The War of 1812 began with an attack on Canada. A serious northern-front invasion of the United States, including New York, was prevented. General William Henry Harrison's forces did manage to kill Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. Admiral Cochrane's unsuccessful invasion of Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner. The British hoped to cut off American use of the Mississippi River with an invasion of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson's ragtag army soundly defeated the British in New Orleans on January 8, 1815.