THE FORT, A Novel of the Revolutionary War

Bernard Cornwell, the great historical novelist, has written a tale about a little known battle between Britain and America in the summer of 1779. The results of the siege gave America its worst naval defeat prior to Pearl Harbor in World War II.

The novel begins with the British sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Penobscot Bay, Massachusetts (now Maine). The 700 troops were led by Brigadier General Francis Mclean and three sloops of war by Captain Henry Mowat. They were welcomed to the area by the locals, since they were loyalist to the King. The only non-loyalist living there were the fictional brother and sister James and Bethany Fletcher. Bernard Cornwell makes the novel easier to understand by explaining before the novel starts that the fictional characters' surnames start with F, with a few minor exceptions.

Meanwhile, the State of Massachusetts Militia decides to oppose the British without the Continental Army's approval with an untrained, ragtag militia and over forty ships, mostly privateers. They are led by Brigadier General Solomon Lovell (a farmer by trade), second-in-command Brigadier General Peleg Wadsworth, Continental Navy Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, and Artillery Lt. Colonel Paul Revere.

**** Warning: spoilers ahead ****

The siege of the British fort starts well with the Americans storming the cliff near the fort. Then, things go terribly wrong. Instead of pursuing the attack, they are scared off by a few cannon balls shot their way. The British General was ready to surrender, but then to his surprise the Americans dug in defensively. This begins the indecisiveness between American General Lovell and American Commodore Saltonstall on who should start the attack. It gets worse when Lt. Colonel Paul Revere shows himself as an egotistical, disobedient, and inept coward. The only heroes of the siege were the few Continental Marines and General Wadsworth.

Reinforcements from the British Royal Navy arrive during this indecisiveness and destroy the fleeing American fleet. Instead of fighting back, the Americans actually set their own ships afire, even though they greatly outnumbered the British Royal Navy.

As a result of this conflict, Navy Commodore Saltonstall was dismissed from the Continental Navy, and Lt. Colonel Paul Revere was court-martialed. The reputations of Generals' Lovell and Wadsworth were unharmed.

I found myself very intrigued by this book. Did anyone even know about this conflict? The only thing I can criticize this book for is the lack of developing the characters of the Fletchers.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars.

Comment : I find it ironic that 82 years later, General Peleg Wadsworth's grandson Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the legendary poem "Paul Revere's Ride". He wrote that poem to spur on the North's spirit before the start of the Civil War, not knowing of Paul Revere's conduct at Penobscot Bay.