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| commander1 = Robert Ross George Cockburn | commander2 = Philip Stuart〔National Archives and Records Administration. Congressional Series Set, ''Senate Claims Report Number 119'', 24th Congress, 1st Session, Volume 280.〕 | strength1 = 4,250 | strength2 = 7,640 | casualties1 = 1 killed, 3 wounded (Colonial Marines) 3 unknown wounded | casualties2 = Unknown | campaignbox = }} The Burning of Washington in 1814 was an attack during the War of 1812 between British forces and those of the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings, including the White House (known as the ''Presidential Mansion'' at the time), and the Capitol, as well as other facilities of the U.S. government.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_classroom/classroom_4-8-history-war.html )〕 The attack was in part a retaliation to American actions in the Raid on Port Dover and the Battle of York. It marks the only time in U.S. history that Washington, D.C. has been occupied by a foreign force. ==Reasons for the attack== The British government, absorbed in a life-or-death struggle with Napoleonic France, adopted a defensive strategy against the United States when the Americans declared war in 1812. Re-inforcements were held back from Canada and reliance was instead made on local militias and native allies to bolster the British Army in the Canadas. However, after the defeat and exile of Napoleon Bonaparte in April, 1814, Britain was able to use its now available troops and ships to prosecute the war with the United States. In addition to reinforcements sent to Canada, the Earl of Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, dispatched an army Brigade and additional naval vessels to Bermuda, from where a blockade of the American coast and even the occupation of some coastal islands had been overseen throughout the war. It was decided to use these forces in raids along the Atlantic seaboard to draw American forces away from Canada. The commanders were under strict orders, however, not to carry out operations far inland, or to attempt to hold territory. Early in 1814, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's North America and West Indies Station, controlling naval forces based at the new Bermuda dockyard and the Halifax Naval Yard which were used to blockade American Atlantic ports throughout the war. He planned to carry the war into the United States by attacks in Virginia and against New Orleans. Rear Admiral George Cockburn had commanded the squadron in Chesapeake Bay since the previous year. On June 25 he wrote to Cochrane, stressing that the defenses there were weak, and he felt that several major cities were vulnerable to attack. Cochrane suggested attacking Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia. On July 17, Cockburn recommended Washington as the target, because of the comparative ease of attacking the national capital and "the greater political effect likely to result". An added motive was retaliation for what Britain saw as the "wanton destruction of private property along the north shores of Lake Erie" by American forces under Col. John Campbell in May 1814, the most notable being the Raid on Port Dover. On June 2, 1814, Sir George Prévost, Governor General of The Canadas, wrote to Cochrane at Admiralty House, in Bailey's Bay, Bermuda, calling for a retaliation against the American destruction of private property in violation of the laws of war. Prévost argued that, ...in consequence of the late disgraceful conduct of the American troops in the wanton destruction of private property on the north shores of Lake Erie, in order that if the war with the United States continues you may, should you judge it advisable, assist in inflicting that measure of retaliation which shall deter the enemy from a repetition of similar outrages.〔Cruikshank, ''Documentary History'', p.402〕 On July 18, Cochrane ordered Cockburn that to "deter the enemy from a repetition of similar outrages...." You are hereby required and directed to "destroy and lay waste such towns and districts as you may find assailable". Cochrane instructed, "You will spare merely the lives of the unarmed inhabitants of the United States". Ross and Cockburn surveyed the torching of the President's Mansion, during which time which a great storm arose unexpectedly out of the southeast. They were confronted a number of times while on horseback by older women from around Washington City and elderly Clergymen (Southern Presbyterian and Southern Baptist), with women and children who had been hiding in homes and churches. They requested protection from abuse and robbery by certain enlisted personnel from the British Expeditionary Forces whom they accused of having tried to ransack private homes and other buildings. Major-General Ross had two British soldiers put in chains for violation of his general order. Throughout the events of that day, a severe storm blew into the city, worsening on the night of 24 August 1814. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Burning of Washington」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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