One of those most revered names from the War of 1812 is that of Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock. Referred to as the “Saviour of Upper Canada,” Brock has roads, churches, universities and towns named after him — but why? Through this chronicle, we are going to delve into who Brock was and why he was so beloved in both life and death.

Andrew Laliberte
Special to Niagara Now/The Lake Report

The autumn of 1812 proved to be a different state of affairs for the American war effort than had been initially hoped for.

Declaring war on Great Britain earlier that year on June 18, the American strategy for “the acquisition of Canada this year” had not unfolded as was expected.

The armies of the Northwest, Centre and Northeast had planned to launch a three-pronged attack into the Canadas; the result however, by October of that year, was a captured army at Detroit and a disorganized one under the ineffective leadership of Henry Dearborn.

One last attempt for an offensive on the Niagara would come under the command of the politician-turned-Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer.

The major-general of the militia, though in command of around 6,000 Regulars and  Volunteers, was still ill-prepared for combat. His army was plagued by little or poor equipment, training and pay. 

Regardless of the lack of confidence in his men, Van Rensselaer was pressured to make plans to invade Upper Canada. 

By comparison, the British army in upper Canada totalled only 1,600 Regulars under the command of Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock. 

Recognizing the disadvantage in numbers, Brock made attempts to strengthen militia troop compliments and alliances with Indigenous nations, two vital sources of manpower for the  protection of Upper Canada.

He also bolstered the key areas of the Niagara River that could be susceptible to attack, establishing artillery positions and small garrisons at places like Queenston and the Heights. 

At 3 a.m. on Oct. 13, the American invasion force began to mobilize itself. Under the cover of darkness, a small flotilla of bateaux began ferrying the Americans across the river.

However, the British forces were prepared for the arrival of their enemy and began discharging their arms and artillery at the vague shapes on the Niagara River.

The shot and shell fire erupted relentlessly from both sides, sending the American boats into a chaotic scramble for the shoreline.

The boats that made it to the Queenston shore under the Redan Battery began offloading their troops. Capt. John Wool of the Thirteenth Regiment proposed to scale the side of the escarpment along a small path, outflanking the British forces.

This was approved and carried out.  

After executing the climb, 60 American soldiers captured the heights and the Redan Battery, both being poorly defended.

The British forces, including the Light and Grenadier companies of the 49th, as well as the Lincoln and York Militias, were focused on pinning down the Americans below at the landing sight.

It was in this state of sorry affairs that Brock and his aides Capt. John Glegg and Lt.-Col. John Macdonnell arrived at Queenston.

Understanding the importance of reclaiming the heights and the Battery, Brock led the men of the 49th up the Portage Road toward the American position.

The musketry raining down from the forested hillside ended this “forlorn hope” in disaster, with Brock receiving a fatal shot to the chest, falling on the heights at Queenston.

With the failure of the first charge came Macdonnell’s second attempt.

With hopes of avenging the fallen general, the combined militia and regular force marched toward the eastern side of the American position, yet without success for a second time.

Macdonnell also received a fatal musket wound, one he would succumb to following the battle itself.

Though the Americans, by about noon, had seemingly won the day, the Indigenous brigade under the command of John Norton and John Brant arrived on the heights of Queenston with about 80 warriors.

These warriors were Haudenosaunee, who were joined by more Haudenosaunee and Lenape from Chippawa.

Over the course of the afternoon, they flanked the American forces and their headquarters on the heights, holding them back by hit-and-run skirmishing.

Using the trees on the west side of the heights as cover, the Indigenous warriors successfully held off the American army, preventing them from establishing a permanent position on the heights and destroying American morale with their war cry.  

Due to the successes of the Indigenous tactics, the situation was growing dire for the around 500 Americans left on Queenston Heights. They had been informed that there was no possibility of reinforcements arriving from Lewiston.

To make matters worse, the reinforcement column, under the command of Maj.-Gen. Roger Sheaffe, had arrived from Niagara to support the British and Indigenous forces on the heights.

At approximately 3 p.m., Sheaffe’s forces summitted the escarpment and organized their brigade to the south of the American position, totalling about 900 soldiers and warriors.

Marching and firing volleys of lead at the enemy, the American force ran in a panicked state back toward its landing sight.

The “horrid spectacle, filled with poor wretches” as militiaman John Robinson describes, was a scene of chaos and horror, as many retreating forces jumped down the side of the cliffs to the river below, dashing many to pieces.  

Col. Winfield Scott’s surrender of the American forces to Sheaffe at Queenston ended the first major attempt to invade the Canadas in disaster.

An estimated 925 American soldiers had been captured throughout the course of the day, with casualties estimated to be anywhere from 100 to 500.

For the British forces that day, a comparatively small number of approximately 20 lost their lives. However, the losses of Brock and Macdonnell made the British victory less triumphant.

“The zeal, ability and valour with which he served his King and country render this a public loss that must be long deplored…” were but some of the words of reflection written by Sheaffe.

Yet, the battle and the death of the general proved to be a transformative event for the British campaign in Upper Canada, hardening the resolve of the British army, people of Upper Canada and the allied Indigenous nations in the fight against the invaders — a confidence that had, up until the battle, been in question.

Andrew Laliberte is a Heritage Interpreter at Brock’s Monument. He has worked at Brock’s Monument for the past three seasons, which completed his undergraduate degree in history at Brock University.