Dolley Madison and the Lansdowne portrait (disputed)

Contemporary accounts credit First Lady Dolley Madison with ordering the removal of the Lansdowne portrait of George Washington from the Executive Mansion during the 1814 evacuation. Historians debate whether she personally seized the original portrait or whether later retellings embellished her direct role; museum records confirm the portrait was removed for safekeeping. The specifics of Dolley Madison's actions remain a subject of historical discussion.