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Fort Montgomery: Through the
Years...
By
James P. Millard
 Fort
Montgomery at Rouses Point New York was sacrificed to provide stone
for a bridge across Lake Champlain in the 1930s, leaving only a
portion of this magnificent fort still standing. That portion has
been neglected over the years, and is now for sale on e-bay. The
fort was built as a defense of the Northern Frontier with Canada
during the Third System, and carries with it all the attributes of a
Third System coastal fort. While the majority of the fort was
destroyed, there is enough left to interpret the structure and to
provide an understanding of the design and construction of this
impressive fort.
Although not originally a fortifications
enthusiast, Jim Millard became the champion of Fort Montgomery and
through extensive study and research became the expert on the
history of the fort as well. During his research of all the
fortifications at Rouses Point, he amassed an extensive collection
of historical photographs of Fort Montgomery. Those serve as the
cornerstone of this highly enjoyable book.
Fort Montgomery Through the Years
is a picture book with a capsule history of Fort Montgomery
orienting the reader and providing valuable technical details about
the fort. The pictures are the true strength of the book. The
author has done a wonderful job of blending current photographs of
the remains of the fort with older photographs of the fort in its
full glory. By taking current photos from the same vantage point of
his historic photos and printing them side-by-side, he effectively
orients the reader to what is left of the fort while showing its
magnificence before it was emaciated and abandoned.
While this book is a prelude to the full
history of the fortifications of Rouses Point that the author is
currently preparing, it is a wonderful work in its own right. The
technical details of the fort are sound and reflect the extensive
research done by the author, as well as the level of detail involved
in his repetitive explorations of the site. I consider it a “must
buy” for anyone interested in this period of fortifications, or in
the history of the northern frontier of the United States.
John Weaver
Publishers Note:
John Weaver is a leading authority on American fortifications
of the Third (or Permanent) System. To learn more about John and his
book A Legacy in Brick and Stone- American Coastal Defense Forts
of the Third System, 1816-1867 click
here to visit our
Acknowledgements page.
Click
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