1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of ironic. Our first president, George Washington, 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,120 Speaker 1: never lived in the White House, and in fact, he 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,959 Speaker 1: never even lived in Washington, d C. And while his 4 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: iconic portrait hangs in the East room of the White House, 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: get this, the building wasn't originally called the White House, 6 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 1: and that portrait was actually a copy of the eighteenth 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: century original. But the saving of it during the War 8 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: of eighteen twelve energized American patriotism. I'm Patti Steele. She 9 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: was the ultimate influencer of her time. First Lady Dolly 10 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: Madison had nerves of steel and she had vision. That's 11 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:44,639 Speaker 1: next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. With 12 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: everything going on in Washington, DC these days, we forget 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: that the city, created by an Act of Congress, has 14 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: been a hotbed of national emotion since it became the 15 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: US capital in eighteen hundred. When George Washington was made 16 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: president in seventeen eighty nine, he lived in a number 17 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: of different houses in our first capital, New York City, 18 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: and then a couple more in Philadelphia, which was the 19 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: capital from seventeen ninety to eighteen hundred. The White House, 20 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: or as it's been called over all those years. The 21 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: President's House or Executive Mansion, wasn't finished until after John 22 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: Adams became our second president, and he only lived there 23 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: starting November first, eighteen hundred, for his last four months 24 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: in office. When Adams was there, the President's House was 25 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: painted a pale gray yellow look, but because most of 26 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 1: the buildings around it at that time were red brick, 27 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,680 Speaker 1: folks took to informally calling it the White House. Then 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: just twelve years later, the War of eighteen twelve broke out. 29 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: By summer of eighteen fourteen, British forces were moving closer 30 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: to their objective, capturing and burning Washington, d C. Okay, 31 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: it's August twenty fourth, eighteen fourteen. The heat is sweltering, 32 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: and you can add two that the mounting dread in 33 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: the nation's capital. As news reached Washington the British troops 34 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: were advancing, there was total panic in the city. Officials 35 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: scrambled to evacuate, taking with them as many important documents 36 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: and valuables as they could possibly manage. President James Madison 37 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: had already left to join American troops in the field. 38 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: His wife Dolly, stayed back to oversee the evacuation of 39 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: the White house or executive mansion. Now here's the thing. 40 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: Dolly Madison was no ordinary first lady, known for her charm, 41 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: intelligence and powerful will. The public absolutely adored her, but 42 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: her job on this day would test her strength. She 43 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: had made the difficult decision to stay in the house 44 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: as long as possible, trying to save as many national 45 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: treasures as she could. But as the sound of approaching 46 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: British troops closed in, Dolly urgently directed the staff to 47 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: move furniture, gathered documents, and pack up valuables. It was 48 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 1: total chaos, but one of them caught her eye, a 49 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: full length portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stewart. 50 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: It actually was a copy by Stuart of an original 51 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: painting he'd created in seventeen ninety six for believe it 52 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: or not, a British aristocrat. But the portrait was more 53 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: than just a painting of our first president. It was 54 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: a powerful symbol of huge sentimental and historic value. Dolly 55 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: knew it couldn't fall into the British hands. Now. The 56 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: problem is the framed painting was over eight feet tall 57 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: and more than five feet wide, and the frame itself 58 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: was bolted to the wall. There was no time to 59 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: carefully take it apart, So Dolly ordered the frame to 60 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: be broken apart and the canvas removed and rolled up 61 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: and taken away. It was the only way to save 62 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: the iconic image of George Washington. Finally, with the portrait 63 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: secured and as many valuables as they could carry, Dolly 64 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: reluctantly fled the White House. She left behind a note 65 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: for her husband in case he should return, detailing the 66 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: evacuation and her sorrow at leaving the house to the 67 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: fate of the British. The mansion stood silent, dark and empty. 68 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: When British troops arrived in Washington that sultry night, they 69 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: found the city mostly abandoned, the White House empty, and 70 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: the American symbol of resistance, the portrait of George Washington gone. 71 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: They set fire to the White House, and flames quickly 72 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: ate through it, turning the building into a blazing inferno 73 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: with heat that was so intense it actually melted the 74 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: glass and caused the building's walls to crack. The British 75 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: also targeted other key government buildings that night, including the 76 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: Capitol and the Treasury. As the fires raged, the burning 77 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: buildings of the brand new capital gave off an eerie glow. 78 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: Smoke filled the air, and the few city residents still 79 00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: there watched as their capital was reduced to ashes. So 80 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: the British burned the White House that sultry night and 81 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: managed to almost completely destroy the building and the city. 82 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: As dawn broke on August twenty fifth, the British, having 83 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: achieved their goal, withdrew from Washington. The fires continued to smolder, 84 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: leaving behind a scene of ruin and desolation, but again 85 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: they didn't capture the prized portrait. And what actually lit 86 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: a fire, so to speak, under American patriotism, was the 87 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: saving of that portrait. Dolly Madison's actions would become legendary, 88 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: and as news of her bravery spread, she was called 89 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: a national hero. Saving George Washington's portrait became a symbol 90 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: of defiance against the British and of the enduring American spirit. 91 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: As far as the White House goes, the Madisons were 92 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: never able to move back in after the fire because 93 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 1: James Madison left office after his second term ended in 94 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: eighteen seventeen, and it wasn't until later that same year 95 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: the house was finally finished enough to be habitable. That's 96 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: when it was painted white, but it wasn't until nineteen 97 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: oh one that President Teddy Roosevelt directed all staff to 98 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: formally refer to the Executive Mansion as the White House 99 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: from then on. The portrait of George Washington that Dolly 100 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: Madison had saved, again actually a copy done by the 101 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: original artist, Gilbert Stewart, was restored to the East Room 102 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: in the White House, where it has hung ever since. 103 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: The original portrait spent over one hundred and seventy years 104 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: in England and was finally purchased by our National Gallery 105 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: in Washington in two thousand and one. Now, ironically, Gilbert 106 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: Stewart the artist was a British loyalist during the Revolution 107 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: and he spent the war years away from the US. 108 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: He returned just a few years before painting one of 109 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: the greatest symbols of American strength, and Dolly Madison sealed 110 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: that nation. I hope you like the backstory with Patty Steele. 111 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: I would love it if you would subscribe or follow 112 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel 113 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: free to dm me if you have a story you 114 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: would like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele, 115 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: and on Instagram, Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The 116 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, 117 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our 118 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 119 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: Feel free to reach out to me with comments and 120 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,920 Speaker 1: even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and 121 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the 122 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't 123 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: know you needed to know.