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The Battle of Queenston Heights
was a British victory during the War of 1812 which took place on October 13,
1812, near Queenston, Ontario. It was fought between New York militia
forces led by Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer, and British forces led by
Major General Sir Isaac Brock and Major General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe. The
battle, the largest in the war to that point, was fought as the result of an
American attempt to establish a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River before campaigning ended with the onset
of winter. This decisive battle was the result of a poorly managed campaign,
and is most historically significant for the fact that in it, the British
lost their commander, General Brock, who was killed by an unknown shooter.
Despite their theoretical numerical
advantage and the wide dispersal of British forces against an invasion
attempt, the Americans, who were stationed in Lewiston,
New York, were unable to get the bulk of
their invasion force across the Niagara River
due to the work of British artillery and reluctance on the part of the
undertrained and inexperienced American militia. As a result, British
reinforcements were able to arrive and force those Americans on the Canadian
side to surrender.
Battle of
Queenston Heights. (2007, July 8). In Wikipedia,
The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:57, July 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Queenston_Heights&oldid=143305400
War of 1812
Dates: 1812 - 1815
Where: Canada,
Eastern seaboard of the United States,
Great Lakes and Lake Champlain
How It
Ended: The Treaty of Ghent was signed on Dec. 24, 1814.
Unaware of the treaty, Gen. Andrew Jackson engaged and crushed the British at
New Orleans
on January 8, 1815.
American
Casualties: 2,260 (approx.)
Timeline of
America's
Wars - 19th Century. (2007). The History
Channel website. Retrieved 05:59 hrs, July 15, 2007, from http://www.history.com/reference/encyclopedia/viewArticle?id=225473
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