Washington in Ruins.

The article discusses engravings created by artists George Munger and William Strickland depicting Washington, D.C. after it was burned by British forces during the War of 1812. The author examines the engraving's depictions of landscape, architecture, and the picturesque. The relationship between these stylistic elements and U.S. national identity, civic responsibility, and the body politic is explained. The causes of the War of 1812 are outlined at the outset of the article in order to note a lack of unity among Americans at the time.