Major General Isaac Brock
Bullet News
QUEEN’S PARK – It’s official.
Sir Isaac Brock, sometimes called the saviour of Upper Canada for his generalship during the early days of the War of 1812, has his own day.
Bill 35: An Act to Proclaim October 13 in each year as Major-General Sir Isaac Brock Day in Ontario received Royal Assent when it was signed by Lt. Gov. David Onley.
The bill’s sponsor, Progressive Conservative MPP Steve Clark, of Leeds-Grenville, and co-sponsors, Niagara Falls Liberal MPP Kim Craitor and Welland NDP MPP Cindy Forster, were on hand for the signing ceremony, the last step before a bill becomes law.
Brock was born on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, in 1769.
He joined the British army at the age of 15. Rising through the ranks, he saw service on the Continent, in Holland, before being sent to Canada in 1802, where he spent a decade preparing the defences of Upper and Lower Canada against an seemingly inevitable war with the fledgling republic to the south.
When war with United States did come, Brock’s troops in Upper Canada were badly outnumbered.
Still, he managed a virtually bloodless victory over the American’s at Detroit before he was killed on Oct. 13, 1812 leading his troops at the Battle of Queenston Heights.
There are numerous honours and tributes to Brock and his legacy in the Niagara area, including Brock University and the large stone monument that bears his name at Queenston Heights.
