The Battle of Bladensburg took place during the War of 1812, on 24 August 1814, at Bladensburg, Maryland, 8.6 miles (13.8 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. The battle has been described as “the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms,” a British army routed a combined U.S. force of Regular Army and state militia troops. The American defeat resulted in the capture and burning of the national capital of Washington, D.C., the only time that the city fell to a foreign invader.