Acqunetta Anderson was conducting research for a family history book when she came across a set of documents about the Battle of Bladensburg, which took place during the War of 1812. One was a British map of the battle site and the other was an account of the battle written by Joshua Barney, a commodore in the U.S. Navy who helped defend—unsuccessfully—the nation’s capital from the British on August 24, 1814. After looking at the documents, a thought occurred to her: Could part of the battle have taken place in Washington, D.C.?