Title

Battle of Queenston Heights

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298010

page

c

Bibliographic Citation

The Battle of Queenston Heights.

10168362

The Battle of Queenston Heights.

Type

Text

extracted text

THE
BATTLE
OF
QUEENSTON
HEIGHTS

LHC
971.
034
Bat
Vc.1

BATTLE OF QUEENSTON

./Ifter a sketch by Major Dennis, CM Oct., 1473.
f. Qutenskn,

2. Field Piece. 3. Smoke and the .American Standard
seen. 4.‘Aciagara River. Fort Gray Smoke. A ..Arnericans.B.British.

BATTLE OF QUEENSTON HEIGHTS.
After the surrender of the United States General Hull and his
army of 2,500 men at Detroit to. General Brock, who commanded our
little force of 1,300, of whom 600 were Indians, the Canadians made a
hasty march to the Niagara frontier, where, with only 1,500 men, half
of whom were militia-men and Indians, he prepared to receive the
United States General Van Rennselaer, who commanded 6,000 regular
and well-drilled troops.
On the 13th of October, 1813, Van Rennselaer, under cover of a
strong battery on the New York State side, crossed with 1,200 men to
the village of Queenston, a point just below where both rocky banks
of the Niagara rise precipitously. Some of the invaders succeeded in
gaining a good position on high ground by climbing and scrambling
along apparently inaccessible places, but the main body was held back
by two companies of the 49th Regiment under Major Dennis, with
two small cannons.
General Brock, then at the town of Niagara (now Niagara-on-theLake), seven miles off, hearing the cannonade, rode off at once, accompanied by Col. Macdonell and Major Glegg to ascertain what was going
on. He found that the United States soldiers were making some headway, and sent to Major-General Sheaffe at Fort George (Niagara) for
more men, ordering him at the same time to begin firing on Fort
Niagara on the enemy's side of the river.
Shortly afterwards, when at the head of a company charging up the
hill to dislodge a body of Van R,ennselaer's men, he was killed, and
within a little while Col. Macdonell also received a wound, from the
effects of which he died next day.
Major-General Sheaffe took command, and after a hard fought
battle, lasting for fully seven hours, the United States' invaders were
driven off the field. Nearly a thousand of them surrendered to our
men, who were much inferior in number; a hundred more were killed,
76

BATTLE OF QITEENSTON HEIGHTS.

and, as a matter of course, a great many were wounded, many of the
latter coming to grief while being pursued by our troops over the steep
and rocky ledge, from eighty to a hundred feet high, which here forms
the bank of the river. Among the prisoners we captured Col. Scott,
who afterwards became a distinguished general in the United States
army.
The battle of Queenston Heights was not a Mukden, nor a Sedan,
nor a Waterloo, but its results were perhaps scarcely less far-reaching,
as they affected the interests not of North America alone, but of the
British Empire.
The plate opposite, to accompany which these lines were written,
was drawn by Major Dennis, of the 49th Regiment, which behaved so
valorously on the field that day.
It is not known where the original of the picture is to be found, but
our copy was redrawn from a vignette on a small map of Upper Can
ada, " published by 0. G. Steele, No. 206 Main St. [Buffalo]e, 1820."
Although not by any means a highly artistic production, thereavere
probably few of those engaged who were better qualified to leave us a
more realistic picture of the event in at least one of its final phases,
than was the gallant major.
A lofty column, commonly known as Brook's Monument, has been
erected on the eminence just above B, near the right, to the memory of Sir Isaac Brock, Col. Macdonell and the others who fell during
the engagement..
Sailing up the river from Lake Ontario the monument comesinto
full view some time before the steamer reaches Queenston.
The name has been obliterated.

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