Chapter IV (3)

That on the 6th of April, in the evening, we were in the yard of
No. 1 and No. 3 prisons, when we heard the firing at the gates,
and saw the prisoners all endeavoring to get into their respective
prisons. In going down towards the lower door of the prisons, we
saw a party of soldiers, who were posted on the walls, commence
firing on the prisoners, and we saw a man fall, who immediately
died, and several others were badly wounded before they were able
to get into the prisons.

_Amos Cheeney_,
_Washington Fox_,
_John Smith_,
_Harris Keeney_,
_James Coffen_,
_Thomas Williams_,
_Henry Casey_.

No. V.

_Homer Hull_, after being duly sworn on the holy evangelists of
Almighty God, deposeth and saith--

On the 6th of April, about six o'clock in the evening, I was
walking in the yard of No. 7 prison; all being as tranquil among
the prisoners as usual; I observed an unusual number of soldiers
mounting the walls; and one of them called to one of the
prisoners, and told him he (the prisoner) _had better go into the
prison, as the prisoners would soon be charged upon_. While he was
asking the cause of such a proceeding, I heard the alarm bell
ringing. I immediately run to the gates leading to the square,
when I saw Captain Shortland at the head of the armed soldiery
marching down to the gratings, the prisoners at the same time
running to see what was the matter; on the soldiers coming to the
gratings, Capt. Shortland ordered them to charge, which they did;
the prisoners immediately run to their respective prisons; on
passing through the inner gate they closed it after them. Then I
heard Captain Shortland order the soldiers to FIRE, which they
commenced to do in every direction of the yard, when the prisoners
were making every effort to reach their prisons. I did not see any
violence used on the part of the prisoners, nor do I believe any
violence was intended or premeditated.

HOMER HULL.

I, _Joseph C. Morgan_, having been duly sworn, and having read the
foregoing deposition, do declare the statement therein mentioned,
to be true.

J. C. MORGAN.

No. VI.

We, the undersigned, depose and say--

That, on the 6th of April, about 6 o'clock in the evening, we were
in the market square--we distinctly heard Captain Shortland give
orders to the soldiers to charge on the prisoners--and after we
retreated through the gates, we heard him give orders to the
soldiers to FIRE, which, on his repeating several times, was
executed.

_Joseph Reeves_,
_James Greenlaw_,
_Isaac L. Burr_,
_Thomas Tindal_.

No. VII.

We, the undersigned, depose and say--

That on the 6th of April, in the evening, after all the prisoners
in No. 1 and 3 yards had got into their respective prisons, a
party of soldiers came up to the door of No. 3 prison--we were
standing near the door at the time, and saw them fire TWO VOLLIES
into the prison, which killed one man and wounded another.

_William Scanck_,
_James Greenlaw_,
_John Latham_,
_John Glass_.

No. VIII.

_Enoch Burnham_, having been duly sworn, deposeth--

That he was standing at the market gate at the time Capt.
Shortland came into the market square with a large party of
soldiers (it being then about 6 o'clock.) They immediately formed
a line in the square--at that time a number of prisoners got into
the square from the yard of No. 1 prison, and had advanced a few
steps; the soldiers then charged, and the prisoners immediately
retreated to their prisons, without the least resistance. After
the prisoners had retired to the yards of the prison, the soldiery
formed a line, and commenced firing in the yards, the prison gates
being closed by the prisoners; shortly after they kept up a heavy
fire, and I saw one man fall. I immediately hastened to No. 5
prison, but on reaching No. 7, I found there was a party of
soldiers on the wall, firing from every direction. I then got safe
in No. 7, where, after remaining at the north end window for a few
moments, _I saw a man (a prisoner) leaning against the wall,
apparently wounded, with his hands in a supplicating posture--at
the same time, I saw several soldiers present and fire at the
prisoner, and he fell dead on the spot_.

ENOCH BURNHAM.

No. IX.

_Edward Coffin_, being duly sworn, deposed, that on the sixth of
April, about six o'clock in the afternoon, a few prisoners
belonging to No. 5 and 7 prisons, broke a hole through the wall
opposite No. 7 prison, as they said, to get a ball out of the
barrack yard, which they had lost in their play. After they had
broke through the wall, the officers and soldiers that were in the
barrack yard, told them to desist, or they would fire upon them.
Immediately after that the drum beat to arms, and the square was
filled with soldiers, and without telling the prisoners to go to
their prison, immediately commenced to charge and fire upon them.
I immediately started to go to No. 5 prison, and the soldiers on
the platforms on the walls commenced firing, and I should think
near forty fired at myself and three others, as I am sure there
were no other men in sight at that time between Nos. 5 and 6
prisons. In going round No. 5 cook house, a prisoner was shot and
killed very near me.

EDWARD COFFIN.

_Attest_, HENRY ALLEN.

No. X.

