Battle of Queenstown : between the Americans, commanded by Gen. Van Ransellaer [i.e., Van Rensselaer], and the British by Gen. Brock. : Canandaigua, October 15, 1812 By a gentleman who arrived in town yesterday from Albany, we have received the following ...

The text of Battle of Queenstown is preceded by a prose introduction in the form of a letter from an observer. One of a group of broadsides relating to American army actions, the text describes a battle on the Niagara River, part of the unsuccessful three-pronged attempt to defeat the British in Upper Canada. After General William Hull surrendered Detroit to British General Isaac Brock, Brock moved east to Fort George, at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario. General Stephen Van Rensselaer (1764-1839) had moved his troops to defend the border at that point. On October 13, 1812, he took the offensive and attacked the British position at Queenstown Heights, a few miles south of Fort George, killing Brock. Van Rensselaer’s troops were crushed when the New York State militiamen refused to reinforce him, on the ground that their military service did not require them to leave the state (Morris 142). This narrative puts a brave face on the battle although the numbers are inflated. The British fielded no more than one thousand troops, the Americans but six hundred.

In 6/8 rhythm with a chorus like Decatur’s Victory, the tune for this text is probably “Paul Jones’s Victory.”