battle_of_queenston_heights

Monument and plaque, on the Queenston Heights battle site, outside the town of Queenston, on the Niagara Parkway

Major-General Isaac Brock, provisional Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, fell near the site of the monument, on 13October 1812, while advancing to repel the invading enemy. Brock is buried in this imposing structure, which is 58 metres in height. One can climb the winding stairs inside the monument and enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the site.

The full story is told on the plaque: “American troops under Major-General Stephen Van Rensellaer crossed the Niagara River and took possession of Queenston Heights. Major-General Isaac Brock hurried from Fort George to lead a small force against the invaders, and was killed in an attempt to regain the heights. In the afternoon Major-General Roger Hale Sheaffe with his force of British regulars, militia, and Indians from Fort George strengthened by reinforcements from Chippawa, took the hill from the west flank, capturing 958 prisoners. This celebrated victory ended the American offensive of 1812”.

At the side of the Brock monument, a simple tripod of twigs and small branches remembers warriors and veterans who fought for Canada; it includes photos of some native warriors. The message says in part:

We pray for the spirits of all those warriors
Who have fallen in your name,
Who have given their lives
For the sake of their people,
For all people of Canada,
For their dear Mother Earth,
For the greater good.
We pray that they receive your grace
and be at peace in the Spirit World.
We honour, thank and pray for our veterans.

We pray that the Seven Teachings,
Handed down from generation to generation-
Truth, Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility-
Be honoured and respected by all.

We pray that all people will offer
the fallen warriors and veterans the highest honour;
To remember their lives of service
To remember the lessons of those wars,
To ensure they are not repeated,
And to put an end to violence and killing,
Once and for all.

While suffering under landlords and British colonial policy, the Canadian settlers and members of the First Nations rose to repel the greater threat of the invasion. Queenston Heights was one battleground, but Fort George, Chrysler’s Farm, Lundy’s Lane, Gananoque, the Richelieu River approaches to Montreal, the Detroit area, York (Toronto) and Stoney Creek were other major points of engagement with the annexationist United States administration of the day. Some historians now regard this “small” war as one of the formative stages of the struggle for Canadian identity and independence which flared up in the Rebellion of 1837, a bold strike for a republican and independent country. Stanley Ryerson writes that “The men who had fought at Stoney Creek and Chateauguay were less than ever inclined to put up with an arbitrary and irresponsible government . . . .This struggle embraced practically every aspect of life in the Canadas: the land question (land monopoly and feudalism); freedom of trade and manufacture, native industry and capitalist development; political democracy; national self-determination in French-Canada; and Canadian independence”.