_Thomas B. Mott_, having been duly sworn, deposed--

About six o'clock in the evening of the 6th of April, I was called
on by a number of persons, requesting me as one of the committee,
to put a stop to some boys, whom they said were picking a hole
through an inner wall, for which, they said, our provisions would
be stopped to pay for. I asked what was their intentions in making
the hole? They said it was for the purpose of obtaining a ball
which they had lost in their play. I then repaired, with a number
of respectable men, to make them desist; but before we got into
the yard, a quick firing commenced. On my walking up the yard, was
met by a number of prisoners retreating to their prisons, much
alarmed; one of which I observed was badly wounded; he was
bleeding freely from his wound--I could see the yard was clear of
prisoners, or not more than two or three to be seen, and they
retiring fast. I requested the wounded man to lean upon me, and I
would assist him in some medical aid.--We had not advanced but a
few steps, when we were fired on. I advanced, assuring the
soldiery we had no hostile intentions. I then took the fainting
man in my arms, when a volley of musketry was discharged full at
us. I then retired immediately; there was but one of my prison
doors unlocked, which was on the back of the prison. On turning
the corner of the cook house, I found myself unexpectedly open to
the fire of soldiers on the ramparts of the south wall;--their
fire was kept up in so brisk a manner, that it appeared almost
impossible to enter without being shot; but finding my situation
very dangerous, I was determined to enter the prison, or die in
the attempt. For that purpose, myself, with a number of others
that had been standing behind the wing of the cook house, sallied
out for the purpose of gaining our prison door, when a volley of
musket balls showered in amongst us, killing two, and wounding
others. On our entering the prison our doors were shut to keep
them from firing in. Some little time after, the turnkey enquired
for me; I went forward to the window; he requested me to deliver
up the dead and wounded; I requested him to open the door, which
he did, for that purpose. On passing out the dead and wounded, I
was insulted by the soldiery, and on my replying, was charged
upon, and with difficulty escaped, without being butchered; they
likewise insulted the wounded as I gave them up, and threw the
dead down in the mud, and spurned at them in a very unfeeling
manner.

THOS. B. MOTT.

No. XI.

I, _William Mitchell_, being duly sworn upon the holy evangelists
of Almighty God, depose and say--

That, on the evening of the 6th of April, when the alarm
commenced, I was in the lower part of No. 1 yard. I walked up
towards the gate to learn the cause; when I had got about half
way, I heard a single musket fired, and immediately after a whole
volley. I then saw several men carrying one that was wounded, the
soldiers keeping up the whole time a steady fire, and the
prisoners all endeavoring to get into the prisons; the lower doors
being closed in the interim; it was with much difficulty they
could get in, the soldiers pursuing them the whole time, and
charging them with bayonets; and after getting into the prison, I
heard the firing of musketry in all directions round the prison:
and further the deponent saith not.

WILLIAM MITCHELL.

No. XII.

I, _John G. Gatchell_, having been duly sworn, depose and say--

That I was walking in the yard, towards the gate. The first I
knew, was the soldiers coming into the yard, with Capt. Shortland
at their head, when an immediate fire began from the soldiers, and
one man fell within six feet of me. While in the act of rendering
this man assistance, I heard Captain Shortland order the soldiers
to kill the damn'd rascal--meaning me; immediately the soldiers
came and pricked me with their bayonets, and I was forced to run
to the prison at the hazard of my life, and leave the man that was
wounded.

JOHN G. GATCHELL.

No. XIII.

_James Taylor_, having been duly sworn, deposeth, that he was
standing at the gate in the market square, at the time Captain
Shortland, with a file of soldiers, entered the square. Captain
Shortland ordered a prisoner in the square to go into the prison,
when he immediately complied. He then ordered the soldiers to
charge; and instantly observed to the commanding officer of the
military--"It is no use to charge on the damn'd Yankee
rascals--FIRE"--when this commenced immediately. The prisoners at
that time were rushing in the prisons as fast as possible, and
principally out of the square.--After the prisoners were mostly in
the prison of No. 4, a boy, of ten years of age, was shot through
the body and killed, while in the door passage trying to get in,
by the soldiers in the yard, in my presence, I being inside the
prison; likewise one other man was shot through the thigh.

JAMES TAYLOR.

No. XIV.

_Samuel Lowdy_ having been duly sworn, deposeth as follows:

That he was in the yard of prison No. 4, at the time Robert
Haywood was shot by the soldiery. He immediately took him up, for
the purpose of carrying him to the hospital. In the square he met
Capt. Shortland, and said, Capt. Shortland, this man is very badly
wounded--I want to carry him to the hospital. Capt. Shortland
replied, you damn'd son of a bitch, carry him back to the prison;
and he was obliged to comply. After getting to the prison, one of
the soldiers called him back, and he went up to the square with
the man, and met Capt. Shortland, who said, heave him down there,
(pointing to a sentry box) and away with you to the prison. At
that time they were firing in the different yards. On leaving the
square, we found the man was dead.

SAMUEL LOWDY.

_John Battice_ having been sworn, corroborates the evidence of
Samuel Lowdy.

JOHN BATTICE.

No. XV.

_William Potter_, having been duly sworn, deposed--

That while passing between No. 5 and 6 prisons, the soldiers
commenced firing from the walls in three divisions, at a few of
us; at that time there were only four prisoners in sight. After
advancing a few steps, I found a man badly wounded. I stopped and
picked the man up; during which time the soldiers kept an
incessant fire at us, as likewise till we got to the prison of No.
5.

WILLIAM POTTER.

No. XVI.

