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 . Life . 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 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 , 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 . Despite the disadvantage in numbers as well as attacking a fixed position , Williams ' and Macdonell ' s small force was driving the opposing force to the edge of the gorge on which the Redan was situated , and seemed on the verge of success before the Americans were able to regroup and stand firm . The momentum of the battle turned when a musket ball hit Macdonell ' s mount , causing it to rear and twist around . Another shot hit Macdonnell in the small of the back , causing him to fall from the horse . He was removed from the battlefield but succumbed to his injuries early the next day . On 16 October 1812 Lieut . Col . Macdonell , along with General Brock , was buried in the bastion at the northeast corner of Fort George . In 1824 , both bodies were moved to Queenston Heights to be interred in the first Brock ' s Monument . It is documented that when moving the remains someone noted that while Lieut . Col . Macdonell was in a later state of decomposition , General Brock ' s remains were near perfect . In 1840 , Irish - Canadian Benjamin Lett was suspected of ( but never charged with ) setting an explosive charge that heavily damaged the first monument . When a new monument was built , there was no mention of Macdonell on it . But inside the monument there is a brass plaque which reads : At the Redan Battery , a plaque mounted on a trio of large stones also serves as a monument to Macdonell . The plaque reads : In his 1984 album " From Fresh Water " , the late Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers immortalised Macdonell in the song " Macdonnell on the Heights " . He laments that despite Macdonell ' s courage , " not one in ten thousand knows your name " .