James and Dolley Madison were residents of the President’s Mansion in Washington, D.C., in 1812. James was President of the United States of America, and Dolley was his wife and hostess.

I once asked a high school class I was speaking to, when the War of 1812 took place. They didn’t know. But you know. It was in 1812! During the war, the British were marching toward Washington, D.C. President Madison decided he needed to go to the “front” to see what was transpiring with the fighting. He didn’t really trust his generals that much.

He advised Dolley that if the fighting got too close before he made it back home, she was to flee the city. He reminded her of the important papers in his study and asked he to safeguard those as well.

The fighting did get too close. James had not returned. Dolley began loading the wagon with some items, including those important papers James had warned her to protect. As she was leaving, she couldn’t stand the thought of the British burning the mansion and its furnishings and furniture. She was particularly fond of the full length painting by Gilbert Stuart of President George Washington, called the Lansdowne Painting, which hung in the East Ballroom.

That painting is an 8’ by 5’ oil showing George Washington, age 65, as he is renouncing running for a 3rd term as President. It is beautiful! So Dolley started to pull it down. It was, however, bolted onto the wall. So she got the servants to help her break the frame and cut it out in places and roll it up and put it into her wagon.

They got out of town just as the British invaded the city. They burned several buildings, including the Capitol, the Treasury Building, the Armory, and the President’s Mansion.

After America prevailed in that War, the Madisons returned to Washington, D.C. The President’s Mansion was rebuilt and painted white, hence The White House. The Madisons were able to restore that now famous Lansdowne Painting to the wall in the East Ballroom. It is one of the one the only possession that has been on continuous display at the White House since the War of 1812. You should be careful to look closely at it if you are fortunate enough to visit the building. It is fascinating, Even more so when you know some of the history behind it.

In preparing for this article, I learned that the painting now on display at the White House is not the original, but it is an original copy painted by Gilbert Stuart. The original is now at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. For more information look at Wikipedia.

In 2001, The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation funded the purchase, for $20 million, of the Landsdowne portrait. The Foundation donated an additional $10 million to provide a dedicated space for it at the National Portrait Gallery where it had previously been on loan.[3]