On August 24, 1814, American and British forces battled at Bladensburg for three hours as President Madison, confident his troops would block the British advance on Washington, watched the enemy gain the field at the second defensive line. Hurrying to Washington, he sent word ahead to the first lady to save what she could and flee. That night, the British occupied and later burned the President's House. The president and members of his cabinet were at the battle, and Madison got ahead of American troops until an aide warned him the enemy was very close. Madison's attorney general, secretary of state, and secretaries of war and navy were dubbed the "flying cabinet" as they hastily retreated. First Lady Dolley Madison salvaged Gilbert's Stuart's portrait of George Washington, which hangs in the White House today.
