The conflict began again at three o’clock, and the opening shot seems to have been fired by the troops in Queenston who trained their guns on the river. At the same time the men on the British left attacked the enemy’s front. They were guided by Indians, who knew every inch of the ground on the west of the hill. These guides led Sheaffe’s men through the heavy woods, so that they might attack on this flank. This would be quite unexpected by the enemy. The Niagara militia with two guns and a company from the 41st Regiment, were on the right. The York and Lincoln militia, backed up by the 49th, were in the middle. A company of negroes, refugees from the United States, gave material assistance to the British. The six hundred American soldiers on Queenston Heights were surprised. Instead of an attack from down-stream they had to face one from the left. They were caught like rats in a trap, but fought valiantly. They saw that escape was impossible, for the swift current flowed behind them and they had no boats to take them back to the American shore. Besides, they faced almost double the number of men. Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Scott of the regular army was their commander, and he was a brave man. His men fired on the advancing Canadians, but Scott knew he was outnumbered. To the accompaniment of the savage cries of the Indians, Sheaffe’s men came on in a determined bayonet charge. The Americans broke in disorder. They had many dead and dying already, and the rest turned tail and ran to the edge of the precipice. Half crazed, many threw themselves over. The rest made for the river bank, but there were no boats, and their only way of escape was by way of swimming. Few were able to breast the current, and many perished in the cruel stream. The Americans were badly beaten, and Scott, having made a brave fight, surrendered all his men then on the Canadian side to General Sheaffe. It is ten thousand pities that the gallant Brock was not there to see the result of the work of his hands. The British took nearly a thousand prisoners, among whom was General Wadsworth and about seventy other officers. The British on their side had lost eleven killed and something like sixty wounded. The Indians, no less gallant, had losses of five killed and nine wounded. History differs as to the American casualties. There were probably nearly a hundred killed and about two hundred wounded. So the inextinguishable flame of Brock’s spirit had blazed the way to victory, for Queenston Heights was a great victory. Canada, however, grieved so much at the death of Brock, that not even the feat of arms of his successor mitigated her sorrow. To the Americans the death of Brock was “equivalent to a victory.” President Madison, in his next message to Congress, said: “Our loss at Queenston has been considerable and is to be deeply lamented. The enemy’s loss, less ascertained, will be the more felt for it includes among the killed their commanding general.”