time for celebration, as intelligence arrived of
another impending invasion at Niagara. He
hurried back and was greeted by timely rein-
forcements under General Sheaffe at Fort
George. To circumvent possible American
control of Lakes Erie and Ontario, Brock pro-
posed to lead attacks against Buffalo and
Sackets Harbor, New York, but the timid Pre-
vost refused to sanction offensive operations.
In fact, he contrived to arrange an armistice
with Gen. Henry Dearborn for the suspension
of hostilities. For several weeks into the fall,
Brock watched helplessly as Gen. Stephen
Van Rensselaer built up an army of 3,000 men
opposite Queenston Heights.
Brock and Sheaffe disagreed over where
the blow would eventually fall, with Sheaffe
arguing that Queenston Heights was the
most logical place for a crossing. Brock,
however, felt that either Fort George or Fort
Erie, at opposite ends of the Niagara Penin-
sula, were the intended targets. On the morn-
ing of October 13, 1812, Van Rensselaer
tipped his hand by crossing at Queenston
with an enthusiastic but badly trained army.
After several hours of fighting, he managed
to cross with 1,000 soldiers as the bulk of his
force—militia—refused to follow. Brock,
meanwhile, felt that the attack was a ruse,
but in the morning hours he departed Fort
George with some regulars and militia com-
panies. He arrived on the scene and galloped
up to a battery position overlooking the land-
ing zone. Suddenly, a group of American sol-
diers under Capt. John Ellis Wool attacked
and drove the British downhill. Brock, recov-
ering his composure, rallied his scattered
men and led a handful of companies back up
the hill. His impetuous attack, bravely exe-
cuted, was repulsed with loss. Worse, lead-
ing from the front, Brock was a conspicuous
target for American sharpshooters, and he
was shot dead with a single bullet through
the heart. Another counterattack mounted
by his aide, Lt. Col. John Macdonell, met
with a similar fate and Macdonell was also
felled. It appeared that the Americans were
about to prevail when Sheaffe suddenly ap-
peared with reinforcements, along with Na-
tive American forces under John Norton.
They resumed the battle, drove the surviving
Americans off the heights in a massive flank
attack, and compelled them to surrender.
Brock had played only a minor role in the
fighting at Queenston Heights, but his strate-
gic dispositions, quick reaction to invasion,
and—above all—the offensive spirit he in-
stilled in his men all proved vital factors in
the victory. A second American invasion had
been stopped cold in its tracks, although at
terrible cost.
The victory of Queenston Heights was
tempered by the loss of a beloved leader.
Brock was subsequently interred at Fort
George with full military honors; as a token
of respect for a brave enemy, American can-
nons at Fort Niagara were also fired in
salute. Canada never forgot its debt to
Brock, for without his able, decisive leader-
ship the entire province of Upper Canada—
and possibly the entire colony—would have
fallen to the United States. His loss was also
acutely felt in England, where church bells
tolled in sympathy, and back in Guernsey his
family crest was amended to reflect the
close alliance he forged with Native Ameri-
can warriors. He was also posthumously
made a knight of the Order of Bath—En-
gland’s highest honor. But it fell upon Cana-
dians, who owed their very existence to the
fallen general, to pay the highest tribute. In
1832, a 130-foot monument was erected near
the spot where he was killed, with the re-
mains of both Brock and Macdonell rein-
terred at its base. When this towering struc-
ture was destroyed by a gunpowder blast in
1840, it was restored 12 years later—only 52
feet higher! But perhaps Brock’s greatest
contribution transcends military affairs. The
War of 1812 eventually taught Americans and
Canadians to resolve subsequent differences
peacefully. Consequently, the Brock monu-
ment, still one of the most imposing histori-
cal landmarks in Canada, straddles the
longest undefended border in the world—
and world history.BROCK, ISAAC