Where General Brock Died

The Brock House, painting by Clara Mason (c.1913-25)

This is a watercolour painting done by Clara Mason titled Where Gen. Brock Died. Queenston. Oct. 13, 1812. October 13, 1812 was the day Major-General Sir Isaac Brock was killed on the battlefield of Queenston Heights, an important battle in the War of 1812.

This painting was done as a response to the 100th anniversary of Brock’s death in 1912 and depicts an old stone house where his body was said to have been taken to.[1] The house belonged to Patrick McCabe. [2] The location of this site is at the intersection of Queenston and Partition Streets in Queenston, not far from the Laura Secord Homestead.[3] There is a memorial plaque in this spot, a tribute to Brock.

On October 13th, General Brock led the British defenders into a counterattack against the invading American militia, leading to his demise. There has been much dispute and speculation over the years about where his body was hidden during the war, many believing that the location was an old barn though that was not the case.

The house Brock’s body was brought to has been torn down, however around 2008 historian Guy St-Denis conducted extensive research into where the house would have stood after discovering a stereograph of the purported location made by Underwood & Underwood.[4] St-Denis’s research also indicated that McCabe owned three properties which added to the confusion. [5]

This painting is not the only piece of visual culture we have surrounding the story of where Brock’s body was taken after his death. There are photographs of an old stone barn and at least one other painting–commissioned by John Ross Robertson of the Toronto Telegram–showing different sites rumoured to be the location in question. [6]

The history of the Niagara region would be very different today without the efforts of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and the British defenders, along with their collaboration with Indigenous colonies of Queenston and surrounding areas.[7] This collective defence was highly significant for Niagara’s history, and the documentation of these sites adds more to our understanding of these important moments.

-Text by Taylor D’Hondt (VISA 2P90)

*This image is part of the “Women, Water, and Words” exhibition that students in VISA 2P90 curated in the Winter 2024 semester.