American Historical Trivia

Dolley Frickin' Madison

I'll talk about the First Ladies a lot because the majority of them are just as -if not more so- wonderful as their husbands. Take Dolley Madison, for example.

Maddy's presidential terms were severed right in the middle with the War of 1812. Now while many know the devastation the British caused through this war, they could've caused a hell of a lot more.

In June of 1812, some guy came into the White House and was like "Jemmy, you won't believe it. The British are on their way to the Capitol. We gotta do something."

James was like, "You're right. Get the horses ready, we gotta see what's going on." and then he kissed Dolley goodbye and left the White House. He met up with his Generals on the battlefield, but before he did this he made sure Dolley was ready in case the British made it to the White House.

He requested her to gather the important papers in the White House in case she had to flee. And Dolley's like, "Dude, go save the country I can hold down the fort." So he left, and while he was gone Dolley went around grabbing shit. She was ordering the servants to get stuff from all around the House.

At first, she was going to take all the expensive stuff- draperies and silver. But, then she realized that kind of stuff doesn't mean anything to the American people. With a spur of the moment decision, she ditched the luxuries and took down the portrait of George Washington instead (tagged as the header of the chapter).

Now this portrait was super hard to get off the wall, it was screwed to the wall and you couldn't just pull it off. But, Dolley was like, "We can't leave this shit behind." So she had her servants literally break the screwed frame away from the wall with brute strength and then smuggle it away before the British arrived.

By now it's close to morning and through a spy glass Dolley could see the slow approaching British Army. She's like, "Boys, we gotta go unless you wanna get fucked up." As she fled- important State documents in hand- she remembered one last thing to grab. The Declaration of Independence. At the last moment, as the British were almost on top of the White House, Dolley snatched one of the most important American documents to safety.

Successfully fled, Dolley abandoned the White House to be ransacked and burned down by the British soldiers. It is said the soldiers first ate dinner with the White House China, then robbed, destroyed, and burned the place.

So, Dolley marched- with all the saved belongings- to the rendezvous point where James waited. She literally traveled through a thunder storm to get to him. Through her acts of heroism she successfully saved some of the most treasured pieces of American history and certainly earned her title as First Lady.

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AN: I have to add one quick thing to this chapter, but I don't want to put it in the context of the story. The portrait of Washington that Mrs. Madison saved was actually a copy of the original piece. Although disappointing, Dolley had no idea it was not the original at the time. She was under the impression it was the real deal. Even if it wasn't the original, Dolley put her neck on the line to save it when she could've taken some of her and Jem's belongings instead. But, she didn't because she is an amazing American and human being.

I love the Madisons so much.

Jo