Burning of Washington Navy Yard-- Part 2: Navy Yard Commander Thomas Tingey

From Greater Greater Washington  "Breakfast Links:  10 interesting facts about Navy Yard you probably didn't know"  Latisha Johnson.

6.  The entire Navy Yard complex was burned down (by Americans) in the War of 1812.

When the British thoroughly defeated American defenders at the Battle of Bladensburg outside of Washington, D.C. in 1814, they then entered the capital city.  The U.S. Secretary of the Navy ordered the Yard's commander, Thomas Tingey to set fire to the yard, and to three large ships being built there to prevent anything from falling into British hands.

He additionally ordered Tingey to save as much gunpowder as possible, but there wasn't enough manpower to do that.

Tingey had previously spent the last decade of his life overseeing the construction of the yard and to just destroy it like that didn't sit well with him, so he waited until the last possible moment, hoping the British could be beaten back.  They weren't stopped so he had to destroy his work.

--Brock-Perry