The Fort. Bernard Cornwell

      

      Bernard Cornwell

      The Fort

      Copyright

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      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

       Cover

      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 …