The Tayloes referred to the house as the Octagon, even though it only has six sides. The architectural style was part of the new country's tendency to reference traditional forms while developing its own styles.
On August 24, 1814, the British marched into Washington, D.C., and treated themselves to dinner at the White House before setting fire to it and other public buildings. Despite its proximity to the President's House, the Octagon was spared.
]Why?
Possibly because the French Minister, Louis Serrurier, was leasing the house at the time. "The French flag was flying over the residence." Fortunately, the French and British were not then at war as they had been much of the previous twenty years.
After the British left, Madison pledged to rebuild the city and to prove it, took up temporary residence in Tayloe's Octagon. Tayloe was a Federalist and opposed to the war, but nonetheless, offered it to the First Couple. They moved in on September 1814, and Dolley resumed her lavish entertaining that had become so popular.
The Party Continues. --Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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