British troops bombarded the Capitol and caused a fire in…

History1810sUnited Statesmedium confidence

British troops bombarded the Capitol and caused a fire in 1814, destroying many books in the Library of Congress.

Notes on verification

Confirmed by Library of Congress official exhibition, Architect of the Capitol records, and Wikipedia; consistent details across sources including date and volume count destroyed.

Sources

Library of Congress (britannica.com)
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/out-of-the-ashes/online-exhibition.html (loc.gov)
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/blog/most-magnificent-ruin-burning-capitol-during-war-1812 (aoc.gov)

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