in 1814, napoleon i abdicated the french throne. that freed up experienced british troops to be sent to north america. they burned the unfinished washington, dc, and also attacked baltimore. an american lawyer, francis scott key wrote a poem about the battle of baltimore. the poem was later used to give the words to a song that later became the us national anthem: "the star spangled banner." the war ended in 1815. the british attacked new orleans but were stopped by the americans under general andrew jackson.