Transcripts For CSPAN3 American Artifacts 20140901 : vimarsa

As the battle of bladensburg is winding down. A note sent by James Madison as hes departing are attlefield that things going very badly at bladensburg. Has collapsed and washington is in grave danger. Recommends that she leave add once. Now dolly had been making the rations, a number of belongings belongings had been packed up to wagons and carriages. Same time, she had insisted on not conveying a panic but ordered that dinner be set for the president other officers and visitors that might be coming ink to the white house later the day. Setting up there dining room and meantime, in the theres panic out streets as word of whats going bladensburg spreads and the streets are starting to fill p with refugees trying to get out of town. Makes last dison preparations at the white house. Message from the president madison. Among the things that she spots is the ast minute ortrait of george washington, portrait that was life size. It took on an iconic status in the united states. Washington had been dead for 15 years at this point. Visitors would come to the at this portrait of first president. Dolly madison grasped at once to llow the portrait to fall into british hands would be adding insult to injury. And so she instructs the madison and slave, Paul Jennings the gardiner, tom mcgraw, to get the portrait down off of the wall. This proves to be quite difficult. Dolly madison gets credit for portrait of george washington. But it should be noted that she point, y leaves at this being urged by some citizens and thers who are saying that she was in great danger, need to leave needed to leave immediately. She takes some of the silver and other belongings with er and gets in a carriage and rides up to georgetown leaving ennings and some of the other servants to get the portrait down, which they manage to do help of a hatchet. Saved by it would be the businessmen in new york that came by and secured a wagon and away to maryland for safekeeping. President mad zorn arrives a it the white house at 4 00 in the afternoon. Dolly is left. He takes a last look around the lace, hes acaned by a couple of aides. Hes exhausted. Whoed ha been riding out on horseback out to battlefield, come under rocket fire, come back to the white house. The an only imagine what thoughts are this moment. This is a nation that he helped to conceive. Been the Guiding Light behind the constitution and now, americas great enemy, great britain, had a clear path, on its way into washington. By this time there were a lot of soldiers had been away from homes for about three to four years. And they were sending letters the farm is falling to pieces. We have patrollers in the area. Us. re taking supplies from when are you going to come home . A large problem with desertions. It wasnt desertions of the tandpoint of soldiers not wanting to go to battle, but the heart strings are being pulled by the families needing needing them back home. And so what lee had imposed was fairly strict set of orders hat desserters would be sometimes shot and definitely the punishments or theres several several occurrences this happening. N fact, the morale was so low misarables time les came out in book form at that time. Here were several confederate troops, an enrichment shop, saw t on the shelf and said, oh, thats us. Lees miss rbls. Every weekend with the 150th anniversary of the civil war with the series about the people and the evens that shape the saturday at 6 00 and 10 00 p. M. Next on American History tv, author William Kristol discusses the advice gleaned from founding fatherspersonal correspondence, and its relevance, particularly advice past by Alexander Hamilton and john adams to their own families, and why that forged the american identity. The Fraunces Tavern hosted this event. I am glad to be with you, although we are not technically in Fraunces Tavern. So many incredible things happened, if you know the story of the american revolution. You realize this is where general washington said good by to some of his principal senior officers. This is the place exactly a week before colonel burr and general hamilton face one another in a dual duel that the society of cincinnati met, and the set next to each other with all this impending. Burr was somewhat sullen. Hamilton was quite animated and was induced to sing his favorite song, and old martial song called the drum. I love the way it ends