The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763 (Fortress) [Paperback]

Rene Chartrand (Author), Brian Delf (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2008 | Series: Fortress (Book 75)

"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. Frédéric (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 René 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Rene Chartrand's The Forts of New France in Northeast American 1600-1763 is for any library strong in early military technology. It covers the area ruled by France in North America from the 16th to the 18th centuries, discussing for design, technology and defensive strategies and providing full-color illustrations: maps, charts and photos." -The Bookwatch (September 2008)

"In this book, author Rene Chartrand covers the methods of construction as well as the major parts of ... fortresses. Every site that has had a fortress built upon it is covered to some extent ... 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 place 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." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (September 2008)

"This volume follows the author's French Fortresses in North America 1535-1763... The earlier book described the defenses of Louisbourg, Quebec, Montreal and New Orleans; this one covers the smaller French forts between Newfoundland and the Ohio River Valley.... Covering a wide range of styles and locations, this is an excellent book on an interesting subject. I highly recommend it." -Bolling Smith, Coast Defense Journal (September 2008)

"This book is a must for those interested in the struggle between the French and English in America during the 17th and 18th centuries, especially since there are few other books available on this topic." -J.E. Kauffman, SiteO Newsletter (June 2008)

About the Author

René Chartrand was born in Montreal and educated in Canada, the United States and the Bahamas. A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites for nearly three decades, he is now a freelance writer and historical consultant. He has written numerous articles and books including over 30 Osprey titles. He lives in Gatineau, Quebec, with his wife and two sons.

Brian Delf began his career working in a London art studio producing artwork for advertising and commercial publications. Since 1972, he has worked as a freelance illustrator on a variety of subjects including natural history, architecture and technical cutaways. His illlustrations have been published in over thirty countries. Brian lives and works in Oxfordshire, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; First Edition edition (May 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846032555
• ISBN-13: 978-1846032554
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For any library strong in early military technology, September 4, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763 (Fortress) (Paperback)

Rene Chartrand's THE FORTS OF NEW FRANCE IN NORTHEAST AMERICAN 1600-1763 is for any library strong in early military technology. It covers the area ruled by France in North America from the 16th to the 18th centuries, discussing fort design, technology and defensive strategies and providing full-color illustrations: maps, charts, and photos.

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise and Accurate, March 5, 2011

By 

Dave Boyle (Hanover, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763 (Fortress) (Paperback)

I really liked this booklet. Like all the books in the Fortress series, the subject is too broad to be well covered in 63-64 pages, but this is an excellent introduction. The information is well presented, and the illustrations are outstanding, easily worth the price of the book. They really bring the forts to life.

I have to respectfully quibble with Colonel Lynn's corrections in his review, as a few are incorrect themselves. Most glaringly, the walls of Fort Chambly are NOT 111 feet high, rather, they are approximately the height given by Rene Chartrand, 32 feet.

4.0 out of 5 stars Better then his other one...., February 8, 2011

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763 (Fortress) (Paperback)

Rene Chartrand's effort in Forts of New France is a considerable improvement over his effort regarding the Forts of Colonial North America of British, Dutch and Swedish. I think the difference was that in this book, the subject matter is more localized and the author can take good summary samples of different types for forts that France built during their time as colonial power in North America. It probably help that the author is a Canadian so he got a nice inside track to the subject matter. I found this book to be more readable and more informative. I found the layout drawings of some of these forts to be quite interesting and the author's information more easier to digest. It pretty obvious that the author do have some understanding of the forts of his own homeland. For a book of 63 pages, this work does do justice.

And yes I know,,,the book on New France came out before the book on British/Dutch/Swedish forts. But I read the latter first.

I read the previous review written by Lt. Col Lynn that informed me of host of errors made by the author on this book. I am not sure if the good colonel was being slightly bit on the anal side or not but it would really help if we the readers knew of his sources. Lt Col.Lynn also forget that Mr. Chartrand only have less then 63 pages to stuff all his information. Less thanks to many diagrams, drawing and photos that adds to the book's quality. Not everyone can write like Dr. Robert Forcyzk who is superb in this sort of writing. Lt Col. Lynn gave only three stars while I gave four since I gave the book a bit more credit even if there may be some minor errors here and there. But for overall introductory book, I found this book to be quite informative and educational. It nice to visualized places like Fort Duquesne that read so often in George Washington's biographies or on books on French and Indian War. In some way, that is the reason why I brought this book, to help with the visualization of places made famous by events but long disappeared.