The Humiliation of Washington DC in 1812

The British didn't just burn Washington DC in 1812, they executed the most humiliating

military defeat in American history. While Napoleon was keeping most of Britain's forces

busy in Europe, a small British expedition sailed up the Chesapeake Bay with just 4,000

troops. What happened next was absolutely embarrassing for America. The British landed

and marched straight toward the capital. At Bladensburg, they encountered 7,000 American defenders.

You'd think those odds would favor the Americans, right? Wrong.

The American militia took one look at the advancing redcoats and ran. They literally abandoned

their positions so fast that the battle became known as the Bladensburg Races.