The War of 1812 (7 page)

Field officer, 49th Regiment.

[Courtesy of Parks Canada Service.]

Even though Brock was made aware of the American difficulties from deserters, he did not relax. He called up more militia to patrol the river. He organized a system of beacons to send messages across the peninsula from lake to lake. The weapons captured at Detroit were
distributed and the cannons mounted along the river. Niagara Dragoons were told to be ready at a moment's notice to carry messages. Each detachment of troops had orders to march to the aid of the others if they received a call for help. In short, these small forces were being organized in a professional way to provide effective defence.

By early October, Brock had fewer than 1,000 regulars, about 600 militia, and a reserve of perhaps 600 militia and Indians. American forces opposite numbered about 6,000, over half of them regulars. They had also been joined by over 100 Seneca Indians from New York State who had decided to abandon neutrality. Another 2,000 Pennsylvania militia were on their way. The commander of the Niagara frontier, General Stephen Van Rensselaer, now had no good reasons for delaying an attack.

Van Rensselaer's plan was to cross the Niagara River from Lewiston and capture the village of Queenston, which lay at the base of the Niagara Escarpment. Here, although the current was swift and the banks high, the river was narrow. Van Rensselaer wanted to gain control of the heights because this would cut the middle of Brock's defensive line. Queenston seemed vulnerable because, he knew, there were few troops there as Brock had concentrated forces at Fort George, Chippawa, and Fort Erie. Brigadier-General Alexander Smyth, who commanded 1,650 regulars at Buffalo, thought the plan foolish. He wanted to cross above the Falls, where the river was wider but calmer and its banks lower. Not getting his way, Smyth simply refused to co-operate with Van Rensselaer.

The omens for success were not good and they worsened on the night of October 10. The boats for the crossing were assembled opposite Queenston but the oars for them had to be brought upriver and the boat carrying them somehow ended up on the Canadian shore, whereupon the American officer in charge promptly disappeared! Brock knew of this abortive attempt but still thought the real attack would be against the extreme ends of his line, Fort George or Fort Erie.

The American invasion finally began about 4 a.m. on October 13. Three hundred militia under Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer (the general's cousin) and three hundred regulars under Lieutenant-Colonel John Chrystie quietly climbed into boats to be rowed across the river.

Re-enactors dressed as Indian warriors at Fort George, July 10, 1999.

[Courtesy of the author.]

A re-enactor as a member of The Corps of Artificers (The Coloured Corps).
[Courtesy of the author.]

This battle, like so many others, was not fought as the commanders on each side expected or planned. Three of the boats were caught by the current and carried downstream to the Canadian shore, their men becoming the first prisoners of the day. Other boats turned back. Not all the original force got across the river, but enough did to establish a small beachhead.

As the Americans landed and tried to climb up the steep river bank, they were shot at by the troops of the 49th and 2nd York Militia flank company. They could not advance up the steep and slippery slope in the face of this fire but neither could the defenders drive them away from the shelter of the bank. Casualties mounted, and they included Colonel Van Rensselaer who returned wounded to the United States, leaving Captain John E. Wool in command.

Boats continued to cross bringing reinforcements and taking back wounded as the sky grew brighter and the mist began to disappear. Meanwhile, American cannons above Lewiston battered Queenston with their shot. A British cannon placed halfway up the escarpment in a redan fired back, while another at Vrooman's Point (over a kilometre north of Queenston) shelled the boats. Even if a boat was not hit directly, it could be damaged and men killed by a cannonball skipping across the water.

At Fort George, Brock probably heard the noise of battle. He mounted his horse Alfred (given him by Governor Craig) and rode for Queenston telling militia units along the way to follow him. On arrival, he rode to the southern end of the village and may have gone up to the redan when, suddenly, American troops appeared above. Captain Wool had discovered a path leading up the rugged cliff, and his men, as they climbed it to the top, found no guards barring their way. A hail of musket fire drove the artillerymen down the hill, leaving the redan in American hands.

Brock did not know how long the Americans had been on the heights nor their strength there. He did know that unless he could drive them away and recapture that commanding position, the day could end in American victory.

