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While the major fighting of the war moves to the south in the summer of 1779, a British force of fewer than a thousand Scottish infantry, backed by three sloops-of-war, sails to the desolate and fog-bound coast of New England. Establishing a garrison and naval base at Penobscot Bay, in the eastern province of Massachusetts that would become Maine, the Scots—the only British troops between Canada and New York—harry rebel privateers and give shelter to American loyalists.
In response, Massachusetts sends a fleet of more than forty vessels and some one thousand infantrymen to “captivate, kill or destroy” the foreign invaders. Second in command is Peleg Wadsworth, a veteran of the battles at Lexington and Long Island, once aide to General Washington, and a man who sees clearly what must be done to expel the invaders.
But ineptitude and irresolution lead to a mortifying defeat—and have stunning repercussions for two men on opposite sides: an untested eighteen-year-old Scottish lieutenant named John Moore, who will begin an illustrious military career; and a Boston silversmith and patriot named Paul Revere, who will face court-martial for disobedience and cowardice.
Grounded firmly in history, inimitably told in Cornwell's thrilling narrative style, The Fort is the extraordinary novel of this fascinating clash between a superpower and a nation in the making.
The little known story depicted in this book took place in the territory of Massachusetts, now Maine. It is a frustrating story of a several month battle between British and American troops in 1779 in an area called Majabigwaduce that was surrounded by a Harbor and a river of the same name and Penobscot Bay. The area contained many British warships, even more American ships of various types, some government ships, and some privateers that had gotten their ships mostly by pirating. Some of the American military were naval men, some marines, some conscripted from Boston or other areas nearby, and some civilians from the area. The Americans were "led" by several generals that were in constant bickering against each other whether on land or sea, seemingly never to agree for any length of time to get something accomplished. The British were led quite well by their officers on land and sea.
This story is historical fiction but fiction only for several characters thrown in to make understanding easier but the battles and actions were true and gives one a sense of why this battle didn't go better for the Americans. They had superior amounts of men and ships but too many differences of opinions as to how and when a battle should start. They bickered about positioning of ships, men, where and when to move them, and how strong their tactics should be. One of the officers that caused much trouble was Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Revere who most of us know of through the "midnight ride of Paul Revere" to warn the area that "the British were coming" in his earlier years. It seems that Revere wasn't such a hero and he never did complete his famous ride, only starting it with others continuing to spread the word. In this particular action he was the artillery officer but always balked when he was ordered to move his artillery where his superiors wanted it. He seemed to be disruptive about most all he did, or didn't do.
The British started building Fort George in the area but it was slow going. The American forces and the British forces would lob all types of weapons at each other, some from rifles, some from cannons or other artillery. They moved the large guns from ship to shore and back again as ordered and depending on which general was giving instructions. Rains would present huge logistic problems in the mud for weapons and men. Fog was present most days, and that along with the smoke from exploding shells, balls, and ammunition of many kinds, made visibility poor almost all the time. The descriptions of battle are very vivid telling how humans can be torn apart by other humans.
Some from the small villages took sides with one or the other nations even to the point that they had signed an agreement of loyalty with the British (who had controlled the ground areas) even if they were neutral or favored the Americans. The descriptions of what actually occurred every day was so frustrating to me as the reader. I could see how the Americans could have won the battle if they had struck strong and early, saving lives and possibly taking control of the area. Dissention reigned partly because of self-esteem, not respecting each other, or, as in Reveres case, wanting to do his own thing in his own time, but usually not wanting to do anything!
I will not mention all the military and non-military men and their leaders so as not to confuse you. The author keeps the story clear with his great style of writing. I can only tell you t
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.spizio
Posted December 29, 2010
How do you fail to take a fortification barely started and lose a naval force many times larger than you opponents? Indecisiveness, inaction and ineptness. Cornwell wraps up a history lesson in an accessible story. If you are a fan of Sharpe this story doesn't have the same level of action, however the story should grab your attention soundly.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.TruffleAK
Posted April 23, 2012
The story is a good one, set in the Revolutionary War period. It is about the British establishing a fort in what is now Maine, but was then Massachusetts. We try to kick them out, but due to inept leadership the effort failed. I also thought that there should have been an epilog chapter to transition from the climax to the story. It reminded me of when students write papers and they hit the word limit and quit. Other than the ending being a bit abrupt, it was a good diversion.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.dsw3131
Posted April 8, 2012
As a proud American and fan of military history, I found this to be a very entertaining book. This was my first Bernard Cornwell book, but I will be reading many more of his novels. He is a gifted writer. I love this book because it educated me on a campaign of the Revolutionary War that I had never heard about. I grew up reading all the heroic tales of the rebels fighting for freedom, but I love to read books that show both sides of a fight and to learn from the defeats we suffered. I also had no idea about Paul Revere being brought up on charges following this campaign. I didn't even know he fought in battles. The author may have been a bit harsh on Revere, but everyone is human and it is very interesting to me to see people's mistakes and faults...even America's "heroes". I thought this book was great.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lau14
Posted February 28, 2011
Great history book! One of the best!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 26, 2010
I have read every book by Bernard Cornwell, this was the first time I couldn't even finish the book. I invested about 200 pages, and was so bored I couldn't move forward.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.rsmlp
Posted October 27, 2010
I've read literally all of cornwell's books and this is the first one I didn't finish. just not compelling. no real protagonist/antagonist. dull and dissapointing
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Jimsyker
Posted October 24, 2010
$14.12 @ Costco for the hardback. No battery problems. No issue enjoying it in the jacuzzi. Throw it in the trailer and it goes camping with no power concerns. $12.99 from B&N for the eBook. They won't be able to survive long like this. I'm back to buying my books @ Costco or Amazon. What's the point if the ebook is just as expensive as the book. No paper. No transport to the store. No employee's to stock = half price at least!! B&N, get your head on straight or go the way of the dinosaur.
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Overview
While the major fighting of the war moves to the south in the summer of 1779, a British force of fewer than a thousand Scottish infantry, backed by three sloops-of-war, sails to the desolate and fog-bound coast of New England. Establishing a garrison and naval base at Penobscot Bay, in the eastern province of Massachusetts that would become Maine, the Scots—the only British troops between Canada and New York—harry rebel privateers and give shelter to American loyalists.
In response, Massachusetts sends a fleet of more than forty vessels and some one thousand infantrymen to “captivate, kill or destroy” the foreign ...