 The second spirit is allegedly that of a British soldier dressed in a uniform from the War of 1812 and carrying a torch.In August 1814, a combined British land and naval force captured Washington, D.C., and set fire to the White House, Treasury Building, Capitol, and other buildings in retaliation for the American looting of York, Upper Canada (now the city of Toronto) and the burning of the Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada after the Battle of York in 1813.The fires were put out only when a hurricane and tornado passed through Washington the following day, extinguishing the blazes.