MP3 of the Day

On this day in 1814, first lady Dolley Madison saved a portrait of George Washington from being looted by British troops during the war of 1812. President James Madison had left the White House on August 22 to meet with his generals on the battlefield, as British troops threatened to enter the capitol. Before leaving, he asked Dolley to gather important state papers and be prepared to abandon the White House at any moment. The next day, as British troops gathered in the distance, she decided to abandon the couple's personal belongings and save a full-length portrait of former president and national icon George Washington from desecration by British soldiers. Since the painting was screwed to the wall she ordered the frame to be broken and the canvas pulled out and rolled up. The task complete, Dolley left the White House and found her husband at their predetermined meeting place in the middle of a thunderstorm. Although the Madisons were able to return to Washington only three days later when British troops had moved on, it was not until 1817 that newly elected President James Monroe was able to move back into the reconstructed White House. British troops had set fire to the building. Today we have How Come You're Such A Hit With The Boys, Jane? by DOLLY MIXTURE.