John MacDonell

Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell of Greenfield (19 April 1785 – 14 October 1812) was an aide-de-camp to British Major General Sir Isaac Brock during the War of 1812, dying in the Battle of Queenston Heights.

He was born on 19 April 1785 in Scotland near Aberchalder and came to Canada when he was seven years old. There, he studied to become a lawyer and was called to the bar at the age of 23, opening his own law office. An interest in politics earned him a seat on the legislature and an appointment as attorney-general.

He also became a lieutenant colonel in the York Militia^[1] and, at the outbreak of the War of 1812, became secretary and provincial aide-de-camp to General Isaac Brock. On 13 October 1812, during the Battle of Queenston Heights, Brock was struck and killed by an American musket ball. Despite being a lawyer by trade with little military experience, Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell, along with Captain John Williams of the 49th Foot,^[2] led a second attempt to retake the Redan, one that was very nearly successful.

With Williams'' men of the 49th starting from brush to the right of the line near the escarpment and Macdonell''s anchoring the left, the force of between 70 and 80 men (more than half of whom were militia) advanced toward the Redan Battery. The U.S. forces under the command of Captain John E. Wool had been reinforced by more troops who had just made their way up the path to the top of the Heights, and Macdonell faced some four hundred troops.