Chapter I: Part 1

THE PRISONERS’ MEMOIRS,

OR

DARTMOOR PRISON;

CONTAINING A COMPLETE AND IMPARTIAL HISTORY OF

The Entire Captivity of the Americans in England,

FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE LAST WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN, UNTIL ALL PRISONERS WERE
RELEASED BY THE TREATY OF GHENT.

Also, a particular detail of all occurrences relative to the

HORRID MASSACRE AT DARTMOOR,

_On the fatal evening of the 6th of April, 1815_.

THE WHOLE CAREFULLY

COMPILED BY A PRISONER IN ENGLAND,

Who was a Captive during the whole War.

----_Quæque ipse miserrima vidi,
Et quorum pars magna fui; quis talia fando,
Temperet a lacrymis?_ Virg. I., ii., v. 5.

“These sufferings I myself have seen, and to the greater part of which
I was a principal party. Who can relate such woes without a tear?”

NEW YORK:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR.

1852.

PREFACE.

The following pages are presented to the public by one of the survivors of this worst of prisons, believing it will be read with deep interest by every American, and by every relative and friend of those who happened to be one of the unfortunate inmates of the Dartmoor Prison.

If any part of the work should be found languid and tedious, it must be wholly attributed to the suffering situation of the author; the vigor and vivacity of whose mind was greatly affected by those of the body. If misery is less interesting collectively in groups than when viewed individually, let the reader single out one, and view him, separately, through the iron grating, and see him, pale and feeble, etching upon a stick, with a rusty nail, another notch, which adds to his calender another of those dismal days and nights he had spent in confinement; he may view him till he sees the iron enter his soul before he turns from him, and then say--it was my son, my brother, or my friend!--he will then have a picture interesting enough to his feelings.

COPYRIGHT SECURED.

CERTIFICATE.

We, the undersigned, late prisoners of war, having been confined the greater part of the last war between the United States of America and Great Britain, and having carefully perused and examined the following Manuscript Journal, kept by Charles Andrews, our fellow-prisoner at Dartmoor, in the County of Devon, in the kingdom of Great Britain, do solemnly declare, that all matter and occurences herein contained, are just and true, to the best of our knowledge and belief; and that this is the only Journal kept at Dartmoor.

Capt. Joshua Wait, New-York.
Capt. Samuel H. Ginnodo, Newport, R. I.
Capt. Frederick H. Coffin, Hudson, N. Y.
Mr. Joseph C. Morgan, Newport, R. I.
Lieut. Homer Hull, ---- Conn.
Mr. Jacob Evans, Baltimore, Md.
Capt. Benjamin F. Chesebrough, ---- Conn.
Mr. Luther S. Dunbar, Boston, Mass.
Capt. Richard Longly, Portland, D. M.
Mr. Ephraim Abbott, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Fenton Conner, Charleston, S. C.
Mr. Joseph Conner, Newbern, N. C.
Mr. David Morrison, ---- Pennsylvania.
Mr. Caleb Coffin, Nantucket, Mass.
Mr. John Merrill, Portland, Maine.
Capt. Charles Bennet, Hudson, N. Y.
Mr. William Griffin, Salem, Mass.
Mr. James Bowie, do. do.
Mr. John F. Foster, Gloucester, Mass.
Mr. Joseph Clark, Cape-Elizabeth, do.
Mr. John Stafford, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Charles Whitewood, New-York.
Mr. Reuben Bunn, do.
Mr. Samuel Rossett, do.
Mr. Jacob F. Taylor, Philadelphia.
Mr. William Conklin, New-York.
Mr. Samuel S. Brush, do.
Capt. John C. Rowles, Baltimore, Md.
Mr. John Meigh, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Edward Shaw, Baltimore, Md.
Lieut. S. S. Fitch, ---- Connecticut.
Mr. Samuel Correy, ---- Vermont.
Mr. Samuel Howard, Baltimore, Md.
Mr. William Clark, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Joseph Fosdick, do.
Mr. Samuel Morrison, New-York.
Mr. William Hull, do.
Mr. William Atkins, ---- Connecticut.
Mr. Daniel Hotchkins, Salem, Mass.
Mr. Thomas Carlton, Boston, do.
Mr. John Migat, Warren, R. I.
Mr. Cornelius Hoy, Baltimore, Md.
Capt. Jesse S. Smith, Stonington, Conn.
Mr. James Sproson, New-York.
Mr. Benjamin Wheeler, Baltimore, Md.
Mr. George Scott, ----, ----.
Capt. Matthew S. Steel, Philadelphia, Penn.
Mr. W. P. Sevear, Baltimore, Md.
Capt. James McQuilter, do. do.
Mr. John S. Miller, do. do.
Mr. Thomas Bailey, Salem, Mass.
Mr. Warren Humphrey, ---- Connecticut.
Mr. William Rea, Boston, Mass.
Capt. Thomas Hussey Hudson, N. Y.
Capt. James Boggs, Philadelphia, Penn.
Capt. James Gays, ---- Virginia.
Capt. Thomas Mumford, Newport, R. I.
Mr. Isaac Dowel, Baltimore, Md.
Mr. Frederick G. Low, Cape-Ann.
Mr. Henry Bull, ---- Connecticut.
Doct. Benjamin Mercer, New-York.
Mr. Reuben Sherman, ---- Mass.

