Solomon van Rensselaer was an experienced soldier who had been wounded at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and a valuable source of advice to his cousin.

[6] After his victory at Detroit, Brock had hastened back east, planning to cross the Niagara River and attack Van Rensselaer before he could be reinforced.

[7] Not only was Prevost concerned by Brock's apparently rash actions, but he was also aware that the British Government had revoked the Orders in Council which had hampered American trade with France, thus removing one of the stated causes of the war.

Acting under Prevost's orders, Sheaffe had negotiated an armistice with Lieutentant Colonel Van Rensselaer on 20 August, and had voluntarily restricted the movement of British troops and supplies.

In early June, a regiment of 600 militia volunteers commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Philetus Swift was dispatched to reinforce the garrison and establish camps at Black Rock and Lewiston.

[14] Although Hull had failed at Detroit, and Dearborn had yet to make any move against Montreal or Kingston, Van Rensselaer was convinced he had the strength to invade Upper Canada.

[15] On 9 October, American sailors, artillerymen, and volunteers from the militia, commanded by Lieutenant Jesse Elliot, launched a successful boarding attack on the brigs Caledonia and Detroit, anchored near Fort Erie at the head of the Niagara River.

"[17] Smyth's brigade set out upon receipt of the letter, however, because of foul weather, the route to Lewiston was so bad that abandoned wagons could be seen "sticking in the road.

[20] Brock was aware of the failed American attempt to cross the Niagara River at Queenston on 11 October but believed it may have been a faint to distract him from a major attack elsewhere.

Toock, who was probably Van Rensselaer's military secretary Major John Lovett, repeatedly insisted that no exchange could be arranged for a couple of days at least.

As he tried to form up his troops, he was promptly hit five more times in the heel, thighs and calf, and though he survived, he spent most of the battle out of action, weak from loss of blood.

As a second wave of six American boats began to cross the river, the crews of three of them, including their two largest, one of which was carrying Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie, panicked as they came under fire.

This later caused controversy when Captain Lawrence, commanding the next boat following, asserted Chrystie had ordered him to retreat, leading to accusations of cowardice.

[30] Their boats' hulls perforated with musket fire, and most of their comrades killed or wounded within minutes, all the other survivors of Fenwick's party quickly surrendered.

Artillery, who knew the area well, the wounded Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer ordered Captains Wool and Ogilvie to take a detachment upstream "and ascend the heights by the point of the rock, and storm the battery.

[35] Wool's troops attacked just after Brock arrived, forcing his small party and the artillerymen to flee into the village, after quickly spiking the guns.

[31] The assault was halted by heavy fire and as he noticed unwounded men dropping to the rear, Brock shouted angrily that "This is the first time I have ever seen the 49th turn their backs!

His height and energetic gestures, together with his officer's uniform and a gaudy sash given to him eight weeks earlier by Tecumseh after the siege of Detroit,[36] made him a conspicuous target.

[43] Carrying Macdonnell and the body of Brock, the British fell back through Queenston to Durham's Farm a mile north near Vrooman's Point.

[45] Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie briefly took charge of the troops on the Canadian side but returned to Lewiston to collect reinforcements and entrenching tools.

The General reported the next day that, "...to my utter astonishment, I found that at the very moment when complete victory was in our hands, the ardor of the unengaged troops had entirely subsided.

Scott fell back to the top of the heights where he attempted to throw up a barricade of fence rails and brushwood to cover the evacuation with his regulars.

[53] Sheaffe immediately ordered a general advance, and the entire British line fired a volley, raised the Indian war-whoop and charged.

With no boats arriving to evacuate his men and with the Mohawk warriors furious over the deaths of two chiefs, Scott feared a massacre and surrendered to the British.

He launched a successful raid to prepare the ground for a full-scale invasion at the Battle of Frenchman's Creek but then bungled two attempts to cross the river near Fort Erie and drew the loathing of his soldiers.

Stephen Van Rensselaer's popularity remained high enough that he was able to make an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Daniel Tompkins as Governor of New York, and he later served in the United States House of Representatives.

This provoked an indignant response from Solomon Van Rensselaer, who compared Armstrong to Benedict Arnold and laid the blame squarely on Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie (who had died of natural causes in July 1813), who he accused of cowardice and said "to his failure may mainly be attributed all our disasters.

His success where Brock had rashly sacrificed himself could not help him escape censure for not having followed up the victory at Queenston Heights with an attack on Fort Niagara (which had been left virtually evacuated by its garrison after a bombardment from British batteries that afternoon).

Although his decision to retreat with his few regulars was accepted by his superiors (and his American opponents) to be correct in military terms, it left the local militia, the Assembly of Upper Canada and the population of York feeling abandoned and aggrieved.

[67] Multiple streets, avenues, roads, and a university in Ontario are named after Major General Brock, as is the city of Brockville in the province.