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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
David Ekardt’s Taggert of the Marines follows Sean Taggert, a young colonial sailor whose family merchant ship, the Osprey, is attacked after a British naval officer tries to seize one of its crewmen. With rebellion spreading through the colonies and his family drawn into the conflict, Sean joins the newly formed Continental Marines under Captain Samuel Nicholas. The Osprey becomes a warship, carrying Sean and his men into the American Revolution at sea and on land. Sergeant Angus Lanigan helps turn new recruits into Marines as British ships hunt along the coast and Washington’s army fights to survive. Sean has spent his life learning the sea, but the war asks him to command men whose lives depend on every decision he makes. The fight for independence is becoming his family’s fight as well.
David Ekardt’s Taggert of the Marines is excellent historical fiction and brings the first Continental Marines onto the page through Sean’s command. The best part is the winter campaign, when the men march through snow after Sergeant Angus Lanigan promised them shipboard fighting and no mud. When one complains, Lanigan points out that snow is not mud. Sounds like a military experience veteran readers will relate to! Ekardt lets the humor come from men trying to steady themselves inside a punishing campaign. I was able to follow the way Ekardt incorporates naval maneuvers, including Sean using an anchor and the current to swing the Osprey around while hiding from a British frigate. I can honestly say I've never seen this on a cruise ship. Sean is a brilliant main character, and Ekardt builds his authority through seamanship, then shows what command means in the way Sean looks after his men. The historical details and warfare elements are exhaustively researched, and readers who enjoy Revolutionary War fiction are going to be pleased with this.