I, _David S. Warren_, being duly sworn on the holy evangelists of
Almighty God, depose and say--

That, on the evening of the 6th of April, when the alarm
commenced, I was in the lower part of the yard No. 1 prison. I
walked up to the gate to learn the cause. I there saw there were a
number of prisoners in the market square, and a great number of
soldiers drawn up across the same; soon after they charged on the
prisoners, who retreated out of the square into their respective
prison yards, and shut the gates after them. I saw the soldiers
advance up to the gates, and heard Capt. Shortland order them to
fire, which they not immediately obeying, I saw him seize hold of
a musket in the hands of a soldier, and direct it towards a
prisoner, and heard him again repeat--"_fire; God damn you,
fire_." Immediately afterwards the firing became general; the
prisoners were all endeavoring to get into the prisons, which was
attended with much difficulty, all the doors but one being
closed--and further the deponent saith not.

DAVID S. WARREN.

No. XVII.

We, the undersigned, being each severally sworn on the holy
evangelists of Almighty God, for the investigation of the
circumstances attending the late horrid massacre, and having heard
the depositions of a great number of witnesses, from our own
personal knowledge, and from the depositions given in as
aforesaid,

=REPORT AS FOLLOWS:=

That on the 6th of April, about six o'clock in the evening, when
the prisoners were all quiet in their respective yards, it being
about the usual time of turning in for night, and the greater part
of the prisoners being then in the prisons, the alarm bell was
rung, and many of the prisoners ran up to the market square to
learn the occasion of the alarm. There were then drawn up in the
square several hundred soldiers, with Capt. Shortland (the agent)
at their head; it was likewise observed at the same time, that
additional numbers of soldiers were posting themselves on the
walls round the prison yards. One of them observed to the
prisoners, that they had better go into the prisons, for they
would be charged upon directly. This, of course, occasioned
considerable alarm among them. In this moment of uncertainty, they
were running in different directions, enquiring the cause of the
alarm; some toward their respective prisons, and some toward the
market square. When about one hundred were collected in the
square, Capt. Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge upon them,
which order the soldiers were reluctant in obeying, as the
prisoners were using no violence; but on the order being repeated,
they made a charge, and the prisoners retreated out of the square,
into their prison yards, and shut the gate after them. Capt.
Shortland, himself, opened the gates, and ordered the soldiers to
fire in among the prisoners, who were all retreating in different
directions towards their respective prisons. It appears there was
some hesitation in the minds of the officers, whether or not it
was proper to fire upon the prisoners in that situation; on which
Shortland seized a musket out of the hands of a soldier, which he
fired. Immediately after the fire became general, and many of the
prisoners were either killed or wounded. The remainder were
endeavoring to get into the prisons; when going towards the lower
doors, the soldiers on the walls commenced firing on them from
that quarter, which killed some and wounded others. After much
difficulty, (all the doors being closed in the entrance, but one
in each prison) the survivors succeeded in gaining the prisons;
immediately after which, parties of soldiers came to the doors of
Nos. 8 and 4 prisons, and fired several vollies into them through
the windows and doors, which killed one man in each prison, and
severely wounded others.

It likewise appears, that the preceding butchery was followed up
with a disposition of peculiar inveteracy and barbarity.

One man who was severely wounded in No. 7 prison yard, and being
unable to make his way to the prison, was come up with by the
soldiers, whom he implored for mercy, but in vain; five of the
hardened wretches immediately levelled their pieces at him, and
shot him dead on the spot. The soldiers who were on the walls,
manifested equal cruelty, by keeping up a constant fire on every
prisoner they could see in the yards endeavoring to get into the
prisons, when their numbers were very few, and when not the least
shadow of resistance could be made or expected. Several of them
had got into No. 3 prison cook house, which was pointed out by
the soldiers on the walls, to those who were marching in from the
square. They immediately went up and fired into the same, which
wounded several. One of the prisoners ran out, with the intention
of gaining his prison, but was killed before he reached the door.

On an impartial consideration of all circumstances of the case, we
are induced to believe that it was a premeditated scheme in the
mind of Capt. Shortland, for reasons which we will now proceed to
give.--As an illucidation of its origin, we will recur back to an
event which happened some days previous. Captain Shortland was at
the time, absent at Plymouth; but before going, he ordered the
contractor, or his clerk, to serve out one pound of indifferent,
hard bread, instead of one pound and a half of soft bread, their
usual allowance. This the prisoners refused to receive. They
waited all day in expectation of their usual allowance being
served out; but at sun-set, finding this would not be the case,
burst open the lower gates, and went up to the store, demanding to
have their bread.

The officers of the garrison, on being alarmed, and informed of
these proceedings, observed that it was no more than right the
prisoners should have their usual allowance, and strongly
reprobated Captain Shortland, in withholding it from them. They
were accordingly served with their bread, and quietly returned to
their prison. This circumstance, with the censures that were
thrown on his conduct, reached the ears of Shortland, on his
return home, and he must then have determined on the diabolical
plan of seizing the first slight pretext to turn in the military,
to butcher the prisoners for the gratification of his malice and
revenge. It unfortunately happened, that in the afternoon of the
6th of April, some boys who were playing ball in No. 7 yard,
knocked their ball over into the barrack yard, and on the sentry
in that yard refusing to throw it back to them, they picked a hole
in the wall, to get in after it.

