A tornado touching down in Washington D.C is a fairly rare event, with only about 8 recorded over the past 200 years. One of the most famous instances occurred on August 25th, 1814 during the brief British occupation of the city during the War of 1812.
The British campaign to take our Nation’s Capital began on August 19th, 1814 with approximately 4500 regulars and marines landing in Benedict, Maryland, about 35 miles southeast of DC. The only American forces between them and the Capital were about 7000 troops (mainly militia) at Bladensburg. The British quickly routed the American troops to the outskirts of DC during the midday hours of August 24th, with most of the casualties a result of heat exhaustion after several days of hard marching in Maryland’s summer sun.
With all armed resistance out of its path, the British Army was free to march right into Washington D.C, where it promptly burned the Capitol Building and the White House. After camping for the night, the carnage resumed on the morning of August 25th as the British continued to set fire to government buildings throughout the city. Luckily, thunderstorms rolled into the area during the afternoon, preventing complete destruction of the city. While the torrential rain proved to be a blessing, putting out most of the fires, tornadic activity attacked British troops and Americans civilians alike. Significant structural damage was done to the residential parts of the city with numerous roofs blown off, houses leveled, and winds even lifting heavy cannons and moving them several yards away. At least 30 American civilians were wounded or killed by the storm with an unknown number of British casualties. Based on the damage, this was likely an EF-2 tornado with winds of 111-135mph.
The British forces took shelter from the storms on their ships, which also incurred heavy damage, until the weather subsided during the evening of August 25th. Content with the damage done to Washington DC, the army shifted the war north towards Baltimore where it battled a stout American defense as opposed to the elements. Although the weather did not necessarily force the British retreat, the torrential rains prevented flames from engulfing the city and the tornado kept the enemy from completely destroying the Capital.
Capture of the City of Washington, engraving by Paul de Rapin-Thoyras via US National Archives.
