"Quaint and Historic Forts of North America" is a historical novel looking at the origins of various forts built in the United States. The forts are a reminder of the military acumen of the inhabitants, spanning across several centuries. Many of them are the works of the diverse Europeans who migrated to the American colonies, bringing with them their architectural influences. As the author explains, "We behold the Indian in possession though we do not know who was his predecessor in holding the land... There come the Spanish with their relentless persecutions of the natives. There come the English, French, Dutch, and Swedish. And the claims of each clash, to at length give way—despite the military acumen of the French—to the steady, home-building genius of the English."

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The work is chiefly devoted to accounts of forts within the present limits of the United States.

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. We have represented this book in the same form as it was first published. Hence any marks seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

Jonathan Letterman was an outpost medical officer serving in Indian country in the years before the Civil War, responsible for the care of just hundreds of men. But when he was appointed the chief medical officer for the Army of the Potomac, he revolutionized combat medicine over the course of four major battles—Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg—that produced unprecedented numbers of casualties. He made battlefield survival possible by creating the first organized ambulance corps and a more effective field hospital system. He imposed medical professionalism on a chaotic battlefield. Where before 20 percent of the men were unfit to fight because of disease, squalid conditions, and poor nutrition, he improved health and combat readiness by pioneering hygiene and diet standards. Based on original research, and with stirring accounts of battle and the struggle to invent and supply adequate care during impossible conditions, this new biography recounts Letterman’s life from his small-town Pennsylvania beginnings to his trailblazing wartime years and his subsequent life as a wildcatter and the medical examiner of San Francisco. At last, here is the missing portrait of a key figure of Civil War history and military medicine. His principles of battlefield care continue to be taught to military commanders and first responders.

This work is the most comprehensive reference work on the War of 1812 yet published, offering a multidisciplinary treatment of course, causes, effects, and specific details of the War that provides both quick reference and in-depth analysis for readers from the high school level to scholars in the field. The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812: A Political, Social, and Military History dedicates 872 entries—totaling some 600,000 words—to this important American war. It is the most comprehensive and significant reference work available on the subject. Its entries spotlight the key battles, standout individuals, essential weapons, and social, political, and economic developments, and examine the wider, concurrent European developments which directly affected this conflict in North America. A volume of primary documents provides more avenues for research. This three-volume work offers comprehensive, in-depth information in a format that lends itself to quick and easy use, making it ideal for high school, college, and university-level learners as well as general learning annexes and military libraries. Scholars of the period and students of American military history will find it essential reading.