portly figure and energetic gestures, as well as his uniform and position several yards in front of the line, naturally made him a special target tor the bullets of the enemy although he does not seem to have been personally recognized by them. At last a rifleman, said to be one Wilklow of Moseley’s battalion, stepped out of a thicket less than fifty yards away and took deliberate aim at him. More than one man of the 49th observed this and fired hastily in the hope of anticipating his shot, but without effect. The fatal bullet struck their general in the breast very near the heart, and he sunk slowly to the ground and expired after murmuring a few broken sentences to those nearest him to conceal his death from the men and continue the fight.
McDonnell spurred his horse sharply to the front and called upon the grenadiers to avenge their leader’s death. William’s at the same moment led forward his detachment from the thickets on the right and the combined force charged at once fiercely upon the front and flank of the enemy who were already in disorder and huddled together about the battery, out of which they were quickly expelled and driven obliquely upwards towards the summit of the heights in the direction of the river. Being hotly pursued, an officer even raised a handkerchief or white cloth on the point of his sword as a flag of truce, but this was quickly snatched away from him by Wool, who by great exertions succeeded in persuading his men to make a stand on the very verge of the cliff. A body of fresh troops including an entire company of the 6th U. S. infantry, and another of rifles opportunely came to his assistance at this critical moment and enabled him to prolong his line until he outflanked his assailants in both directions. They had also fallen into much disorder through the haste and impetuosity of their advance. Williams had been disabled by a ghastly wound in the head, Dennis had been badly hurt, and a considerable number of men killed or wounded. McDonnell had as yet escaped unharmed, although being the only mounted officer present, he naturally attracted the fire of the enemy by whom he was supposed at the time to be the British general, and his hat and clothes were pierced in many places. But now while attempting to restore order and form the men for a fresh attack, his horse was struck by a shot, and as the animal plunged in agony, his rider also received a mortal wound and was thrown from the saddle. In spite of the efforts of Dennis and other officers, the British then gave way in turn and, retreated to the foot of the heights carrying with them, however, the dead body of their general and most of the wounded. They were not vigorously pursued and did not lose more than a dozen prisoners, most of whom were too badly injured to be removed. Dennis refused to quit the field and succeeded in collecting most of his men at the farther end of the village which was still occupied by Lieut. Crowther with a squad of Provincial artillerymen in charge of two small guns.
The result of this engagement had a very inspirating influence upon the troops at Lewiston, numbers of whom instantly professed great eagerness to cross the river and share the glory of the day They still possessed a sufficient number of boats to carry over the remainder of the division before ten o’clock; the passage of the river was now for some time entirely unopposed, and why they did not make better use of their opportunities has never been satisfactorily explained. As it was, considerable bodies, both of regular troops and militia were brought over, with a six-pound field-piece, its carriage and tumbril. General Van Rensselaer and Colonel Chrystie examined the position on the heights and gave directions for its immediate fortification. Engineer officers were set at work and fieldworks commenced. The gun in the redan was unspiked and brought to bear on the village. Colonel Winfield Scott, the future conqueror of Mexico, having arrived from Buffalo during the morning with a battery of artillery, placed his guns in position at Lewiston and crossed the river to take command of the regular troops at Queenston, who were re-enforced by detachments of the 6th and 23rd U. S. infantry and 2nd and 3rd artillery. About the same time Brigadier-General James Wadsworth assumed command of the militia brigade, consisting of portions of Allen’s, Bloom’s, Mead’s and Stranahan’s regiments, and Moseley’s battalion of riflemen. The precise number of men belonging to these corps that passed the river it is impossible to ascertain. Estimates by their own officers ranged from one thousand to sixteen hundred. Some companies of militia were represented by officers without men; others by men without officers, while a few were almost or quite complete.
The sound of a heavy cannonade at the mouth of the river excited the worst apprehensions in the minds of the little band that continued to occupy Queenston village, until they were relieved by the arrival of Captain Derenzy, with several companies of the 41st and militia, a detachment of Royal Artillery with two field-guns under Captain
