The Fort: A Novel of the Revolutionary War Review

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(More customer reviews)Having never read any of Bernard Cornwell's many previous efforts I was unsure of what to expect. Historical fiction can be one of those tricky areas where an author can easily change events to match up with a particular agenda. Conversations can be invented, events can be changed, and historical people can be described in ways that paint them in either a good or bad light depending on the author's personal opinion. So as much as I enjoy most books in this genre I still take them with a grain of salt.
Having said that, Cornwell's "The Fort" is an absolutely fabulous read, one I could not put down. It tells of an occupation by British troops during the Revolutionary War and the attempt of the Massachusetts Militia, strengthen by ships of the Continental Navy as well as Privateers, to "Captivate, kill, or destroy" the British forces. What should have been a relatively short and easy, if not somewhat bloody, campaign against the uncompleted Fort George turned into an almost month long siege as the American Forces failed to even launch a credible attack on the fort. The long stagnant siege allowed the Royal Navy to arrive and destroy what was the largest American Fleet ever assembled during the war.
Although history lays the entire blame of the military disaster on Commodore Dudley Saltonstall for his failure to lead his fleet into the harbor to destroy three British warships and therefore help coordinate a joint land/sea attack on the fort, Cornwell successfully argues that the blame lies more on the land forces commanded by General Solomon Lovell. Made up mostly of untrained citizens pressed into service the militia won the initial engagement and were primed to swarm the still uncompleted fort when Lovell decided to instead lay siege in the hopes Saltonstall would bring his warships in to bombard the British positions. What transpires is a test of wills where Saltonstall refuses to bring his ships into the harbor until the fort is neutralized while Lovell refuses to attack the fort without naval support. The long delay allows the British to fortify their positions and successfully wait for reinforcements to arrive.
One of the surprising revelations Cornwell provides is the antics and almost dereliction of duty by one Colonel Paul Revere. In his only real taste of battle with the British Revere is painted to be an arrogant, self-absorbed, surly, and mostly ineffectual artillery officer. His conduct during the attempted escape of the American Fleet from the Royal Navy is truly at odds with what most people have come to believe of him.
Again, this is just a wonderfully written book. The characters are well developed, the historical detail is extremely accurate, and the story written in a very vivid manner. Although I had never read one of Cornwell's previous books you can bet that omission will be corrected very soon. I highly recommend this book to anyone into events of the Revolutionary War.

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