[WAR OF 1812]. The Lynchburg Press. British destroy Washington, D.C. Lynchburg: Haas & Lamb, 8 September 1814. Vol. VI, No. 19. 4pp., folio (495 x 311 mm), pages separated, light soiling and spotting. THE FATE OF WAR HAS BEFALLEN ON THE CITY OF WASHINGTON. The British invaded Washington, D.C. on 24 August 1814 during the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812 in part as a retaliation for prior American actions in British-held Upper Canada. A British army led by Major-General Robert Ross set fire to multiple government and military buildings that night including the Presidential Mansion and the U.S. Capitol. The invasion lasted 26 hours and was the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the capital of the United States. The article describes the events in detail including President James Monroe’s active role in the fight: “The President of the U.S. was not only active during the engagement which took place with the enemy, but had been exerting himself for 2 or 3 days previous, and has been personally active ever since. Everyone joins in attributing to him the greatest merit.”