N. B.--Out of the above list there are, at this time, only nine survivors, as far as can be ascertained.

THE PRISONERS’ MEMOIRS,

OR

DARTMOOR PRISON.

The war between the United States of America and Great Britain, which has been so costly in blood and treasure, and agonized the hearts of so many thousands of our fellow-beings, was formally declared, by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, in conformity with a solemn act of the supreme legislature of the nation, on the eighteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve. The nations were, by this act, at open hostilities, and began to capture each other’s vessels upon the high seas, wherever found. I myself happened to be so unfortunate as to be among the first captives brought into England. On our first arrival there, we were all collected from different ports, and confined in different prisons. Some were sent to Chatham, some to Hamoze, and others to Portsmouth; where a strict examination took place as to their nativity and citizenship. After the examination, the officers who were entitled to their parole, (such as commanders and first lieutenants of privateers mounting fourteen guns, commanders and first mates of merchantmen, non-combatants, &c.) received it, and were sent to the little village of Ashburton, in Devonshire, or Reading, in Berkshire; the former is situated about twenty-six miles inland from Plymouth, and the principal place of confinement for paroled officers. The town of Ashburton is pleasantly situated in a healthy and fertile part of the country, where every article of provision is more easily obtained and at a much cheaper rate than in many other parts of the kingdom. Here all the officers on parole had their names registered, and particular personal description taken of them. They had allowed them by the British government one shilling and six pence, which is equal to thirty-three and a quarter cents, money of the United States, per day each man. With this small allowance, great numbers of paroled officers were compelled entirely to subsist, for having no other dependence and no friends in this country, they were obliged to purchase clothing, board, and lodging, and all other necessaries of life, and to make use of every economy to prevent themselves from suffering, notwithstanding the cheapness of provisions, and the facility of obtaining them. They were permitted, during the day, to walk one mile on the turnpike road towards London or Plymouth, and at a certain early hour every evening they had to retire to their respective lodgings, and there to remain till next morning; those were their general restrictions for all the days in the week, except two, on which every officer must answer at a particular place appointed by their keepers, in the presence of their agent or inspector. In this manner some hundreds of officers were compelled to drag out a tedious existence in a state of painful solicitude for their country, their homes and families, during the greater part of the late war.

