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THE CAPITOL DOME In September, Patrick Magruder himself called for a House committee to investigate the loss of records and to ascertain the House contingent expenses, so that the clerk might be credited the amount paid. 28 Later, Magruder probably regret- ted the request, as the committee reported in December that, since the clerks had waited until August 22 to pack up, "due precaution and diligence were not exercised to prevent the destruction and loss which has been sustained." And concern- ing George Magruder's claim of $50,863 in House expendi- tures, the number was "very great and unprecedented," espe- cially since the colonel seemed unable or unwilling to specify the accounts involved. Instead, they determined the amount should be $30,933. 29 Writing to Speaker of the House Langdon Cheves, Patrick Magruder refuted the charges. When he left the city to recover his health, which was "worn down by a constant and assiduous attention to his official duties," the force of the enemy was not sufficient "to justify an expectation of an attack on the seat of Government." 30 And, in fact, his clerks, Frost and Burch, "gentlemen of respectability and truth," did exercise the "proper degree of diligence and precaution for the preservation of the papers appertaining to the office of the House and of the library of Congress." While it was unfortunate that George had not kept a duplicate of the financial records, Patrick found accusations of "deficiency and default in his accounts" an added "cruelty to that pain which the undersigned has already suffered from the loss sustained in his office." 31 In January 1815, the investigatory committee amended their earlier concern. is time, they determined that the error was not so much in the delay in packing, but in the "neglect to provide the means of transportation, which might have been done by the clerk who remained in the office, or any agent employed for the purpose." 32 ey also found that George Magruder had mismanaged the accounts, allowing the credi- tors to overcharge the House without sufficient explanation. 33 Furthermore, they moved to consider a resolution to remove Magruder as House clerk. 34 Before the House voted on his removal, however, Magruder reluctantly submitted his resignation. In another letter to the Speaker, he did not mention the loss of papers or books, but maintained his innocence regarding the contingent funds, claiming that the expense payments had been "faithfully disbursed" by his brother, the principal clerk. He especially regretted the blow to his reputation by those whom he had once called his "political friends," and wished his successor, "an easier and happier time in the discharge of his duties." With that, he retired to his wife's family estate in Virginia, holding firm the belief that, "truth is great, and will prevail." 35 In the course of the House committee's investigation, the members requested information from several executive departments concerning the loss of their official records. The Treasury reported that, "All the essential books of the Treasury were removed to a place of safety." 36 The War Department, the Department of State, and other offices reported similar acts of preservation. Interestingly, the House commit- tee did not consult the clerk's counterpart, the secretary of the Senate. Attracting no scrutiny, that office's recovery efforts go unmentioned in the official records, save for a vague refer- ence to a man named Tobias Simpson. On March 1, 1815, Fig. 4. is 1814 or 1815 sketch of the fire-damaged House Chamber is credited to Giovanni Andrei. ARCHI T EC T OF T HE C API TOL 15