In August 1814, many Washington residents fleeing the British invasion converged on Brookeville, which also provided a haven for hungry soldiers heading for Baltimore after the American defeat at Bladensburg. On August 26, an exhausted President Madison arrived at the home of postmaster Caleb Bentley, where supper and lodging were prepared for him and his companions. As Henrietta Bentley said, "It is against our principles to have anything to do with war, but we receive and relieve all who come to us." A warning that an attack was imminent also prompted the safekeeping of important national documents outside the city, and Senate papers and money from Washington banks were sent to Brookeville.
