The Fort
‘Captivate, kill or destroy the whole force of the enemy’ was the order given to the American soldiers.THE FORT is the blistering novel from worldwide bestseller Bernard Cornwell.Summer 1779.Seven hundred and fifty British soldiers and three small ships of the Royal Navy. Their orders: to build a fort above a harbour to create a base from which to control the New England seaboard.Forty-one American ships and over nine hundred men. Their orders: to expel the British.The battle that followed was a classic example of how the best-laid plans can be disrupted by personality and politics, and of how warfare can bring out both the best and worst in men. It is a timeless tale of men at war, written by a master storyteller.
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Bernard Cornwell
The Fort
Copyright
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
This paperback edition 2011
First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollinsPublishers 2010
THE FORT. Copyright © Bernard Cornwell 2010. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Maps © Garry Gates 2010
Bernard Cornwell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978 0 00 733174 1
While some of the events and characters are based on historical incidents and figures, this novel is entirely a work of fiction.
EPub Edition © AUGUST 2011 ISBN: 9780007331765
Version: 2017-05-09
Dedication
THE FORT
is dedicated, with great admiration, to
Colonel John Wessmiller, US Army (Retired)
who would have known just what to do.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Map
A Note on Names and Terms
One
There was not much wind so the ships headed sluggishly…
Two
Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Revere stood square in the Boston Armory yard.
Three
On Sunday, 18th July, 1779, Peleg Wadsworth worshipped at Christ…
Four
The fleet sailed eastwards, driven by a brisk south-westerly, though…
Five
The Tyrannicide, flying the pine-tree flag of the Massachusetts Navy,…
Six
The daylight was fading. The western sky glowed red and…
Seven
The first shots crashed into the trees, exploding twigs, pine…
Eight
Marine Captain Thomas Carnes and thirty men had been on…
Nine
‘Where the devil is Revere?’ Lovell asked. He had asked…
Ten
The sun had not risen when Peleg Wadsworth roused Lieutenant-Colonel…
Eleven
Wednesday, August 11th, started with a thick fog and still…
Twelve
And, suddenly, there was hope.
Thirteen
A Royal Marine at the taffrail of HMS North fired…
Fourteen
Peleg Wadsworth slept ashore, or rather he lay awake on…
Historical Note
Heroic Myths
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna by Charles Wolfe 1791-1823
About the Author
Other Books by Bernard Cornwell
Credits
About the Publisher
Map
A NOTE ON NAMES AND TERMS
In 1779 there was no state of Maine, it was then the eastern province of Massachusetts. Some place names have also changed. Majabigwaduce is now called Castine, Townsend is Bucks Harbor, and Falmouth is Portland, Maine. Buck’s plantation (properly Plantation Number One) is Bucksport, Orphan Island is Verona Island, Long Island (in the Penobscot River) is now Islesboro Island, Wasaumkeag Point is now Cape Jellison and Cross Island is today called Nautilus Island.
The novel frequently refers to ‘ships’, ‘sloops’, ‘brigs’, and ‘schooners’. They are all, of course, ships in the same way that they are all boats, but properly a ship was a large, square-rigged, three-masted vessel like a frigate (think of the USS Constitution) or a ship of the line (like HMS Victory). Nowadays we think of a sloop as a single-masted sailboat, but in 1779 it denoted a three-masted vessel that was usually smaller than a ship and distinguished by having a flush main deck (thus no raised poop deck). Sloops, like ships, were square rigged (meaning they carried rectangular sails hung from crosswise yards). A brig, or brigantine, was also a large square-rigged sailing vessel, but with only two masts. Schooners, like brigs, carried two masts, but were rigged with fore-and-aft sails which, when hoisted, lie along the centre line of the vessel rather than across it. There were variations, such as brig-sloops, but at Penobscot Bay, in 1779, there were only ships, sloops, brigs and schooners. With the exception of the Felicity all the names of the boats are taken from history.
Most of the characters in the novel existed. The only fictional names are those of any character whose surname begins with F (with the exception of Captain Thomas Farnham, RN), and the names of British privates and non-commissioned officers (with the exception of Sergeant Lawrence, Royal Artillery).
Excerpt of letter from the Massachusetts Council, to Brigadier-General Solomon Lovell, July 2nd, 1779:
You will in all your operations consult with the Commander of the fleet that the Naval Force may cooperate with the troops under your command in Endeavoring to Captivate Kill or Destroy the whole force of the Enemy there both by sea & land. And as there is good reason to believe that some of the Principal men at Majorbagaduce requested the enemy to come there and take possession you will be peculiarly careful not to let any of them escape, but to secure them for their evil doings … We now commend you to the Supream being Sincerely praying him to preserve you and the Forces under your Command in health and safety, & Return you Crowned with Victory and Laurels.
