermuda’s Role in the Burning of Washington

Bermuda’s Washington Legacy

Few people walking through Bermuda’s Royal Naval Dockyard today would imagine that the Island once played an important role in a British military campaign that ended with Washington, D.C. in flames.

The War of 1812, fought between the United States and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815, grew out of disputes over maritime trade, the British impressment of sailors from American vessels and tensions over British territory in North America.

For Bermuda, however, the conflict demonstrated the extraordinary strategic value of its location.

Following Britain’s loss of its American colonies, Bermuda became increasingly important to the Royal Navy. Situated roughly 650 miles off the American coast, the Island offered Britain a secure naval base within striking distance of the eastern United States. Land for the Royal Naval Dockyard had been purchased in 1809, and although the complex was still developing, Bermuda was already becoming a vital base for British operations in the western Atlantic.

That strategic importance became dramatically apparent in the summer of 1814.

Thousands of British troops arrived in Bermuda, while a powerful Royal Navy fleet assembled at Murray’s Anchorage off St. George’s. Among the warships waiting there was HMS Tonnant, flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane.

In early August, the expedition sailed from Bermuda for the Chesapeake. Within weeks British troops would land in Maryland, defeat American forces at Bladensburg and march into Washington.

On August 24, they entered the American capital.

The Capitol was set ablaze, destroying the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives and the congressional library. British troops also burned the President’s House — today’s White House — along with the Treasury and other government buildings.

Contrary to popular legend, the President’s House was not subsequently painted white to hide scorch marks. Its sandstone exterior had already been whitewashed before the war.

The occupation was brief. A violent storm struck Washington the following day, bringing torrential rain and apparently at least one tornado. The British soon withdrew to their fleet, their raid complete.

Four months later, on December 24, 1814, Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent, bringing the conflict toward an end and beginning a gradual transformation in relations between the two countries.

For Bermuda, the Washington campaign marked an important moment in the Island’s emergence as a major British naval stronghold.

Bermuda may have been small, but in 1814 its position in the Atlantic placed it at the crossroads of history — and on the route to Washington.

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