In 1814, as the British burned the capital, refugees from Washington and Georgetown poured into Brookeville and the townspeople took them into their homes. American soldiers leaving Bladensburg and militiamen on their way to Baltimore came to Brookeville, where the citizens gave them food and spirits and a place to camp and pasture their horses. Washington’s banks sent the specie and clerks brought the U.S. Senate’s papers to Brookeville for safekeeping. And finally, after being on the run in northern Virginia for two nights, the President of the United States and members of his Cabinet came to Brookeville, taking refuge at the home of its postmaster. The town became known as the “U.S. Capital for a Day.”