Fortress

5 primary works • 7 total works

French Fortresses in North America 1535-1763

by Rene Chartrand

Published 25 March 2005

This title provides a detailed examination of the defenses of the three largest fortified cities in Canada - Quebec, Montreal and Louisbourg - and also covers New Orleans in America. Quebec City is the best known and most impressive of the sites covered, and was the strongest of the fortresses of New France: besieged twice by the British (1690 and 1759) and once by the French (1760), it was captured in 1759 by General James Wolfe. Montreal was also strongly fortified and its strategic location ensured its prominence in the fur trade early on. Fortress Louisbourg was built as a large fortified naval station between 1720 and 1743 and saw significant combat action.

The Spanish Main 1492-1800

by Rene Chartrand

Published 10 August 2006

The Spanish possessions in the West Indies and the Central American and Mexican coast - was the envy of Englishmen, Frenchmen and Dutchmen from the 16th to the 19th centuries. To counter their assaults as well as those of pirates, the Spanish built an outstanding system of fortifications - much of which still stands today. This title will cover the three main periods of development including the first "castles" in Americas based on medieval styles built to protect against marauding adventurers including Sir Francis Drake. Later these forts were adapted to reflect the improved power of artillery. Following the fall of Havana to the British in 1762, the defences of the Spanish Main were revealed as outmoded and a complete reconstruction of them was ordered in the final stage of development as tremendous Vauban-style fortifications were created.

The Forts of New France

by Rene Chartrand

Published 8 April 2010

New France consisted of the area colonized and ruled by France in North America from the 16th to the 18th centuries. This title, which follows on from "Fortress 27: French Fortresses in North America 1534-1763: Quebec, Montreal, Louisbourg and New Orleans" and "Fortress 75: The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763", takes a look at the forts guarding the frontier defenses of New France from the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Among the sites examined are forts Crevecoeur (Ilinois), Biloxi (on the Mississippi), St Jean-Baptiste (Louisiana), Natchitoches (Louisiana), de Chartres (on the Mississippi), Conde (Alabama), and Toulouse (Alabama).

Forts of the War of 1812

by Rene Chartrand

Published 1 January 2012

When war broke out between the United States and Great Britain in 1812, neither side was prepared for the conflict, as evidenced by their respective fortifications. The most sophisticated and modern fortifications were those built by the US Corps of Engineers to protect some of the main port cities. These included Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia, Fort McHenry in Baltimore and Castle William in New York. The British also heavily fortified their main harbor at Halifax and their main center of power at Quebec. However, elsewhere, especially in the interior, fortifications were old, neglected or only hastily erected. The forts at Detroit and Mackinac were much as the British had left them in 1796. This book covers all of the main fortifications of the conflict, those that faced the crashing of guns and those whose intimidation played a part in the grand strategy of the war.

Forts of the American Revolution 1775-83

by Rene Chartrand

Published 16 June 2016

Though primarily fought in the field, the American Revolution saw fortifications play an important part in some of the key campaigns of the war. Field fortifications were developed around major towns including Boston, New York and Savannah, while the frontier forts at Stanwix, Niagara and Cumberland were to all be touched by the war. This book details all the types of fortification used throughout the conflict, the engineers on all sides who constructed and maintained them, and the actions fought around and over them.

The Forts of Colonial North America

by Rene Chartrand

Published 20 January 2011

This book takes a detailed look at the fortifications of various types that were built from the times of the earliest British settlements in North America in the late 16th century until the end of the Seven Years' War, when France ceded New France to Britain. It begins with a study of the forts built by colonists on Roanoke Island between 1585 and 1590, and the famous settlements in Jamestown (Virginia) from 1607. It moves on to cover the British settlements that followed in New England, Nova Scotia and other points on the North American coast, as well as the Dutch fortified settlements in what are now the states of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, and the Swedish forts in Delaware between 1638 and 1655.

Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763

by Rene Chartrand

Published 8 May 2008

New France consisted of the area colonized and ruled by France in North America from the 16th to the 18th century. At its peak in the early 18th century its territory was huge, stretching from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico. This title reviews the lengthy chain of forts built to guard the French frontier in the American northeast from the province of Quebec through New York State to Pennsylvania and Indiana. Among the sites examined are forts Chambly, St. Frederic (Crown Point), Carillon (Ticonderoga), Duquesne (Pittsburgh, PA), Ouiatenon (Quebec) and Vincennes (IN).

These forts, some of them well-preserved and popular tourist destinations, ranged from large and elaborate, stone-built structures with classic, Vauban-style elements, to little more than cabins surrounded by stockades. Some, such as Chambly, looked more like medieval castles in their earliest forms. Formerly Senior Curator with National Historic Sites of Canada, historian Rene Chartrand examines the different fort-types and the French military technology that went into their construction, and describes the strategic vision that led to their construction, their part in the conflicts with the British colonies in the east and the Indian nations of the interior, and their effect on trade.