Dear Mr. Cornwell, I just wish to thank you for your latest venture, “The Fort”. I pride myself on being well-versed in military history, but the Penobscot Expedition was a glaring blind spot in my knowledge thereof. The revelations regarding Paul Revere were admittedly shocking to me. As a child living in the Northeast, I idolized him. I distinctly remember visiting his house and grave with my parents in 1976, as well as the sense of awe that accompanied the event. In the back of my mind, growing up, I wondered why he just faded from the historical stage after 1775, but never thought to look more deeply into the matter. Well, you have brought the truth to light, and the figurative emperor clearly is not wearing so much as a figleaf. I thank you for your clarity, and fervently hope that modern-day Revere partisans are not calling for your head. I do feel a little sympathy for my old Army buddy and his wife, since she is a direct descendant of Paul Revere. I wonder if she ever looked into the truth about her ancestor? “The Fort” is one of your best works to date. You took a minor battle hardly anyone knew of and, in writing about it, really made it seem a momentous and cataclysmic affair (of course, to those who were risking their very lives in said battle, how could it NOT be a momentous and cataclysmic affair?!) Finally, please do not tell anyone this, but you had me, a red-blooded American from birth, at times CHEERING the efforts of His Majesty’s soldiers against the rebels. It takes a truly remarkable writer to induce such a reaction. PLEASE DON’T STOP! Yours Respectfully, James McNew Prescott, Arizona