On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces occupied Washington after defeating an American army at the Battle of Bladensburg. In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas, the British set fire to federal buildings in the city, gutting the Capitol, Library of Congress, Treasury Building, and White House in what became known as the burning of Washington. The damage of the city's burning could have been more extensive, but a storm forced the British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours. Most federal buildings were repaired quickly, but the Capitol, which was then still under construction, was not completed in its current form until 1868.