The Battle of Queenston Heights

On October 13, 1812, U.S. troops launched an invasion of Queenston Heights, Canada, from this point in an attempt to seize Fort George and control the river, but the battle ended in disaster for the Americans, who suffered heavy losses and ultimately surrendered to the British. Led by General Stephen Van Rensselaer, two large boats and a dozen smaller vessels carrying 200 troops crossed the Niagara River, but inexperienced navigators lost control of several boats, which drifted downriver and turned back. About 300 British troops on shore delivered heavy musket fire while British cannon on the heights fired from a redan. A small American force led by Captain Wool found a way up the escarpment and captured the British cannon, while an American battery at Fort Grey under John Lovett provided covering fire with several cannons and a mortar. British reinforcements then moved around the village and counterattacked along the ridge, driving the Americans back to the precipice and forcing their surrender. The action unfolded through the day: the first American troops landed on the Canadian shore at 3 AM; an assault on the heights at 4 AM was repelled; a second wave landed at 6 AM; Captain Wool attacked the redan from the rear at 8 AM; by 9 AM the Americans had forced the British from the heights and raised their flag; at 10 AM British General Brock ordered reinforcements and counterattacked; at 11 AM the Americans repelled the attack and Brock was killed; by 12 noon the Americans had secured the landing and controlled the battlefield; at 1 PM they appeared victorious; at 2 PM General Van Rensselaer returned to Lewiston to rally the militia; at 4 PM British reinforcements arrived from Fort George and attacked the heights, while American militia reinforcements refused to cross the river; and at 6 PM American Colonel Scott surrendered. American losses were 90 killed and approximately 1,000 captured, while British losses were 130 killed, wounded, or missing.

Lewiston, New York · United States