Fortress #75 covers the defensive structures set up by the French in the Northeasters section of Amarica from their initial colonies until the area was taken over by the British. This is basically an area from Hudson Bay south to where Pittsburgh now stands.

Typical of the time, these forts were mostly constructed out of native materials, which means wood and while some of them eventually were modified with stonework, most were not and have returned to nature. This provides little help to historians who try to figure out the shape and make-up of these structures. There are some period drawings and paintings, many of which are used to help illustrate this volume. However, the details are often incorrect or conflicting.

Nonetheless, the layouts were pretty much standardized and made use of the local terrain to provide the protection needed. As the French were not going to be assaulted by a major military power, there are aspects of construction that, while important in Europe, were of little use in North America, as the native tribes did not use sophisticated weapons.  It is interesting to note that despite this, most of these forts that were assaulted ended up falling or being abandon.

In this book, author Rene' Chartrand covers the methods of construction as well as the major parts of these fortresses. Every site that has had a fortress built upon it is covered to some extent. Some of these have been restored while others are just outlines on the ground and others have disappeared entirely. Those that are still extant are, of course, given greater coverage and the use of photos as they are today. To help us visualize what some of these may have been like, Brian Delf has provided superlative illustrations of not only the physical layout, but also some of the action that took places at these locales.

Overall, another fine book in this series and one that should be on the shelves of anyone interested in this particular time and place in North American history.

September 2008

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