But the condition of the officers on parole was enviable indeed, when compared with that of the officers and others not entitled to that privilege. Every such person taken under the flag of the United States, were sent to some one of the places before mentioned, and confined on board prison ships. The greatest number were sent to the Hector and La Brave, two line of battle ships which were unfit for his majesty’s service at sea, and were now used for the confinement of prisoners of war. These were placed under the command of a lieutenant, master’s mate, midshipman, and about twenty invalid seamen; there is also a guard under the command of a lieutenant, ensign, and corporal, consisting of thirty-five soldiers to each of these ships.

The Hector and La Brave lie about two miles from Plymouth, well moored by chain moorings. Captain Edward Pelew, of the royal navy, the agent for prisoners of war, resides at this place. On the reception of all prisoners into their respective prison ships, they were obliged to undergo a strict examination concerning their birth, place of residence, and age; a complete and minute description of their person in all respects was taken down in writing. After the examination, there was delivered to each man a very coarse and worthless hammock, with a thin coarse bed-sack, with at most not more than three or four pounds of flops or chopped rags, one thin coarse and sleazy blanket; this furniture of the _bedchamber_ was to last for a year and a half before we could draw others. After the distribution of the bedding, we were informed of the rules and restrictions which we must strictly observe. Every ship has a physician attached to it, who is ever to be on board, and when any prisoner is sick, he is to repair immediately to a certain part of the ship for medical aid; but seldom has he any attention paid him till the moment of dissolution, the doctors paying but little attention to the suffering prisoners, although a prisoner is seldom or never suffered to expire on board; for at the moment death seems inevitably approaching, the prisoner is removed to a ship lying near by, called the hospital ship, where if he happen to survive the removal, he receives much better treatment and attendance; but when once removed to that ship, they may bid adieu to their fellow-prisoners, and most of them to sublunary things; for not more than one out of ten ever recovers.

We were then informed, that the Transport Board had most _graciously_ and _humanely_, for the health and happiness of the prisoners, imposed on them the following duty; to keep clean the ship’s decks and hold; to hoist in water, provisions, coal, and every other article expended or used in the ship; and also to permit the prisoners to cook their own victuals, which consisted of the following rations allowed by the English government: To each man one pound and a half of very poor coarse bread, half a pound of beef, including the bone, one-third of an ounce of salt, and the same quantity of barley, with one or two turnips, per man. These were the rations for five days in the week; the other two were fish days, the rations for which were one pound of salt fish, the same weight of potatoes, and the usual allowance of bread.

The confinement, and this scanty and meager diet for men who were brought up in a land of liberty, and ever used to feast on the luscious fruits of plenty, soon brought on a pale and sickly countenance, a feeble and dejected spirit, and a lean, half animate body. This bad state of living, I solemnly believe, has been the serious cause of inducing many valuable citizens of the United States to enter the king’s service, to the great injury of their country.

The prisoners are counted every night as they are ordered below by the guard; and every morning, about sunrise, each prisoner is obliged to “take up his bed and walk;” for he is ordered to shoulder his hammock and go on deck, and be counted with it on his shoulder. He then leaves his hammock on deck all day, and has permission to go below or remain on deck, as best suits his convenience.

No prisoner is permitted to hold any correspondence, except by unsealed letters passing through the hands of the Board of Transport. No boat is permitted to come alongside the ship, unless by permission of the commanding officer, and then must be strictly examined by the sentry, to prevent any liquor, newspapers, or candles, from coming among the prisoners; these being prohibited by the _gracious_ and _humane_ Board of Transport.

