Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod. A show about the past, rediscovered.

In 1865, a black man named Paul Jennings published a book called A Colored Man's Reminiscences of Madison.

The book is a remarkable historical artifact. For one thing, scholars say it's the first White House memoir, telling behind-the-scenes tales

about President James Madison.

But here's what made the book so incredible.

Jennings, a household slave for the Madison family, challenged the legend of a white woman's

role in history.

And not just any white woman, the first lady, Dolly Madison.

The episode in question took place during the War of 1812, a not so little swabble between the British and the United

States over maritime rights. Two years into the war, on August 24th, 1814, British forces invaded

Washington, D.C., burning the Capitol and the White House.

Legend has it that Dolly Madison ordered the rescue of the White House's

famous portrait of George Washington,

cutting its frame so it could be whisked away

before the British arrived.

Newspapers reported that Madison herself

removed the portrait from the White House.

Her heroism and patriotism were widely celebrated.

But in his book, Jennings disputed the narrative that has persisted to this day

even after he said it wasn't so.

This is what he said actually happened.

In August of 1814, things were tense in the Capitol.

...