The US National Anthem commemorates a battle in the War of 1812. The US Military, which I served in, loves to hype up the War of 1812 as a "victory for our young nation." Most schoolchildren are taught that the War of 1812 is a source of national pride.
Why is this? By any object standard, the War of 1812 was a compete defeat for the USA.
The US invasion of Canada was repulsed by a much smaller Canadian Militia.
British/Canadian forces took Detroit in 1812 without firing a single shot.
In 1814, Canadian/British forces marched 400 miles south to Washington DC and managed to burn the White House.
By 1815, the British/Canadian Army had marched all the way south to New Orleans. Sure, Andrew Jackson managed to win a victory and prevent the City of New orleans from being taken, but given that the US forces had been pushed that far south in the first place, I can't see how that's something to be proud of.
Basically, the War of 1812 resulted in the United States being almost completely overrun by a British Canadian Army. Why then is it such a source of national pride in this country when any objective analysis of the War of 1812 would label it an American defeat?
I think a key misunderstanding here is that the British forces that attacked New Orleans didn't march from the north, they sailed in from the Gulf, and DC was raided from Chesapeake Bay by way of Bladensburg. The war was fought on several fronts, none of which ever met.