For consolation in our present miserable condition, we were informed that the said _honorable_ Board had indulgently permitted the American prisoners to establish and carry on any branch of manufacture, except such as netting, woollen fabrics, making straw hats and bonnets, &c. &c.; or rather, they prohibited every branch of manufactory which they were capable of pursuing. At this time they could have carried on the making of straw into flats for bonnets with very considerable advantage, as almost every sailor was more or less capable of working at this art, and, by strict attention to the business, could have earned six or eight pence sterling per day: but this was not permitted, and we considered this prohibition a contrivance of the agents of government to induce the prisoners to enter his majesty’s service. Their situation was now so abject and wretched, that they were willing to embrace any opportunity where there was the least prospect of bettering their condition, however repugnant to their feelings or sentiments; and though their country’s interest was ever nearest to their hearts, yet, through the faint hope of ameliorating their condition, and some day or other of returning to their native land, their wives and families, some of less fortitude were induced to join in arms against their country. It could not be a crime; for self-preservation is the first law of nature.

From the first of our imprisonment, which was shortly after the commencement of the war, prisoners were constantly arriving, and immediately disposed of in one or other of these depots:--among them were great numbers of American seamen who had been delivered up from the different ships of war in the English service, on board of which they had remained from one to ten years, and after receiving many dozen lashes at the gangway of the ships, were sent to prison with the appellation of “dammed rebellious villains, unfit for his majesty’s service!”

During the fall of the year one thousand eight hundred and twelve, until April in one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, the English had collected at the following depots the number hereinafter mentioned, who were mostly prisoners delivered up from ships of war, and citizens of the United States detained in them for some time before. At Chatham were collected about nine hundred; at Portsmouth, about one hundred; and at Plymouth, about seven hundred. These unfortunate men had often made application to Mr. Beasley, the agent for American prisoners of war, who resided in England, but were never able to obtain an answer from him. At this time, great numbers of the oldest prisoners were completely destitute of clothing, and the most active and cleanly unable to avoid being covered with vermin.

On the second of April, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, the Transport Board, apprehending the escape of the prisoners, in consequence of their repeated threats to that purpose, issued an order to Captain Pelew, then agent for the prisoners at Plymouth, to make preparation for removing all the prisoners then confined on board the Hector prison-ship, at Plymouth, to the depot at Dartmoor, in the county of Devon, situated seventeen miles from Plymouth, in the back country.

These orders were accordingly made known to the prisoners; and on the morning of the third of April, they were ordered on deck, with their hammocks, baggage, &c., in readiness to march to a prison, the very name of which made the mind of every prisoner “shrink back with dread, and startle at the thought;” for fame had made them well acquainted with the horrors of that infernal abode, which was by far the most dreadful prison in all England, and in which it was next to impossible for human beings long to survive.

Two hundred and fifty dejected and unhappy sufferers, already too wretched, were called, each of whom received a pair of shoes, and his allowance of bread and salt fish. Orders were then immediately given, for every man to deliver up his bed and hammock, and to repair forthwith into the different launches belonging to the ships of war, which were alongside the ship, ready to receive them. The prisoners entered, surrounded by the guards and seamen belonging to the Hector and La Brave. We were landed at New Passage, near Plymouth, and were placed under the guard of a company of soldiers, equal in number to the prisoners! Orders were then given to march at half-past ten in the morning, with a positive injunction that no prisoner should step out of, or leave the ranks, on pain of instant death. Thus we marched, surrounded by a strong guard, through a heavy rain, and over a bad road, with only our usual and scanty allowance of bread and fish. We were allowed to stop only once during the march of seventeen miles.

We arrived at Dartmoor late in the after part of the day, and found the ground covered with snow. Nothing could form a more dreary prospect than that which now presented itself to our hopeless view. Death itself, with the hopes of an hereafter, seemed less terrible than this gloomy prison.

The prison at Dartmoor is situated on the east side of one of the highest and most barren mountains in England, and is surrounded on all sides, as far as the eye can see, by the gloomy features of a black moor, uncultivated and uninhabited, except by one or two miserable cottages, just discernible in an eastern view, the tenants of which live by cutting turf on the moor, and selling it at the prison. The place is deprived of every thing that is pleasant or agreeable, and is productive of nothing but human woe and misery. Even riches, pleasant friends and liberty could not make it agreeable. It is situated seventeen miles distant from Plymouth, fourteen from the town of Moorton, and seven from the little village of Tavastock.