This afforded Shortland his wished for pretext, and he took his
measures accordingly. He had all the garrison drawn up in the
military walk, additional numbers posted on the walls, and every
thing prepared, _before the alarm bell was rung_; this he
naturally concluded would draw the attention of a great number of
prisoners towards the gates, to learn the cause of the alarm,
while the turnkeys were dispatched into the yards to lock all the
doors but one, of each prison, to prevent the prisoners retreating
out of the way, before he had sufficiently wreaked his vengeance.

What adds peculiar weight to the belief of its being a
premeditated, determined massacre, are,

_First_--The sanguinary disposition manifested on every occasion
by Shortland, he having prior to this time, ordered the soldiers
to fire into the prisons, through the prison windows, upon unarmed
prisoners asleep in their hammocks, on account of a light being
seen in the prisons; which barbarous act was repeated several
nights successively. That murder was not then committed, was owing
to an overruling Providence alone; for the balls were picked up in
the prisons, where they passed through the hammocks of men then
asleep in them. He having also ordered the soldiers to fire upon
the prisoners in the yard of No. 7 prison, because they would not
deliver up to him a man who had escaped from his _cachot_, which
order the commanding officer of the soldiers refused to obey; and
generally, he having seized on every slight pretext to injure the
prisoners, by stopping their marketing for ten days repeatedly,
and once, a third part of their provisions for the same length of
time.

_Secondly_--He having been heard to say, when the boys had picked
the hole in the wall, and some time before the alarm bell was
rung, while all the prisoners were quiet as usual in their
respective yards--"_I'll fix the damn'd rascals directly._"

_Thirdly_--His having all the soldiers on their posts, and the
garrison fully prepared before the alarm bell rang. It could not
then, of course, be rung to assemble the soldiers, but to alarm
the prisoners, and create confusion among them.

_Fourthly_--The soldiers upon the wall, previous to the alarm bell
being rung, informing the prisoners that they would be charged
upon directly.

_Fifthly_--The turnkeys going into the yard and closing all the
doors but one, in each prison, while the attention of the
prisoners was attracted by the alarm bell. This was done about
fifteen minutes sooner than usual, and without informing the
prisoners it was time to shut up. It was ever the invariable
practice of the turnkeys, from which they never deviated before
that night, when coming into the yard to shut up, to halloo to the
prisoners, so loud as to be heard throughout the yard, "_turn in,
turn in!_" while on that night it was done so secretly, that not
one man in a hundred knew they were shut; and in particular, their
shutting the door of No. 7, prisoners usually go in and out at,
and which was formerly always closed last, and leaving one open in
the other end of the prison, which was exposed to a cross fire
from the soldiers on the walls, and which the prisoners had to
pass in gaining the prisons.

It appears to us that the foregoing reasons sufficiently warrant
the conclusion we have drawn therefrom.

We likewise believe, from the depositions of men who were eye
witnesses of a part of Shortland's conduct, on the evening of the
6th of April, that he was intoxicated with liquor at the time;
from his brutality in beating a prisoner then supporting another
severely wounded, from the blackguard and abusive language he made
use of, and from his frequently having been seen in the same
state. His being drunk was, of course, the means of inflaming his
bitter enmity against the prisoners, and no doubt was the cause of
the indiscriminate butchery, and of no quarter being given.

We here solemnly aver, that there was no pre-concerted plan to
attempt a breaking out. There cannot be produced the least shadow
of a reason or inducement for that intention, because the
prisoners were daily expecting to be released, and to embark on
board cartels for their native country. And we likewise solemnly
assert, that there was no intention of resisting, in any manner,
the authority of this depot.

N. B. Seven were killed, thirty dangerously wounded, and thirty
slightly do. Total, sixty-seven killed and wounded.

_Wm. B. Orne_, }
_James Boggs_, }
_J. F. Trowbridge_, } SIGNED,
_John Rust_, }
_Walter Colton_, }

_Wm. Hobart_, }
_James Adams_, }
_Francis Joseph_, } _Committee_.
_Henry Allen_, }
_Thomas B. Mott_, }

No. XVIII.

Letter from Mr. Beasly, agent for American prisoners of war at
London, to the Committee of American prisoners of war in Dartmoor
prison.

_Agency for American prisoners of war_, }
_London, April 12, 1815_. }

GENTLEMEN--It having been stated in some of the newspapers
published here, that the American government intended to send some
ships of war bound to the Mediterranean, to this country, for the
purpose of completing their crews from among the prisoners; and
having been informed that this idea has got among the prisoners,
it becomes my duty to request, that you will inform them that the
fact is not so.

I have already informed you of the measures which had been taken
to provide conveyances for the prisoners. You will let them know,
that eight large transports have been engaged, some of which must
be now at Plymouth; others will follow, until the whole of the
prisoners are sent off.

It is much to be lamented, that at a moment when every exertion
was making to restore them to their country, _they should have
fallen into an excess which has proved fatal to some_. And I am at
a loss to conceive how they could, under such circumstances,
pretend to say, that the cause of this unfortunate but shameful
conduct, was the neglect of their government or its agent. This, I
am informed, they have stated to the officers who were sent to
examine into the affair. I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

R. G. BEASLY.

_The Committee of the American prisoners, Dartmoor._

No. XIX.

DARTMOOR, April 14, 1815.

