Isaac Brock

Issac Brock
Height: 6′ 2″
Rank: Major-General attached to the 49th Regiment of Foot, Commander of the Forces of Upper Canada
Birthday: October 6th, 1769
Birthplace: Guernsey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom
Knighted as Sir Isaac Brock Knight, Companion of the Order of Bath at on October 10th 1812 at London, In absentia by King George IV of England
Died in Action at the Battle of Queenston Heights, October 13, 1812

Born in Guernsey, the front lines of the centuries old wars with France, the son of a naval officer and charismatic leader did not want to be in Canada but he did what he set out to accomplish nonetheless. He served his King in the manner befitting his station. Sir Isaac Brock achieved the glory he sought martyring himself…

Arriving in Canada in 1804, Brock was initially garrisoned at Montreal and though he longed to be in Europe to begin the face off against the newly minted “Emperor of France”, Napoleon the First, more pressing matters required his attention. Soldiers were deserting to the fledgling United States in droves, many seeing that as an escape from being forced to fight France in the upcoming war.

Despite mutinies and desertion, Brock managed to restore order through this charisma, tough discipline and an ability to inspire and as a reward was promoted to full Colonel in 1806 and then Brigadier General in 1807. This was quite unusual for someone of Brock’s age, station and lack of formal education. He was very well read and knew much about military strategy, ancient history and the arts.

Through sheer will, determination and a heavy dose of foresight, Brock had completed improving fortifications across Upper and Lower Canada. By the time of the declaration of war in June of 1812, newly promoted Major-General Isaac Brock was ready. From the capture of the Cuyahoga Packet, he had Hull’s battle plan and made appropriate preparations to surround and capture his entire army at Detroit before he had a chance to cross the river.

After briefly occupying Sandwich and retreating back to the safety of Fort Detroit, Hull was then surrounded by the combined forces of Brock and Tecumseh. Hull surrendered his entire army the next day following a short bombardment that killed several of his officers. He was knighted in London for his actions at Detroit. He never found out as he was killed in action at Queenston heights fending off a second invasion attempt only three days after his knighting. The American cannons at Fort Niagara fired a salute honouring him immediately after returning there in defeat. He died the Savior of Upper Canada and was buried immediately at Fort George along with his aide-de-camp, John MacDonnell who were both martyred on October 13, 1812.

This entry was posted by drocha on Tuesday, October 13th, 2015 at 11:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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