On entering this depot “of living death,” we first passed through the gates, and found ourselves surrounded by two huge circular walls, the outer one of which is a mile in circumference and sixteen feet high; the inner wall is distant from the outer thirty feet, around which is a chain of bells suspended by a wire, so that the least touch sets every bell in motion, and alarms the garrison. On the top of the inner wall is placed a guard at the distance of every twenty feet, which frustrates every attempt at escape, and instantly quells every disorderly motion of the prisoners. Between the two walls and over the intermediate space, are also stationed guards. The soldiers’ guard house, the turnkey’s office, and many other small buildings, are also within these two circular walls. Likewise several large commodious dwelling-houses, which are occupied by the captain of the prison, doctor, clerks, turnkeys, &c., &c. Inside of the walls are erected large barracks, capacious enough to contain one thousand soldiers, and also a hospital for the reception of the sick. No pains have been spared to render the hospital convenient and comfortable for the sick prisoner. And certainly much credit is due to the director of this humane institution, whoever he may have been, for the attention paid to this most important appendage of an extensive prison. These last mentioned buildings, and several small store-houses, are enclosed by a third wall. These three ranks of walls form in this direction a barrier which is insurmountable.

Thus much for the court-yard of this seminary of misery; we shall next proceed to give a description of the gloomy mansion itself. On entering, we found seven prisons enclosed in the following manner, and situated quite within all the walls before mentioned. Prison No. 1, 2 and 3, are built of hard, rough, unhewn stone, three stories high, one hundred and eighty feet long and forty broad; each of these prisons, on an average, are to contain fifteen hundred prisoners. There is also attached to the yard of these prisons a house of correction, called a cachot; this is built of large stone, arched above and floored with the same. Into this cold, dark, and damp cell, the unhappy prisoner is cast if he offend against the rules of the prison, either willingly or inadvertently, and often on the most frivolous pretence. There he must remain for many days, and often weeks, on two-thirds the usual allowance of food, without a hammock or bed, and nothing but a stone pavement for his chair and bed. These three prisons are situated on the north side of the enclosure, as is also the cachot, and separated from the other prisons by a wall. Next to these is another, No. 4, which is equally as large as any of the others; this is separated from all the others by a wall on each side, and stands in the centre of the circular walls.

Adjoining to this, are situated, in rotation, prisons No. 5, 6, and 7, along the south side of the circular wall. To each prison is attached a small yard, with a constant run of water passing through it.

After viewing this huge pile of building, and obtaining what little information we were able at this time, we were informed that these seven prisons contained a _small family_ of French people, consisting of about eight thousand, who were also prisoners of war. Among these fluttering, ghastly skeletons, we were directed to take up our abode, and distribute ourselves as well as we could.

We received our usual hammock and bed, and in conformity with our orders, repaired separately to one or other of six of these prisons; the seventh being allotted to those criminals who had committed misdemeanors, such as murder, larceny on their fellow-prisoners, and other heinous offences, which too frequently occurred.

We entered the prisons; but here the heart of every American was appalled. Amazement struck the unhappy victim; for as he cast his hopeless eyes around the prison, he saw the water constantly dropping from the cold stone walls on every side, which kept the floor (made of stone) constantly wet, and cold as ice.

All the prison floors were either stone or cement, and each story contained but one apartment, and resembled long vacant horse-stables. There were in each story six tiers of joists for the prisoners to fasten their hammocks to. The hammocks have a stick at each end to spread them out, and are hung in the manner of cots, four or five deep, or one above the other. On each side of the prison is left a vacancy for a passage from one end of the prison to the other. We were then informed that the prisoners must be counted out and messed, six together, every morning by the guards and turnkeys.

