A new series of offenses were planned, launching attacks into the United States from Quebec into the northeastern states, a naval attack against Washington, and an attack from the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans. Of these offensives, the attack against Washington was the most successful. On 3 August 1814, a force of British soldiers landed in Chesapeake Bay and advanced quickly onto Washington with 4,000 Redcoats. American militia were no match for the British veterans of European battles, and President Madison and the Cabinet soon fled the city. In revenge for the American burning of York (now Toronto) in 1813, they burned many of the public buildings, including the Presidential Mansion. The Mansion was later repainted and became popularly known as the White House. The British considered attacking the better-defended city of Baltimore next, but after the death of the British General Robert Ross (and a tornado!), they returned to their ships and retreated to Jamaica. They considered the burning and looting a success – they certainly fared better than the other British offensives of 1814, such as Canadian Governor General George Prévost’s defeat at the Battle of Plattsburgh or the defeat at New Orleans (which technically occurred after the war had ended).

By 1815, the Treaty of Ghent ended the war and essentially returned the status quo for the British and Americans. The Aboriginals who occupied much of the western frontier, despite successfully fighting for the British, lost their defacto protection from American encroachment and quickly fell victim to American expansion. While no one “won” the war, the Aboriginals certainly lost it. Canadians, who had endured American occupation of Ontario and fought in the British militia, took the war as more proof that their loyalty to Britain was worthwhile.

The War of 1812 eventually took on mythological proportions, particularly for the descendants of the United Empire Loyalists – those British subjects who had settled in Canada after the American Revolutionary War and endured the War of 1812 as well. Many elites, largely centered in Upper Canada (Ontario), mythologized the successful defence of Canada. They first celebrated event such as the victory of Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights and repelling the American invaders as well as Laura Secord’s journey through the forest to warn British commanders of an impending attack. By the end of the 19th century, Canadian imperialists also marked the triumph of Canadian militia during the war.

The Imperialists emphasized their vision of a united Canadian nationality, attached to their British past, where French and English Canadians fought the American menace together. The Canadian history of the War of 1812 highlighted how Canada had shared the burden of imperial defence, which, in the late 19th and early 20th century, was an important political aspect of these myths. Missing is any mention of the supposed Canadian role in burning the White House. It’s clear that for that generation of Canadian Imperialists, the burning of the White House was not significant. The War of 1812 was all about the defence of Canada and the defeat of Americans on Canadian soil by a "united" Canada that included French and English, not about incursions into American territory.