Northern Ireland

Last person to lead attack on US Capitol was Co Down man in 1814

Major General Robert Ross from Rostrevor
Major General Robert Ross from Rostrevor Major General Robert Ross from Rostrevor

THE last person to lead an attack on the Capitol building was a Co Down man in 1814.

Major General Robert Ross from Rostrevor burned down public buildings in Washington during a war between British and American forces.

The British army officer led his troops to Washington and set fire to the Capitol, Washington Navy Yard and the White House.

Reports said Ross himself helped pile up furniture and kindling for the White House as he and his troops prepared to destroy the building.

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Less than a month later Ross was shot and killed in the Battle of Baltimore.

His remains were shipped to Halifax, Nova Scotia and embalmed in a cask of rum before being laid in the Old Burying Ground.

A granite obelisk was erected in Rostrevor in 1826 by the officers of Ross's American campaign troop with the help of gentry from Co Down.

It was placed on the spot where Ross had intended to live out his retirement on the shores of Carlingford Lough after the early nineteenth century wars.

The memorial was restored to its former glory in 2008.