Brings to life the burning of the White House in 1814 by the British who marched through Washington setting fire to government buildings, in a book that revisits the events that led to the burning and its immediate aftermath.

The pirate -- Mighty little Madison -- Hello, Dolley -- Dueling strategies -- Knickerbockers -- Torpedo -- Chesapeake fever -- Snubbed by Dolley -- Atrocious Hampton -- Dear Dolley -- The White House -- Hospitality and hostility -- Noses for news -- Not your average news day -- Superabundant force -- Twenty thousand reinforcements -- Hanging Madison -- Invasion -- The British are coming -- Spyglasses -- Bladensburg races -- Capitol conflagration -- White House inferno -- Displaced or conquered? -- Phoenix spices -- Phoenix multitude -- White House phoenix -- Dawn's early light -- Relocating the capital city -- Poor Mrs. Madison -- President's Club -- Uplifting news -- Rise of the First Lady -- Epilogue.