In the summer of 1814, the United States teetered on the brink of disaster, apparently headed for defeat in the war against Great Britain. British Admiral George Cockburn invaded Washington in a daring attempt to decapitate the government, burning down the White House and driving President James Madison from the city—a national tragedy that, as Washington Post war correspondent Steven Vogel explains, reunited America and renewed its sense of purpose. U.S. forces regrouped for a last-ditch defense of Baltimore, and the outcome would determine the fate of the fledgling republic.