Читать книгу First Ladies For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann, Marcus A. Stadelmann PhD - Страница 71

In 1812, war with Great Britain broke out. President Madison fled the city, but Dolley remained in the White House to evacuate it. She remained there until the last possible minute, evacuating many precious items, including a famous painting of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (see Figure 4-6). She even saved notes on the Constitutional Convention, cabinet papers, and the White House silver. This act saved many irreplaceable items in U.S. history, because as soon as the British arrived in Washington, D.C., they burned down the White House and the Library of Congress. The White House was totally destroyed by the British and had to be rebuilt. The Madison’s never moved back in. Instead, they leased a large house a few blocks away, and Dolley started entertaining right away.

Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Reproduction number LC-DIG-pga-03226 (digital file from original print)LC-USZ62-7585 (b&w film copy neg.)

FIGURE 4-6: The famous George Washington painting, saved by Dolley Madison.

This act turned Dolley into a national heroine. When she returned to Washington, D.C., thousands of people flocked to the streets to greet her.

When asked whether she had saved George Washington’s portrait, Dolley Madison said: “Our kind friend, Mr. Carroll, has come to hasten my departure, and is in a very bad humor with me because I insist on waiting until the large picture of Gen. Washington is secured, and it requires to be unscrewed from the wall. This process was found to be too tedious for these perilous moments; I have ordered the frame to be broken, and the canvass taken out it is done, and the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York for safe keeping.”