William Beanes resistance in the Battle of Bladensburg, northeast of the Capital along the upper Eastern Branch stream of the Anacostia River on August 24, 1814. After a decisive victory by the British they continued to Washington and burned most of the city's public buildings, including the White House, The Capitol, the Navy Yard, and various other Federal buildings and structures in retaliation for the earlier American Burning of York, the capital of Upper Canada (later called Toronto, capital of the Province of Ontario) the year before. On their return trip back to their ships they again stopped briefly at Upper Marlboro.
Treason Act 1814 became simply hanging, which was the method of execution for murder. The original penalty for women was to be drawn to the place of execution and burned at the stake. Burning was abolished by the Treason Act 1790 in Great Britain and by the Treason by Women Act (Ireland) 1796 in Ireland. The 1814 Act also permitted the King to authorise the use of an alternative method, beheading, which was not abolished until 1973 (although obsolete long before then). The Act was amended by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 when the death penalty was abolished and replaced with imprisonment