Review of "Dolley Madison Saves George Washington," by Don Brown

Review of

Dolley Madison Saves George Washington, by Don Brown ISBN 9780544582446


Five out of five stars

Courageous when others were not

 One of the unverified statements of history is that Zachary Taylor was the first person to use the term “First Lady” to describe Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison. The phrase supposedly appeared in Taylor’s eulogy of Dolley Madison, one of the most popular presidential wives of all time. She was elegant, dignified and worthy of the role.

 However, this book is about her courage and resilience. When the British were marching on Washington, D. C. in 1814, the soldiers that were assigned to guard the capitol had all fled, along with nearly everyone else. When a messenger on a horse came charging in and said the British would be there shortly, she did not panic. Instead she ordered men to break the frame holding the painting of George Washington and entrusted the painting to two leading citizens. Only then did she leave Washington to be burned by the British forces.

 Dolley disguised herself as a simple farm girl so that she could successfully evade the British and avoid negative comments from Americans sick of the war. Once the war was over, she went back to being elegant and dignified. One of the most impressive women of American history, this book describes her courage under fire, both literally and figuratively.