British troops ransacked, torched White House and Capitol.

It took another 6 months or so to kick their butts at the Battle of New Orleans although the war was over by then we just didn't know it. Those pesky ships were slow.

Very interesting perspective. I've been all around there but never visited. I've had the opportunity to fly off the levee at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans a few times and see the area by air.

Speaking of burning the White House. When Bush I was president, I went there and they were taking the Stucco off the sides of the White House to reapply it and underneath you could still see the scorch marks from the burning. Have some photographs of it in a photo album somewhere (pre-digital camera).

Rabid Cougar said:

---

Speaking of the Battle of New Orleans. If you ever go to Gulf Shores, Mississippi and visit Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, you would be able to image 50 Royal Navy warships anchored off it shoreline and 11,000 British soldiers camped there...

Was used as the British base of operations for the invasion up the Mississippi River.

---

interesting, didn't know this. Boy they are lucky a hurricane didn't hit or they'd be SOL on that island.

I remembered seeing pictures of the White House Reconstruction which took place from 1949-1952 and looked it up. Talk about a remodeling job. White House Reconstruction.

One of the contributing factors of the near collapse of the 2nd floor in 1948 was that when they rebuilt it in 1817 they reused scorched wood framing.

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/August_Burning_Washington.htm

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2012/05/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-the-first-library-of-congress/

Some interesting background.

Rabid Cougar said:

---

Speaking of the Battle of New Orleans. If you ever go to Gulf Shores, Mississippi and visit Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, you would be able to imagine 50 Royal Navy warships anchored off its shoreline and 11,000 British soldiers camped there...

Was used as the British base of operations for the invasion up the Mississippi River.

---

Great photo. Those beaches look great. I was checking out a ferry service just now and it looks like it is only available on Wednesdays for the rest of the season. Beaches look great

BQ78 said:

---

Speaking of burning the White House. When Bush I was president, I went there and they were taking the Stucco off the sides of the White House to reapply it and underneath you could still see the scorch marks from the burning. Have some photographs of it in a photo album somewhere (pre-digital camera).

---

That's pretty awesome!

Quote:

---

reused scorched wood framing.

---

We learned in our Wood Science 311 class that slightly charred lumber is more structurally sound than some metal framing.

Rabid Cougar said:

---

Speaking of the Battle of New Orleans. If you ever go to Gulf Shores, Mississippi and visit Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, you would be able to imagine 50 Royal Navy warships anchored off its shoreline and 11,000 British soldiers camped there...

Was used as the British base of operations for the invasion up the Mississippi River.

---

Next door to Ship Island is Cat Island. Prior to the Battle of NO, the island was occupied by a Spanish land grant recipient, Juan de Cuevas. He is know to have fired the first shots at the British prior to the battle in Dec. 1814. The Island was named Cat Island because they couldn't tell the difference between cats and raccoons.

Do you remember why, that seems counter-intuitive?

BQ78 said:

---

Do you remember why, that seems counter-intuitive?

---

from the textbook: Forest Products and Wood Science an Introduction
John Haygreen and Jim Bowyer

Chapter 11 Deterioration of wood and wood products

Heat and Fire pg 267

In a burning piece of wood the carbon char left after the volatile gases are driven off tends to increase in thickness over time but at a decreasing rate. Since wood and char are good thermal insulators, the rate of heat transfer to the interior wood decreases as the char thickens. Eventually, the heat transferred inward may be insufficient to produce and drive off flammable gases.

Because of this self-insulating behavior of burning wood, heavy timbers such as glue-laminated beams or solid-sawn timbers provide excellent fire resistance.

Thanks, my brain fogged over trying to read it but it has to be right because-- SCIENCE!

jwoodmd said:

---

ABATTBQ87 said:

---

BQ78 said:

---

Do you remember why, that seems counter-intuitive?

---

from the textbook: Forest Products and Wood Science an Introduction
John Haygreen and Jim Bowyer

Chapter 11 Deterioration of wood and wood products

Heat and Fire pg 267

In a burning piece of wood the carbon char left after the volatile gases are driven off tends to increase in thickness over time but at a decreasing rate. Since wood and char are good thermal insulators, the rate of heat transfer to the interior wood decreases as the char thickens. Eventually, the heat transferred inward may be insufficient to produce and drive off flammable gases.

Because of this self-insulating behavior of burning wood, heavy timbers such as glue-laminated beams or solid-sawn timbers provide excellent fire resistance.

---

Structurally sound and fire resistant are not the same thing. You originally stated more structurally sound.

---

Char thickens the board; if you want to argue dig up Dr Soltis and ask him to explain it