SIR--Yours, of the 12th inst. came to hand this morning. It is
with astonishment we note its contents, that the officers who came
to inquire into the circumstances of the late unfortunate affair,
should have informed you, that the prisoners stated to them the
cause of that event was that their government or its agent had
neglected them. This is a most deliberate falsehood, let your
authors be who they may. We deny not that the anxiety of the
prisoners to get released from here, has been great; they have
even censured you as being dilatory in your preparations for that
purpose--but their government they have never implicated--and you
may rest assured, that they have too much of the genuine spirit of
Americans, to apply to the officer of a foreign government for
relief, or to make them a party in any dispute with the government
or its agents.

We solemnly assure you, that whatever anxiety among the prisoners,
or want of confidence in your exertions, as above stated, may have
existed among them, that it can in no way be construed to have any
collusion or connection with the late event, and was expressly so
stated to the admiral, who came here from Plymouth.

We, on the contrary, in the name of the five thousand prisoners
confined here, accuse Shortland of a deliberate, pre-determined
act of atrocious murder--we have sufficient evidence in our
possession to prove it to the world, and we call on you (there
being at present no accredited minister, or charge des affairs at
the court of London) to make strict inquiries into the
circumstances of the case, and procure all the evidence necessary
for a proper investigation into the same; for well do we feel
assured, that our government will not thus suffer its citizens to
be sacrificed, for the gratification of national prejudice, malice
or revenge, of the petty officers of a foreign state.

We are at no loss to impute the misrepresentation of the British
officers to their proper motives. They artfully wish to excite in
your breast a spirit of enmity and resentment against the
prisoners, that you might use less perseverance, or feel yourself
less interested in making the proper inquiries into the late
affair.

With much respect, we remain, Sir, your most obedient and humble
servants,

WILLIAM HOBART,
WALTER COLTON,
HENRY ALLEN.

_R. G. Beasly, Esq. Agent for Prisoners, London._

No. XX.

Second Letter from Mr. Beasly to the American Committee.

_Agency for American Prisoners of War_, }
_London, April 14, 1815_. }

GENTLEMEN--My letter to you of the 12th inst. on the subject of
the melancholy event, was written under an impression which I
received from a report of it, transmitted to me by this
government: I have since received your report of the
circumstances. Had I been in possession of the information therein
contained, the letter would have been differently expressed. I am,
gentlemen, your obedient servant,

R. G. BEASLY.

_Committee of American Prisoners, Dartmoor._

P. S. I subjoin an extract of the report alluded to from the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty:

"The rioters, it appears, endeavored to OVERPOWER the guard, to
force the prison, and had actually seized the arms of some of the
soldiers, and made a breach in the walls of the depot, when the
guard found itself obliged to have recourse to their fire arms,
and five of the rioters were killed, and thirty-four wounded,
after which the tumult subsided, and the depot was placed in a
state of tranquillity and security.

"Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, Commander in Chief at Plymouth,
having received information of this unfortunate event, lost no
time in directing Rear Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, Baronet, K. C.
B. and Schornberg, the two senior officers at that port, to
proceed to Dartmoor, and to inquire into the circumstances. Those
officers accordingly repaired to the depot, where they found, on
examination of the officers of the depot, and _all the American
prisoners who were called before them_, that the circumstances of
the riot were as before stated; but that no excuse could be
assigned for the conduct of the prisoners, but their impatience to
be released; and the Americans unanimously declared, that their
complaint of delay was not against the British government, but
against their own, which ought to have sent means for their early
conveyance home, and in replies to distinct questions to that
effect they declared they had no ground of complaint whatsoever."

No. XXI.

DARTMOOR, April 17, 1815.

_To Rear Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth._

SIR--The officers whom you sent to this place to inquire into the
circumstance of the unfortunate occurrence of the 6th inst.
whatever right they had to represent the conduct of Captain
Shortland in the most favorable manner, we conceive it an act of
gross injustice that they should have given to you such a false
and scandalous representation of what they were told by the
prisoners.

In the report from the admiralty board to Mr. Beasly, (a copy of
which he has transmitted to us) it is stated that the prisoners,
when called upon to give an account of the circumstances of the
6th, exonerated Captain Shortland and the English government from
any blame respecting the same, and accused their own government
and its agent of being the cause.

We, on the contrary, solemnly declare, that it was expressly
stated to Admiral Rowley, that whatever anxiety might have existed
among the prisoners for a speedy release, could, in no way
whatever, be construed to have had any collusion or connection
with that event.--That the prisoners, so far from having any idea
of attempting to break out, if the gates had been opened, and
every one suffered to go who might wish to do so, not one in a
hundred would have left the prison, having no means of subsistence
in a foreign country, and being likewise liable to IMPRESSMENT,
when by staying a few days longer, they would, probably, be
embarked for their native country.

They, on the contrary, accused Captain Shortland of being the sole
mover and principal perpetrator of the unprovoked and horrid
butchery.

Conceiving, from your well known character in the British navy for
integrity and candor, that you would not wish to have your name
the medium of imposing such a gross misrepresentation and such
direct falsehoods on the admiralty board and the British public,
we have taken the liberty of thus addressing you, and have the
honor to subscribe ourselves, your most obedient and very humble
servants,

_Wm. Hobart_, _Walter Colton_, _Henry Allen_,
_Thomas B. Mott_, _Wm. B. Orne_,

Committee of American Prisoners, Dartmoor.

