1770893288 (N) by James Laxer

Author:James Laxer [Laxer, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: House of Anansi Press Inc.
Published: 2012-04-25T21:00:00+00:00

The British command shifted to Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe, who quickly mobilized his forces to drive the Americans from Canadian soil. He dispatched the 41st’s Light Company, under the command of Captain William Derenzy, and about 160 Grand River warriors from Fort George, commanded by John Norton, William Kerr, and John Brant, in the direction of Queenston. The latter were a remarkable trio. John Norton, whose parents were Iroquoian Cherokee and Scottish, and who had spent his early years in Britain, was a fully accepted member of Mohawk society. William Kerr was an Indian Department officer and was married to Joseph Brant’s daughter, Elizabeth. John Brant was the son of Joseph Brant.21 This force was equipped with two 6-pounders and a 5.5-inch howitzer. Sheaffe left Fort George for Queenston. Behind him, taking the same route, were 140 men from the 41st Regiment and some militiamen, including the Corps of Artificers, also known as the “Company of Coloured Men,” commanded by Captain Robert Runchey.22

While the British garnered their forces for an effective attack, the American commanders dithered. Without the counsel of his wounded cousin, Stephen Van Rensselaer was unsure what to do. At the onset of daylight, he ordered a massive artillery bombardment of Fort George and Newark from Fort Niagara. The rounds fired had been heated in a shot oven until they were nearly red-hot. The barrage soon had the courthouse, the jail, a brewery, and a number of homes in flames. The British managed to quell panic by bringing the fires quickly under control and launching their own artillery bombardment to silence the American guns. The dozen heavy guns at Fort George did not manage to knock out the American artillery but did succeed in reducing their volume of fire.

Having learned that the Americans had mounted to the Heights, Norton led his force into the woods, though half of them left, fearing for their families at Niagara. The remaining eighty warriors climbed the heights, using the forest to keep themselves concealed from enemy view. At about 11:00 a.m., they launched an assault on the American rearguard, quickly pushing the militiamen back to the main U.S. line. The Iroquois kept themselves low in the brush and were largely unaffected by the volleys the Americans fired at them. As was not unusual at this stage of the war, the inexperienced American soldiers often aimed too high.

The warriors soon charged out of the woods in a direct attack. This drew heavy return fire from the U.S. troops, and the Grand River men took some casualties and fell back. Norton’s force managed to get to the south of the Americans and threaten their line, but the U.S. troops, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott, counterattacked and drove them back. Although this counterattack was partially successful, volleys from the warriors continued to harass Scott’s troops, who were also subject to British artillery fire from below.

The fighting paused while Sheaffe led his 650 regulars and militia inland on a circular route up the Heights so that he would be in position to assault the enemy across flat ground.

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