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A History of Fort Capron: A U.S. Army Post of the Third Seminole War, 1849-1858
History of a U.S. Army fort located at what is now St. Lucie Village, Florida, on the Indian River Lagoon near the modern city of Fort Pierce. Written by a local resident.
271 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
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July 14, 2026
Fort Capron was a U.S. Army outpost located just north of what is now the city of Fort Pierce, in today's St. Lucie Village.
This book is a classic example of the strengths and weaknesses of a typical self-published history book. A local historian has done good research on a largely overlooked and somewhat niche topic. The writing is decent and grammatically-sound (not always the case for self-published works), but I think it would have benefited from further editing. The book seems to occasionally lose focus on the fort and the operations directly pertaining to or emanating from it. There is an over-reliance on quoting army reports and other correspondence at length. The reports are in past tense, but much of the rest of the book is in present tense - a rather unusual choice for a history book.
Many images are printed at a somewhat lower quality which limits their usefulness, especially as they book is physically about an inch shorter and narrower than standard size. There are Endnotes, and some useful appendices. The lack of an Index is disappointing, especially as there is a wide cast of characters, and references to other forts and camps.
This is a positive contribution to the limited historiography of the Seminole Wars, but I think is written in such a way that it will only appeal to readers who already have a great deal of interest in that subject.
This book is a classic example of the strengths and weaknesses of a typical self-published history book. A local historian has done good research on a largely overlooked and somewhat niche topic. The writing is decent and grammatically-sound (not always the case for self-published works), but I think it would have benefited from further editing. The book seems to occasionally lose focus on the fort and the operations directly pertaining to or emanating from it. There is an over-reliance on quoting army reports and other correspondence at length. The reports are in past tense, but much of the rest of the book is in present tense - a rather unusual choice for a history book.
Many images are printed at a somewhat lower quality which limits their usefulness, especially as they book is physically about an inch shorter and narrower than standard size. There are Endnotes, and some useful appendices. The lack of an Index is disappointing, especially as there is a wide cast of characters, and references to other forts and camps.
This is a positive contribution to the limited historiography of the Seminole Wars, but I think is written in such a way that it will only appeal to readers who already have a great deal of interest in that subject.
Displaying 1 of 1 review