[In addition to the documents furnished by the committee of the
Dartmoor prisoners, we lay the following affidavit of Archibald
Taylor before the public. Will people doubt this evidence also? Is
it likely that common soldiers, hired assassins, would make use of
similar expressions from their own impulses? or is it not much
more conformable to common sense to believe that this was the
language held by their officers, and that they echoed it.]

_City of New York, ss._

_Archibald Taylor_, late commander of the Paul Jones, private
armed vessel of war, being duly sworn, doth depose and say--

That he was a prisoner in Dartmoor prison at the time of the late
massacre of Americans; that after the affair of the 6th of April,
and on the night of the same day, he was in the prison No. 3,
assisting Thomas Smith, late his boatswain, who was shot through
his leg by the soldiers in the yard, when an order was received to
have all the wounded removed from the prisons to the hospital; and
while this deponent was carrying the said Thomas Smith to the door
of the prison, to deliver him to the guards selected to receive
him, some of the soldiers observed to this deponent, "this is in
turn for the affair at New Orleans, where you killed our men, and
now we have our revenge"--and further this deponent saith not.

ARCHIBALD TAYLOR.

Sworn before me, this 28th June, 1815.

AARON H. PALMER, _Notary Public_.

* * * * *

KING AND LARPENT'S REPORT.

_Plymouth, 18th April, 1815._

We the undersigned commissioners, appointed on behalf of our
respective governments, to inquire into and report upon, the
unfortunate occurrence of the 6th April inst. at Dartmoor Prison;
having carefully perused the proceedings of the several courts of
inquiry, instituted immediately after that event, by the orders of
Admiral Sir John T. Duckworth and Major-General Brown,
respectively, as well as the depositions taken at the coroner's
inquest upon the bodies of the prisoners, who lost their lives
upon that melancholy occasion; upon which inquest the jury found a
verdict of justifiable homicide; proceeded immediately to the
examination upon oath in the presence of one or more of the
magistrates of the vicinity, of all the witnesses, both American
and English, who offered themselves for that purpose; or who could
be discovered as likely to afford any material information on the
subject, as well as those who had been previously examined before
the coroner, as otherwise, to the number in the whole of about
eighty. We further proceeded to a minute examination of the
prisons, for the purpose of clearing up some points which, upon
the evidence alone, were scarcely intelligible; obtaining from the
prisoners, and from the officers of the depot, all the necessary
assistance and explanation; and premising, that we have been from
necessity compelled to draw many of our conclusions from
statements and evidence highly contradictory, we do now make upon
the whole proceedings the following report:--

During the period which has elapsed since the arrival in this
country of the account of the ratification of the treaty of Ghent,
an increased degree of restlessness and impatience of confinement
appears to have prevailed amongst the American prisoners at
Dartmoor, which, though not exhibited in the shape of any violent
excesses, has been principally indicated by threats of breaking
out if not soon released.

On the 4th of this month in particular, only two days previous to
the events which are the subject of this inquiry, a large body of
the prisoners rushed into the market-square, from whence, by the
regulations of the prison they are excluded, demanded bread
instead of biscuit, which had on that day been issued by the
officers of the depot; their demands having been then almost
immediately complied with, they returned to their own yards, and
the employment of force on that occasion became unnecessary.

On the evening of the 6th, about 6 o'clock, it was clearly proved
to us, that a breach or hole had been made in one of the prison
walls, sufficient for a full sized man to pass, and that others
had been commenced in the course of the day near the same spot,
though never completed.

That a number of the prisoners were over the railing erected to
prevent them from communicating with the sentinels on the walls,
which was of course forbidden by the regulations of the prison,
and that in the space between the railing and those walls they
were tearing up pieces of turf, and wantonly pelting each other in
a noisy and disorderly manner.

That a much more considerable number of the prisoners was
collected together at that time in one of their yards near the
place where the breach was effected, and that although such
collection of prisoners was not unusual at other times (the
Gambling Tables being commonly kept in that part of the yard) yet,
when connected with the circumstances of the breach, and the time
of the day, which was after the hour the signal for the prisoners
to retire to their respective prisons had ceased to sound, it
became a natural and just ground of alarm to those who had charge
of the depot.

It was also in evidence that in the building formerly the petty
officers' prison, but now the guard barrack, which stands in the
yard to which the hole in the wall would serve as a communication,
a part of the arms of the guard who were off duty, were usually
kept in the racks, and though there was no evidence that this was,
in any respect, the motive which induced the prisoners to make the
opening in the wall, or even that they were ever acquainted with
the fact, it naturally became at least a further cause of
suspicion and alarm, and an additional reason for precaution.

Upon these grounds captain Shortland appears to us to have been
justified in giving the order, which about this time he seems to
have given, to sound the alarm bell, the usual signal for
collecting the officers of the depot and putting the military on
the alert.