During the month of April there was scarce a day but more or less rain fell. The weather here is almost constantly wet and foggy, on account of the prison being situated on the top of a mountain, whose elevation is two thousand feet above the level of the sea. This height is equal to the plane on which the clouds generally float in a storm, the atmosphere not being dense enough to support heavy clouds much above that height; almost every one that passes that way finds the top of the mountain enveloped in a thick fog and heavy torrent of rain. In winter the same cause makes as frequent snows as rain in summer. It is also some degrees colder during the whole year than in the adjacent country below. This too is occasioned by the great elevation of the top of the mountain, which is above the atmosphere heated by the reflected rays of the sun upon the common surface of the earth, and being small of itself, reflects but little heat. These two causes combined, produce constant cold and wet weather.

Information was brought us that all prisoners in England were placed on a naval establishment, and under the direction of a naval officer. Captain Isaac Cotgrave, of the royal navy, was the agent for the prisoners of war at this depot. The Transport Board directed that a market should be held every day, in front of each prison yard. This market was supplied with provisions by the inhabitants of the adjacent country; twenty or thirty of whom came every day, and furnished it with every kind of country produce. They were not allowed to impose on the prisoners, by demanding an exhorbitant price for their produce; the prices of every article were fixed by the turnkeys before they entered the yard, according to the prices in the nearest market-town. No person was permitted to enter within the first gate, without being strictly examined as to their business, and without giving a satisfactory account of themselves; if they did this, they were then permitted to enter and begin their trade.

At the market, the French prisoners carry on a great traffic. They buy and sell, and are, apparently, as happy as if they were not imprisoned. But the Americans are not so;--they long for that land of liberty, so dear to them, and sigh for their distant home.

As this depot seems to be the most interesting scene of misery, we shall confine ourselves more particularly to the events which occurred here; only touching, occasionally, upon the most important events of the few prisoners at the other depots.

From the commencement of the war, and previous to April 1813, a great number of prisoners had been sent home, by exchange. Numbers died, and some entered the service of Great Britain. The names of those who died, and those who entered the service, are mentioned in the catalogue hereunto annexed. About the first of May, Captain Cotgrave gave orders to have all the American prisoners collected from the different prisons, and transferred to prison No. 4.

In this prison were about nine hundred of the most abject and outcast wretches that were ever beheld. French prisoners, too wicked and malicious to live with their other unfortunate countrymen: they were literally and emphatically naked; having neither clothing or shoes, and as poor and meager in flesh as the human frame could bear. Their appearance was really shocking to human feeling. The mind cannot figure to itself any thing in the shape of men, which so much resembled the fabled ghosts of Pluto, as these naked and starved French prisoners. Much of the misery and wretchedness of these creatures was owing to their imprudence and bad conduct.

These men were now to be our associates, and we deprived of the privileges allowed heretofore to prisoners of war. As the gate of this yard is always kept shut, we could have no advantage of the markets, or connexion with the other prisoners; while the French prisoners, in the other prisons, were allowed those benefits.

The American prisoners now began to experience a new scene of distress;--the little clothing they had when they were taken, was either worn out or disposed of at a very reduced price, (not more than one tenth of the value,) to buy the very necessary articles of soap and tobacco.

We remained in this situation during the month of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, close confined in prison No. 4, with the liberty of that one yard. We often demanded of Captain Cotgrave, the reason why such distinction was made between the American and French prisoners; but were never able to obtain any other reason, than that his orders were issued from the Transport Board to do so. This month we received letters from our fellow-prisoners at Chatham, and those on board the prison ships at Plymouth; who informed us of every particular of their situation at both places; but they were comparatively well off, when compared with our situation. The prisoners at Plymouth informed us, that other prisoners arrived there daily, and that they expected shortly to be removed, and to participate with us in the sufferings and misery of Dartmoor.

On the twenty-ninth of May, the garrison which we found here, was removed and supplied by new regiments of soldiers. We learned, that no regiment is stationed here more than two or three months at a time. These guards consist of about twelve or fifteen hundred soldiers, who have been guilty of some offence, disobedience of orders, or neglect of duty; and are sent here as a punishment. By these soldiers we were informed of the particulars of the actions of the Java and Peacock.

