War of 1812, Part 36: By Dawn’s Early Light

As word spread across the country of the burning of Washington, Americans forgot their differences and rallied around the flag as Americans always do in a crisis. The mood of the nation quickly changed from despair and anger at the Madison administration to indignation and anger at the British. The anti-administration Albany Register wrote, “This is no moment for recrimination... Let one voice and one spirit animate us all, the voice of our bleeding country and the spirit of our immortal ancestors.” Even Alexander Hanson's Federal Republican, which had suffered so severely in the Baltimore riots of 1812 declared, “The fight will now be for our country, not for a party.”