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Photo From the Attic: After the Flames

[IMGCAP(1)]When British forces set fire to the Capitol in the evening hours of Aug. 24, 1814, the unfinished building consisted of two wings connected by a wooden causeway. This rare drawing of the fire-ravaged building by George Munger is considered one of the most significant and compelling images of the early republic. Munger is also famous for his watercolor of the burned White House. Both pictures were purchased from the Munger family by the Library of Congress.

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