Battle of Queenston Heights

Battle context

The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major engagement of the War of 1812, fought on 13 October 1812 at Queenston in Upper Canada. United States regulars and New York militia under Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer crossed the Niagara River from Lewiston but were defeated by British regulars and Canadian militia in a decisive British victory. The battle checked the initial American thrust into Upper Canada and demonstrated early that the conquest of Canada would not be the straightforward campaign U.S. planners had anticipated. Major General Isaac Brock was killed during the fighting, a loss that removed one of Britain's most capable commanders in the theater, though Roger Hale Sheaffe took command and secured the field. The participation of Mohawk warriors under John Norton alongside British and Canadian forces also signaled the importance of Indigenous alliances to the defense of Upper Canada throughout the wider conflict.