WASHINGTON — The image of hundreds of people storming the U.S. Capitol building may be all too familiar for those who paid attention to history class.
Not since British soldiers burned a majority of Washington, D.C., to the ground during the War of 1812 has the U.S. Capitol been breached.
On that August night in 1814, British troops marched into the city, setting the building, along with several other local landmarks, ablaze, according to the U.S. Senate's website.
The fire that ensued reduced all but one building to rubble, including what was then the President's Mansion.
"Only a torrential rainstorm saved the Capitol from complete destruction," the Senate's website reads.
In the aftermath, the then-President James Madison arranged to have congress meet at a hotel until a new building was constructed.
On Wednesday, the Capitol was placed on lockdown as supporters of President Donald Trump marched inside the building, breaching police barricades. Members of Congress were forced to evacuate, delaying the certification of Electoral College votes.
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