On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British soldiers attacked Washington D.C. First Lady Dolley Madison waited at the White House, “watching with unwearied anxiety.” The British were only miles from the mansion when she decided to flee. 

Before Mrs. Madison left, she directed free and enslaved White House workers to save President George Washington’s portrait. Enslaved footman Paul Jennings later recalled that Jean-Pierre Sioussat, the steward, and Thomas McGrath, the gardener, helped whisk the painting to safety. The British torched the White House soon after, leaving it a burnt-out shell.

In 1817, the painting was returned to the rebuilt White House, where it still hangs today.