British don't take Washington, DC

[Knight Of Armenia]

I've been watching that "War of 1812" on the History Channel, and I got an idea: what if the British had been delayed a day in taking Washington? If the capital's defenders had been able to hold the British out long enough, then the hurricane/tornado combo would have annihilated them, rather than the British. So, say, Dolly Madison is killed, Washington is in rubble, and the British army celebrate this as proof that God supports them. What now?

 

[Melvin Loh]

No White House ?

Well, in this scenario, would there still have been a White House as the US presidential palace had the British not captured D.C. and burned down the Pres' residence ?

 

[David S Poepoe]

I've been watching that "War of 1812" on the History Channel, and I got an idea: what if the British had been delayed a day in taking Washington? If the capital's defenders had been able to hold the British out long enough, then the hurricane/tornado combo would have annihilated them, rather than the British. So, say, Dolly Madison is killed, Washington is in rubble, and the British army celebrate this as proof that God supports them. What now?

I watched the same show and thought it a fairly balanced - tho still tipped in favor of the Americans - presentation. The hurricane/tornado probably wouldn't have done any more damage than was done historically. One would have to determind which buildings already damaged by the British were weakened to the point that the storm accomplished to destroy them.

What would have been a little more interesting would be WI the Baltimore campaign had occured August 24th, rather than September 11? Baltimore was able to get its act together since it didn't want to be put to the torch like Washington, so what if it was the other way around?

 

[Knight Of Armenia]

Well, David, that is one of the points; Washington would still be destroyed, but the British would have not done anything to actually destroy it. Plus, this would have an additional 4,000 British troops available for the assault on Baltimore (which wouldn't have seen what happened to Washington to stir the people).

 

[David S Poepoe]

Well, David, that is one of the points; Washington would still be destroyed, but the British would have not done anything to actually destroy it. Plus, this would have an additional 4,000 British troops available for the assault on Baltimore (which wouldn't have seen what happened to Washington to stir the people).

But we know that the damage was minimal even after the British went over the place. So it would be save to consider that an undamaged Washington would fare just a little better, even given the tornado. No government buildings, at least linked with the Capitol and the White House were destroyed. There is also no detail given as to where IN Washington the twister touched down.