Sentinels by the Sea: Coastal Fortifications of Colonial New England and Nova Scotia

Seventeenth— and eighteenth—century warfare centered on sieges, not seeking out and destroying the enemy’s army in battle. A captured fortress or town was a bargaining piece in the inevitable peace treaty between warring monarchs, an approach even more prevalent during the long and bitter colonial conflicts in North America. Given the vast distances involved, the lack of manpower, and limited logistical resources, each war in North America became one of position—a war of forts. Sentinels by...