Most people would leave a burning building without toting large possessions. Not Dolley Madison. #WomensHistoryMonth The wife of the fourth president of the United States insisted on saving a portrait of George Washington when the British attacked the White House in 1814. A teenager enslaved by the Madisons from their days at Montpelier, Paul Jennings—as well as two others, a White House gardener and steward—completed the First Lady’s request, he later wrote in an autobiographical account. Ironically, Gilbert Stuart created a copy of the painting. Stuart also painted the original portrait, which hangs in the Smithsonian Institute; the one Madison rescued was returned to the White House, where it is still on display. 📸 : Mathew Brady, 1848/Library of Congress #historytidbit #virginiahistory #womenshistory #women