Coveted for their strategic military locations, forts often changed hands many times. Forts played a vital role in the settlement of the New World and were a means of refuge for soldiers and settlers. The difficult life of the soldier is detailed from the harsh living conditions to the primitive medical care they received. Children will enjoy reading about: - the different types of fort, including the fur fort and the military fort - the day-to-day lives of the community of men, women, and children who lived there - the businesses that sprang up in a fort - the "war of the forts" between Fort Niagara and Fort George