The Battle of Queenston Heights Further Reading An Overview of the Battle of Queenston Heights British Background to the Battle of Queenston Heights The British at Queenston Heights Brock at Queenston Heights The Americans at Queenston Heights The Iroquois at Queenston Heights

American Background to the Battle of Queenston Heights On October 13, 1812, on the dark shore of the Niagara River near Lewiston, U.S. Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer orders the first wave of his militia into the waiting boats. Despite some nagging problems, Van Rensselaer is confident about this predawn assault on the British. He commands part of an army numbering more than 4,000 men. Another 1,600 troops upriver at Buffalo are expected to attack the enemy. Together, the two armies should be able to split the enemy's defenses and gain a solid footing on the Canadian side of the Niagara. In the weeks leading up to this attack, Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer has not shared his cousin Solomon's confidence. He is a politician and is aware that his appointment as commander of the Army of the Center is unpopular with seasoned (not to mention ambitious) regular officers like Winfield Scott and Alexander Smyth. There seems to be nothing he can do to get them to respect his command. Despite direct orders from Van Rensselaer, Smyth will not commit to launching a simultaneous attack from his position at Buffalo. Orders to secure more boats for the attack have also been ignored. Solomon Van Rensselaer has had similar problems despite the fact that he is an experienced soldier. His desperate requests for better supplies for his troops have fallen on deaf ears. Van Rensselaer thinks his Federalist politics may have something to do with this. He believes that Peter B. Porter, the fiercely Republican War Hawk who is in charge of distributing supplies in New York, is trying deliberately to bring about his personal failure. Such political wrangling within the chain of command will come back to haunt the Americans. Morale amongst the troops is low. They have been camped outside Lewiston since August and haven't been paid in months. Many of them are missing the all-important harvest on their home farms. Despite the constant training, the men seem to lack the discipline needed for an effective assault. The sight of American prisoners of war being marched on the opposite side of the Niagara River does nothing for their confidence. Late in September Peter B. Porter wrote: "Three days ago we witnessed a sight which made my heart sick within me, and the emotions it excited throughout the whole of our troops along the line... are not to be described. The heroes of Tippecanoe, with the garrisons of Detroit and Michilimackinac... were marched like cattle from Fort Erie to Fort George, guarded by General Brock's regular troops with all the parade and pomp of British insolence, and we were incapacitated by the armistice and our own weakness from giving them the relief which they seemed anxiously to expect, and could only look on and sicken at the sight..." The American troops are also poorly-equipped. Many of them lack basics such as food, weapons and adequate clothing, including shoes. General Van Rensselaer brought this to the attention of his superiors: "Our best troops are raw, many of them dejected by the distress their families suffer by their absence, and many have not the necessary clothing. We are in a cold country, the season is far advanced; we are half the time deluged by rain... With my present force it would be rash to attempt an offensive operation." President James Madison does not want complaints or excuses; he wants a victory to report to Congress. In early October he orders an immediate attack.