However reasonable and justifiable this was as a measure of
precaution, the effects produced thereby in the prisons, but which
could not have been intended, were most unfortunate, and deeply to
be regretted. A considerable number of the prisoners in the yards
where no disturbance existed before, and who were either already
within their respective prisons, or quietly retiring as usual
towards them, immediately upon the sound of the bell rushed back
from curiosity (as it appears) towards the gates, where, by that
time, the crowd had assembled, and many who were at the time
absent from their yards, were also from the plan of the prison,
compelled, in order to reach their own homes, to pass the same
spot, and thus that which was merely a measure of precaution, in
its operation increased the evil it was intended to prevent.
Almost at the same instant that the alarm bell rung, (but whether
before or subsequent is upon the evidence doubtful, though captain
Shortland states it positively as one of his further reasons for
causing it to ring) some one or more of the prisoners broke the
iron chain, which was the only fastening of No. 1 gate, leading
into market square by means of an iron bar; and a very
considerable number of the prisoners immediately rushed towards
that gate; and many of them began to press forwards as fast as the
opening would permit into the square.

There was no direct proof before us of previous concert or
preparation on the part of the prisoners, and no evidence of their
intention or disposition to effect their escape on this occasion,
excepting that which arose by inference from the whole of the
above detailed circumstances connected together.

The natural and almost irresistible inference to be drawn,
however, from the conduct of the prisoners by captain Shortland
and the military was, that an intention on the part of the
prisoners to escape was on the point of being carried into
execution, and it was at least certain that they were by force
passing beyond the limits prescribed to them at a time when they
ought to have been quietly going in for the night. It was also in
evidence that the outer gates of the market square were usually
opened about this time to let the bread waggons pass and repass to
the store, although at the period in question they were in fact
closed.

Under these circumstances, and with these impressions necessarily
operating upon his mind, and a knowledge that if the prisoners
once penetrated through the square, the power of escape was almost
to a certainty afforded to them, if they should be so disposed;
captain Shortland in the first instance proceeded down the square
towards the prisoners, having ordered a part of the different
guards, to the number of about fifty only at first, (though they
were increased afterwards) to follow him. For some time both he
and Dr. Magrath endeavored by quiet means and persuasion, to
induce the prisoners to return to their own yards, explaining to
them the fatal consequences which must ensue if they refused, as
the military would in that case be necessarily compelled to employ
force. The guard was by this time formed in the rear of captain
Shortland, about two thirds of the way down the square--the latter
is about one hundred feet broad, and the guard extended nearly all
across. Captain Shortland, finding that persuasion was all in
vain, and that although some were induced by it to make an effort
to retire, others pressed on in considerable numbers, at last
ordered about 15 file of the guard, nearly in front of the gate
which had been forced, to charge the prisoners back to their own
yards.

The prisoners were in some places so near the military, that one
of the soldiers states that he could not come fairly down to the
charge; and the military were unwilling to set against an enemy.
Some struggling ensued between the parties, arising partly from
intention, but mainly from the pressure of those behind preventing
those in front from getting back. After some little time, however,
this charge appears to have been so far effective, and that with
little or no injury to the prisoners, as to have driven them for
the most part quite down out of the square, with the exception of
a small number who continued their resistance about No. 1 gate.

A great crowd still remained collected after this in the passage
between the square and the prisoners' yards, and in the part of
those yards in the vicinity of the gates.--This assemblage still
refused to withdraw, and according to most of the English
witnesses and some of the American, was making a noise, hallowing,
insulting and provoking, and daring the military to fire, and
according to the testimony of several of the soldiers, and some
others, were pelting the military with large stones, by which some
of them were actually struck. This circumstance is, however,
denied by many of the American witnesses; and some of the English,
upon having the question put to them, stated that they saw no
stones thrown previously to the firing, although their situation
at the time was such as to enable them to see most of the
proceedings in the square.

Under these circumstances the firing commenced.--With regard to
any order having been given to fire the evidence is very
contradictory. Several of the Americans swear positively, that
captain Shortland gave that order; but the manner in which from
the confusion of the moment, they described this part of the
transaction, is so different in its details that it is very
difficult to reconcile their testimony. Many of the soldiers and
other English witnesses, heard the word given by some one, but no
one of them can swear it was by captain Shortland, or by any one
in particular, and some, amongst whom is the officer commanding
the guard, think, if captain Shortland had given such an order
that they must have heard it, which they did not. In addition to
this captain Shortland denies the fact; and from the situation
which he appears to have been placed at the time, even according
to the American witnesses, in front of the soldiers, it may appear
somewhat improbable that he should then have given such an order.

But, however, it may remain a matter of doubt whether the firing
first began in the square by order, or was a spontaneous act of
the soldiers themselves, it seemed clear that it was continued and
renewed both there and elsewhere without orders; and that on the
platforms, and in several places about the prison, it was
certainly commenced without any authority.

The fact of an order having been given at first, provided the
firing was under the existing circumstances justifiable, does not
appear very material in any other point of view, than as shewing a
want of self possession and discipline in the troops if they
should have fired without order.

With regard to the above most important consideration, of whether
the firing was justifiable or not, we are of opinion, under all
the circumstances of the case, from the apprehension which the
soldiers might fairly entertain, owing to the numbers and conduct
of the prisoners, that this firing to a certain extent was
justifiable in a military point of view, in order to intimidate
the prisoners, and compel them thereby to desist from all acts of
violence, and to retire as they were ordered, from a situation in
which the responsibility of the agents, and the military, could
not permit them with safety to remain.

