margaret baird smith was a woman of great repute, a noted writer, and margaret baird smith republished that letter. that's how we have the letter. we don't have her copy of it, we have the -- well, we do, but what people know is this printed version that margaret smith included in her portrait, or if you will, the first biography of dolley madison in 1834. i think that was a spin or a public relations campaign, which is why we have to treat it as that. that's why i say that her letter in december of 1814, to me, is better evidence than this famous letter school children still read. >> in the washington, d.c. tour guide. there's quite a few tour guides here. i have a question. this is not been mentioned at all. i understood, i learned that she not only saved the wonderful portrait of george washington, but she also saved her portrait. was that saved at the same time? i haven't heard nobody mention that. thank you. >> he may have evidence, i don't. i have no evidence for that whatsoever. i would put that down to rumor and conjecture. but i absolutely don't know. >> that's how most of us

margaret baird smith was a woman of great repute, a noted writer, and margaret baird smith republished that letter. that's how we have the letter. we don't have her copy of it, we have the -- well, we do, but what people know is this printed version that margaret smith included in her portrait, or if you will, the first biography of dolley madison in 1834. i think that was a spin or a public relations campaign, which is why we have to treat it as that. that's why i say that her letter in december of 1814, to me, is better evidence than this famous letter school children still read. >> in the washington, d.c. tour guide. there's quite a few tour guides here. i have a question. this is not been mentioned at all. i understood, i learned that she not only saved the wonderful portrait of george washington, but she also saved her portrait. was that saved at the same time? i haven't heard nobody mention that. thank you. >> he may have evidence, i don't. i have no evidence for that whatsoever. i would put that down to rumor and conjecture. but i absolutely don't know. >> that's how most of us

political commentator and writer margar margaret baird smith said, for who could partake of its contents offered them in a and retain a feeling to the interest of the bestower? in this way, dolley had henry clay on a kind of political string, as iwz were, while jame decided what to do. dolley's persona was firmly in place in washington city when the u.s. congress declared war on great britain in june 1812. shortly after the declaration, the president was in what we moderns would call a public relalgs relations nightmare. they recognized his position as such. william burrwel worried, quote, the difficulties of his situation have increased in a great degree. as far as burwel was concerned, madison's only hope lay an influence sentiment by some brilliant achievement. that's not a bad thought. but unfortunately, for james madison, the war went badly from the beginning so the madison's chance for a brilliant achievement lay with dolley, who took her symbolizing capacity to a new level. her brilliant achievements were not the dramatic stuff of military victories and battles at sea. their execu

this is by margaret baird smith. you already heard about her when holly gave her presentation. i'm going to read it. "50 men, sailors and marines were marched by an officer silently through the avenue each carrying a long pole to which was affixed a ball about the circum frens avalanche plate. when they arrived at the building --" and i honestly believe she's talking about the president's house but i can't be absolutely sure -- "each man was stationed at a window," interesting interesting, "with its pole and the wildfire against it." at the word of command -- you see some similarities -- at the same instant the windows were broken and this wildfire thrown in so that an instantaneous conflagration took place and the whole building was wrapped in flames and smoke. the spectators stood in awful silence. the city was light and the heavens reddened with the blaze." and down below you have two examples of what these fireballs would have looked like. these particular ones are not attached to a long pole but the one on the left is made out of clay, the one on the right is actually macr

political commentator and writer margaret baird smith saw it as "a most magical influence in soothing savage political breasts." she said "for who could partake of its contents offered them in a man sore cordial and gracious and retain a feeling inanymore mitt to believe the interest of the bestower?" this way dolly had henry clay on a kind of political string as it were while james decided what to do. dolley's persona was firmly in place in washington city when the u.s. congress declared war on great britain in june, 1812. shortly after the declaration, the president was in what we moderns would call a public relations nightmare. though the people at the time did not have the vocabulary, they recognized his dilemma as such. virginia representative william burwell worried to his wife that "the difficulties of his situation have increased in a great degree." as far as burwell was concerned, madison's only hope lay in influencing public sentiment by some brilliant achievement. that's not a bad thought. but unfortunately for james madison, the war went badly right from the beginning to t

this is by margaret baird smith. you already heard about her when holly gave her presentation. i'm going to read it. "50 men, sailors and marines were marched by an officer silently through the avenue each carrying a long pole to which was affixed a ball about the circum frens avalanche plate. when they arrived at the building --" and i honestly believe she's talking about the president's house but i can't be absolutely sure -- "each man was stationed at a window," interesting interesting, "with its pole and the wildfire against it." at the word of command -- you see some similarities -- at the same instant the windows were broken and this wildfire thrown in so that an instantaneous conflagration took place and the whole building was wrapped in flames and smoke. the spectators stood in awful silence. the city was light and the heavens reddened with the blaze." and down below you have two examples of what these fireballs would have looked like. these particular ones are not attached to a long pole but the one on the left is made out of clay, the one on the right is actually macr