tion id="u63304232-44bb-57cc-bc72-0481495839a8">
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