From the fact of the crowd being so close and the firing at first
being attended with very little injury, it appears probable that a
large proportion of the muskets were, as stated by one or two of
the witnesses, levelled over the heads of the prisoners; a
circumstance in some respects to be lamented, as it induced them
to cry out "blank cartridges," and merely irritated and encouraged
them to renew their insults to the soldiery, which produced a
repetition of the firing in a manner much more destructive.

The firing in the square having continued for some time, by which
several of the prisoners sustained injuries, the greater part of
them appear to have been running back with the utmost
precipitation and confusion to their respective prisons, and the
cause for further firing seems at this period to have ceased. It
appears, accordingly, that captain Shortland was in the market
square exerting himself and giving orders to that effect, and that
lieutenant Fortye had succeeded in stopping the fire of his part
of the guard.

Under these circumstances, it is very difficult to find any
justification for the further continuance and renewal of the
firing, which certainly took place both in the prison yards and
elsewhere; though we have some evidence of subsequent provocation
given to the military, and resistance to the turnkeys in shutting
the prisons, and of stones being thrown out from within the prison
doors.

The subsequent firing rather appears to have arisen from the state
of individual irritation and exasperation on the part of the
soldiers, who followed the prisoners into their yards, and from
the absence of nearly all of the officers who might have
restrained it as well as from the great difficulty of putting an
end to a firing when once commenced under such circumstances.
Captain Shortland was from this time busily occupied with the
turnkeys in the square, receiving and taking care of the wounded.
Ensign White remained with his guard at the breach, and
lieutenants Ayelyne and Fortye, the only other subalterns known to
have been present, continued with the main bodies of their
respective guards.

The time of the day, which was the officers' dinner hour, will in
some measure explain this, as it caused the absence of every
officer from the prison whose presence was not indispensable
there. And this circumstance which has been urged as an argument
to prove the intention of the prisoners to take this opportunity
to escape, tended to increase the confusion, and to prevent those
great exertions being made which might perhaps have obviated a
portion at least of the mischief which ensued.

At the same time that the firing was going on in the square, a
cross fire was also kept up from several of the platforms on the
walls round the prisoners where the sentries stand, by straggling
parties of soldiers who ran up there for that purpose. As far as
this fire was directed to disperse the men assembled round the
breach, for which purpose it was most effectual, it seems to stand
upon the same ground as that in the first instance in the
square.--That part which it is positively sworn was directed
against straggling parties of prisoners running about the yards
and endeavoring to enter in the few doors which the turnkeys,
according to their usual practice, had left open, does seem, as
stated, to have been wholly without object or excuse, and to have
been a wanton attack upon the lives of defenceless, and at that
time, unoffending individuals.

In the same, or even more severe terms, we must remark upon what
was proved as to the firing in the door-ways of the prisons, more
particularly into that of No. 3 prison, at a time when the men
were in crowds at the entrance. From the position of the prison
and the door, and from the marks of the balls which were pointed
out to us, as well as from the evidence, it was clear this firing
must have proceeded from soldiers a very few feet from the door
way; and although it was certainly sworn that the prisoners were
at the time of part of the firing at least, continuing to insult
and occasionally to throw stones at the soldiers, and that they
were standing in the way of, and impeding the turnkey, who was
there for the purpose of closing the door, yet still there was
nothing stated which could, in our view, at all justify such
excessively harsh and severe treatment of helpless and unarmed
prisoners, when all idea of escape was at an end.

Under these impressions, we used every endeavor to ascertain if
there was the least prospect of identifying any of the soldiers
who had been guilty of the particular outrages here alluded to, or
of tracing any particular death, at that time to the firing of any
particular individual, but without success; and all hopes of
bringing the offenders to punishment would seem to be at an end.

In conclusion, we, the undersigned, have only to add, that whilst
we lament, as we do most deeply, the unfortunate transaction which
has been the subject of this inquiry, we find ourselves unable to
suggest any steps to be taken as to those parts of it which seem
to call for redress and punishment.

(Signed)

CHARLES KING,
FRANCIS SEYMOUR LARPENT.

_Plymouth, April 26, 1815._

SIR--In pursuance of the instructions received from Messrs. Clay
and Gallatin, I have now the honor to transmit to you the report
prepared by Mr. Larpent and myself on behalf of our respective
governments, in relation to the unfortunate transactions at
Dartmoor Prison of War, on the 6th of the present month.
Considering it of much importance that the report, whatever it
might be, should go forth under our joint signatures, I have
forborne to press some of the points which it involves, as far as
otherwise I might have done, and it therefore may not be improper
in this letter to enter into some little explanation of such parts
of the report.

Although it does appear that a part of the prisoners were on that
evening in such a state, and under such circumstances as to have
justified in the view which the commander of the depot could not
but take of it, the intervention of the military force, and even
in a strict sense, the first use of fire arms, yet I cannot but
express it as my settled opinion, that by conduct a little more
temporising this dreadful alternative of firing upon unarmed
prisoners might have been avoided. Yet as this opinion has been
the result of subsequent examination, and after having acquired a
knowledge of the comparatively harmless state of the prisoners, it
may be but fair to consider, whether in such a moment of confusion
and alarm, as that appears to have been, the officer commanding
could have fairly estimated his danger, or have measured out with
precision the extent and nature of the force necessary to guard
against it.