In the village, Brock rallied his forces and, sword in hand, led them uphill. Slipping on the wet leaves, the British advanced while the Americans fired from behind trees and logs. Suddenly, one of the enemy stood up, aimed carefully, and fired. The ball hit Brock in the chest and he fell dying to the ground.

Brock's aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell, led
another charge. It too was thrown back and Macdonell was severely wounded. (He died the next day.) The British retreated, taking Macdonell with them but left Brock's body in a house in Queenston. They halted a kilometre or two north of the village to await help from Fort George. The Americans now controlled the heights above the village, and no force stood in the way of their advance down the escarpment. But they went no further that day. Despite their dramatic success, they did not gain a victory.

The Americans failed partly because of poor leadership: their troops were not sure exactly what they were supposed to do and were not given clear orders as the battle unfolded. There was no well-organized system of sending over reinforcements. Many New York militiamen began to claim they could not be forced to leave the state. As well, Captain William Holcroft deployed two six-pounder guns in the village and drove out the invaders while the cannon at Vrooman's continued firing at the few boats still attempting to cross.

Probably the main factor preventing a further American advance was the presence of Indians on the heights. These warriors from the Grand River, led by John Norton, skirmished with the Americans among the trees in the area where Brock's monument now stands on Queenston Heights. The Americans killed and wounded a few natives but did not drive them away, nor try very hard to do so. Some of the militia were so terrified they even tried to re-cross to their own side. Over there, panic ran through the militia ranks. The sight of wounded men being brought back and the sound of Indian war cries ended any desire they had to invade Canada. The American force on the heights, between 1,000 and 1,600 strong, was left on its own.

American delay gave General Sheaffe time to bring up troops and cannons from Fort George. He took most of his men inland around Queenston and up the escarpment. There he waited for forces from Chippawa. Between 3 and 4 p.m., he was ready with about nine hundred regulars and militia (York, Lincoln, and Captain Runchey's Company of Coloured Men) plus over two hundred Indians. They charged, and within minutes ended the battle. American losses were heavy: perhaps five hundred killed and wounded and more than nine hundred captured. By comparison, British and Indian casualties — nineteen killed, seventy-seven wounded, and twenty-one missing — were light.

The battle of Queenston Heights was the last big American attempt to invade Canada in 1812. The British victory gave a tremendous boost
to the morale of the defenders. Yet the price was high, for Brock had been killed.

The Niagara frontier.

[Reprinted from
The War of 1812: The War for Canada,
by W.B.
Turner (Toronto, Grolier Limited, 1982), p. 49.]

No other British commander inspired as much affection and respect. In the short time between June and October 1812, Brock had proven that the Americans could be beaten, that numbers alone meant nothing. He had set an example of determination to both British and Canadians. Sheaffe actually won the battle, but this achievement was overshadowed by Brock's foolishly heroic charge that led to his death.

One reason people came to idealize Brock was the contrast between his leadership and that of his successor. Sheaffe took over as commander of the forces and administrator of Upper Canada. He immediately proposed a three-day truce to allow each side to bury their dead, look after the wounded, and exchange prisoners. There was nothing unusual in making such a truce, but Sheaffe made the mistake of agreeing to continue it when the Americans asked. Many Canadians along the frontier thought this showed weakness and benefitted the Americans, who needed time to reorganize. They believed Sheaffe was willing to abandon Fort Erie and even retreat from the Niagara River. By December, several local leaders had lost confidence in him and put their thoughts in a letter to Prevost. Sheaffe never would be the dynamic, inspiring leader Brock had been.

Brock dying at the Battle of Queenston Heights

[Courtesy of the Archives of Ontario, S1 7866b.]

The Americans felt frustrated and discouraged because twice their armies had been beaten and captured by smaller British-Canadian forces. Yet they still had more troops than the defenders and could easily increase their strength. Van Rensselaer resigned the command to Brigadier-General Smyth, who proved even less capable.

Smyth ended the truce on November 20 as his forces increased to about five thousand men. At the end of the month, he made two separate attempts to invade Canada and bungled both. In the second effort, some 1,500 soldiers climbed into boats but Smyth recalled them before they could even cross the river. The men were wet, cold, tired, and hungry. No wonder some began shooting at the general's tent! Smyth, complaining that his health was bad, went home. The government did not allow him to return to the army.