Isaac Brock was born in 1769 to a well-off family in the Channel Island of Guernsey. He shared his birth year with Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington. Brock entered the military at age fifteen, and became a lieutenant-colonel at twenty-eight.
Brock's regiment was shipped to Canada in 1802 and he served in Montreal, York (now called Toronto), Quebec and other postings.
After the Revolutionary War made the U.S. independent of Britain, relations between the two nations were strained. Press gangs forcing American sailors to serve on British warships led to fear of hostilities breaking out between the U.S. and Canada.
When war did come, Brock was under no illusions about the fitness of his forces to fight for Upper Canada. Many of them were "loyalist" Americans who had arrived in Canada after the American Revolution. Yet with the support of a strong ally in Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, he charged into battle filled with determination.
Against the express advice of his superiors, he went on the offensive at Detroit and secured a victory there. Later, at Queenston, he was killed by a sharpshooter while re-taking the heights even after the local defenses had already captured by Americans.
The historic Battle of Queenston Heights was re-enacted in October 2012, to commemorate its 200th anniversary. For the same anniversary, The Library and Archives of Canada has created a special exhibition on Isaac Brock under Faces of 1812.
Sir Isaac Brock was clearly an inspiring leader, and his success in repulsing the only invasion of Canada ever attempted by the U.S. is undoubtedly one reason for his legendary status here.
Brock University in St. Catherine's and the town of Brockville, Ontario are among the institutions and places named for him. Even UBC, here on the west coast, has Brock Hall. When I was a student there many years ago, it was a favourite place to study. At the time, however, I hadn't a clue about the man whose name it bore.
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