During the War of 1812, its offices and printing plant were demolished by British forces as part of the burning of Washington on August 24, 1814.

The British commander during the burning, Sir George Cockburn, intentionally targeted the National Intelligencer and stated that "Be sure that all the C's are destroyed, so that the rascals cannot any longer abuse my name.

The Intelligencer supported the Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe administrations, and Gales and Seaton were selected as the official printers of Congress from 1819 to 1829.

Gales and Seaton flourished during the "Era of Good Feelings," a period of relative political complacency, but after Congress was split between the Whigs and Democrats, the partners lost their official patronage.

On November 30, 1869, the statistician and economist Alexander del Mar bought the paper for cash and merged it with the Washington Express.