Canada, New Orleans, and Washington expose a disordered land war

American land forces met Canadian communities that did not welcome invasion and proved capable wartime opponents. Parts of the American population treated the conflict as the Washington government's war, and some coastal communities even sold provisions to blockading British ships. New Orleans became a famous American victory, although the peace treaty had already been signed and a planned second British force was never tested there. British troops burned Washington, and the account links the city's weak defense to the horse-drawn gunboat scheme. Together these episodes show a war marked by strategic misjudgment and uneven preparation on both sides.