During the war 1812, this city was Britain's capital in North America

The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington, D. C., the capital of the United States, during the War of 1812. On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross burned down multiple buildings, including the White House (then called the Presidential Mansion), the Capitol building, as well as other facilities of the U. S. government.[3] The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada. The Burning of Washington marks the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a foreign power has captured and occupied the United States capital.