QUEENSTON HEIGHTSEight miles downstream from Niagara Falls in Canada, a statue of British General Sir Isaac Brock looks down at the treacherous and swiftly moving Niagara River from atop a 184-foot column. Surrounded by floral gardens in Queenston Heights Park, the column marks the location of the final phase of the Battle of Queenston Heights, where Colonel Winfield Scott surrendered his men to the British. The Brock statue is impossible to miss from the scenic Niagara Parkway, which borders the Canadian side of the Niagara River.
Among the plaques surrounding the monument is one honoring the "Coloured Corps," a force of free blacks and escaped slaves who, fearing repatriation to their masters in the United States, fought with the British during the battle. Visitors can climb the 235 stone steps inside the monument for a spectacular view of the area where the two sides clashed and of Niagara Falls formed some 12,000 years earlier.
This section of the bitterly fought battleground is now a place for families to picnic (you can buy food at a nearby snack bar), and the battles today are likely to be between tennis players or baseball teams. A wading pool for tots is set in the middle of grass-covered mounds, all that remains of Fort Drummond, occupied at different times by soldiers from both sides as they continued to fight over the heights during the War of 1812.
The Niagara Parks Commission operates an excellent, upscale restaurant in the shadow of the Brock Monument. It serves lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. The toll-free number for reservations is (877) 642-7275.
Continuing north along the Niagara Parkway from Queenston Heights, visitors who stop at a scenic parking area halfway down the escarpment can follow a path and a wooden staircase that leads to the site of the redan that Brock was attempting to retake when he was killed. A cannon from the period points toward the Niagara River, as it did when the British used it to fire on the American boats crossing the water. At the bottom of the steep incline, off Queenston Road to the right, is a stone monument with a British Union Jack flying over it. It marks the place where General Brock died. In a glass case next to it stands a scaled-down bronze statue of Brock's horse, Alfred, which he had tethered nearby.
In the village are a couple of houses that were here when the war was fought. One of them is the Laura Secord House, named after a Canadian heroine of the war. Born in Massachusetts, Laura Ingersoll came to the Niagara Peninsula with her parents after the American Revolution and married James Secord, a member of the Canadian militia who was seriously wounded in the Battle of Queenston. When the fighting ended, Laura brought her husband back to their home and nursed him back to health.
Laura became a legend a year later when American officers were billeted in her house, and she overheard them planning a surprise attack on nearby British forces. She walked and ran 20 miles through the woods to warn the British of the coming attack. They defeated the Americans and Laura became a hero north of the border, though Americans might look at her differently. A Canadian candy company named after her has restored and furnished her house. Guides in period costume describe the house and tell of her adventure. Walking tours of the village, including sites of the battle, start at the Laura Secord House on Sundays at 2:00 P.M. during the summer.
To see the river shore where the American troops landed, take the road leading to the boat ramp at the end of Dunfries Street. The steep riverbanks are covered with brush and trees much as they were in 1812. A dirt and gravel road to the right near the northern end of Queenston Street also leads to the river.
Five miles further north on the Niagara Parkway by the picturesque village of Niagara-on-the-Lake is Fort George. Brock and his men set out from here to repulse the invading Americans. The Province of Ontario restored the fort to its 1812 appearance. Guides dressed in period military uniforms perform the same duties that would have been carried out as the troops prepared for battle.
There is, alas, nothing on the U.S. side of the river to mark where General Stephen Van Rensselaer's army encamped before embarking for Queenston. But then, the Americans lost that battle.
Response Questions:
1) Have you ever visited Brock's monument near Niagara Falls?
2) How would you describe your experience?
3) Do you think it is important to honour people of historic significance with monuments such as these? Explain.
4) Can you think of any Canadians (past or present) that deserve a similar monument?
5) What did you learn about Laura Secord that you may not have know before reading this article?
