Many Americans remember their high school history classes teaching them about the American Revolution. After the Battle of Yorktown, the British signed terms of surrender and the Colonies won their independence, end of the story. Right?
Well, there was actually another war between the US and England after the Revolution. The War of 1812 was a devastating rematch between the two nations. And, at one point, things got bad enough that the British burned down the White House. No, seriously.
The only thing that saved Washington, DC, strangely enough, was a freak occurrence that could have never been predicted: a tornado.
Background
The War of 1812 spilled over out of the year of its namesake and became a chaotic, confusing battle that resulted in numerous bizarre engagements. One such engagement in August of 1814 resulted in British forces, led by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, rampaging through the US capital, setting fires and devastating the city.
However, as they went on their rampage, the sky overhead was growing darker, and thick clouds were piling in. If you’ve ever lived in the Southeast, you know how bad summer storms can get in a short amount of time. The British soldiers, however, had no clue how powerful Southern storms could be.
They went about their grim work, putting buildings to the torch and ignoring the gathering storm. Just as soon as the British realized that a tornado was forming in the city, their numbers were scattered. Several soldiers died right away as the tornado whipped cannons, buildings, trees, and horses off of the ground. The survivors were sent flying all over the city, and the torrential downpour of rain extinguished the fires.
A Bizarre Freak of Nature
If you’re not from the DC area, you might be wondering just how often these powerful tornadoes must be hitting the city. After all, if one occurred out of the blue and devastated the British occupation, then they’ve got to be pretty common, right?
Well, not exactly. The incident is well-remembered because it was such an unusual occurrence. There have only been a handful of tornadoes ever recorded in the DC area, and this specific twister just happened to touch down as the British were beginning the destruction of the city.
The casualties from the storm were almost entirely British soldiers, and the raging fires that could have consumed the city were stopped by the rain. For the people of the young United States, the incident seemed like divine intervention. For the British, it seemed like this nightmarish country was allergic to them. Even the winds were trying to destroy them!
Aftermath
The war ended the next year when a treaty was struck between the two combatants. In history books, the War of 1812 is often remembered as a pointless conflict, a petty squabble that escalated into a messy and drawn-out affair.
And, indeed, one of the messiest battles of the war wasn’t fought between the British and the US, but instead between the British and the turbulent Southern weather of our capital. Who said that weather and history were boring?
