British Embassy Celebrates Burning the White House 200 Years Ago, Apologizes

By Chris Good August 25, 2014

As it turns out, Americans don't like being reminded that British troops once set fire to the White House.

After joking about the anniversary of British troops invading Washington, D.C., and burning the White House in 1814, the British embassy in D.C. apologized Sunday night.

"Apologies for earlier Tweet. We meant to mark an event in history & celebrate our strong friendship today," read a message posted to the embassy's official Twitter account.

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Here's the original tweet that set off a backlash:

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf tweeted a good-natured reply:

But a minor backlash had already been stirred up.

Of course, some people thought it was funny, and that the embassy shouldn't have caved to the politics of outrage.

Which all goes to show: Once you tweet a photo of a sparkler-festooned cake commemorating the sacking of another country's seat of power, the Internet just doesn't want to let it go.

White House After The Fire Of 1814, "A View Of The Presidents House In The City Of Washington After The Conflagration Of The 24Th August 1814 ," By George Munger, Engraved By William Strickland. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica/UIG/Getty Images