Home


CHARACTERS

Colonel John Chrystie

A Lieutenant Colonel of the 13th Infantry Regiment. A regular army officer, he refused to serve under militia commander Stephen Van Rensselaer at Lewiston. Van Rensselaer had been chosen to lead the actual attack despite his being an inexperienced officer in the militia. In the end, Chrystie did agree to share the command of the attack on Queenston Heights.

After some difficulty, Chrystie crossed in the afternoon with Winfield Scott and some reinforcements, but the tide in the battle had already begun to turn against the Americans. Chrystie was wounded and taken prisoner. Stephen Van Rensselaer and Chrystie blamed each other for the failure of the attack. Captured, he was released ion January 18th 1813. Promoted to full colonel in March of 1813, he died later that year .