[War of 1812] Likely the Earliest Broadside of this Catastrophic Event, Containing a Description of the Burning of Washington D.C. on August 24, 1814

"The enemy took possession of the city, burned the Capitol, the President's House, Treasury, and War Offices...but to give the Devil his due, his conduct here was as orderly as could have been expected..."

Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser
Baltimore, Monday Noon, August 29, (1814). Printed broadside in three columns, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (mm). Containing an extract of a letter describing the Burning of Washington, D.C. In part: "I am almost fatigued to death since Sunday last. I slept little, eat little, and marched till my feet are all blistered, and after the whole we are completely disgraced. The enemy took possession of the city, burned the Capitol, the President's House, Treasury, and War Offices, and some private houses--but to give the Devil his due, his conduct here was as orderly as could have been expected...About 400 of the British came in that evening and commenced the work of destruction..."
Disbound; untrimmed; scattered spotting.

Rare broadside printed by the Baltimore Patriot and Evening Advertiser containing a description, presumably from a letter of an American soldier, of the Burning of Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1814.

In the wake of the British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg, James Madison and the rest of the American government fled the Capitol, taking refuge in the nearby town of Brookville.

When British soldiers under the command of General George Ross entered the city of Washington, which was flying white flags of truce, the remaining Americans reportedly opened fire, killing two men and wounding Ross. This act, according to biographer John McCavitt, is what led Ross to first order the burning of the U.S. Capitol and the White House. British forces in the coming days would set fire to the Treasury building, the War Offices, the Washington Naval Yard, and even destroy the offices of the National Intelligencer, tearing it down brick by brick.

According to RBH, we cannot locate another copy at auction.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

[War of 1812] Likely the Earliest Broadside of this Catastrophic Event, Containing a Description of the Burning of Washington D.C. on August 24, 1814