At this time we made known, in as respectful a manner as we could, all the particulars of our unhappy situation to Mr. Reuben G. Beasley, agent for American prisoners of war. We informed him that our allowance was too scanty, that the whole day’s allowance was scarcely enough for one meal, that the greater part of the prisoners were in a state of nakedness; and also, that great numbers had enlisted out of the prison, into the king’s service;--that they had been compelled to do it, in hopes to better their condition, and indeed to preserve life. For, as they were wholly neglected by the agent of their country, they saw no other means by which it was possible to preserve existence--or ever to return to their country; as they totally despaired of any exchange.

At the same time we informed him, that unless something was done soon for our relief, we must all either (though reluctantly) enter the service of the enemy, or fall a sacrifice to famine and want.

We informed him also of the distinction which was made between the French and American prisoners. The former were allowed many privileges and advantages, which were denied the latter; and that our treatment was contrary to what we considered the custom and usage of civilized nations in modern warfare. That we were hurried into the prison-house before dark, locked up, to remain without any light or fire till seven or eight o’clock in the morning.

If a prisoner had to leave his hammock, _per necessitatem_, he was obliged to grope from one end of the room to the other, and often could not regain it during the whole night.

To all these petitions, complaints, and remonstrances, Mr. Beasley returned no answer, nor took any notice of them whatever; which, of course, made every prisoner despair of any relief from him. These letters could not miscarry, or be intercepted; for we had formed a course of correspondence with several very respectable mercantile houses in London, through which our letters were sure to reach Mr. Beasley by private conveyance.

The month of June commenced with deep distress; for disease was then added to nakedness and famine; and we were still more severely dealt by. For Doctor Dyer, who was head surgeon of the Hospital-department, would not permit an American prisoner to be brought into the hospital, until his complaint was completely confirmed, and often not until he was so weak, and reduced so low, that it would take four men to remove him on his hammock. For this conduct, he justified himself by saying, that he had been acquainted with the impositions of the Americans during the revolutionary war, and that these impositions were not to be played off on him any more.

A moment’s reflection must have convinced him, that it was impossible for these men not to be sick, in their starved, naked and wretched condition; sleeping in a prison, whose walls were constantly wet and cold, occasioned by the constant rainy, foggy, and damp weather on this mountain.

But he refused to admit the American prisoners into the hospital, because, he said, such numbers would breed every kind of pestilence and disease among the French prisoners. We attributed these evils to the shameful and criminal neglect of the agent of American prisoners, whose conduct deserves the severest censure of every prisoner, and requires a strict and impartial investigation by the authority of his country.

From the first to the fifteenth of May, we were every day called out of the prison and counted, to see if any remained in prison. The soldiers then entered the prison, and searched every hammock; if they found any prisoner, he was hastened out into the yard, though they were often found so weak and feeble, that it required assistance to enable them to walk.

The guards discharged this duty with great reluctance; their feelings often revolted, when compelled to do this unkind office, and though accustomed to scenes of distress, were very sensibly touched at the miserable situation of these their fellow beings.

On the eighteenth of May, we received letters from the other depots, and were informed that there were seven hundred prisoners at Plymouth, on board the Hector, which was so much crowded, that Captain Pelew, of the Royal Navy, and principal agent of the Board, had received orders from the Board, to remove the prisoners to other depots, either to that of Chatham, Dartmoor, or Stapleton, which is near Bristol. This last place was fixed on by the Board as a necessary precaution to prevent any disturbance, which was apprehended might arise, should too many American prisoners be confined in one place.

Accordingly, on the twenty-eighth, Captain Pelew ordered two hundred and fifty to be landed from the Hector and marched to Dartmoor. They arrived there on the same day, and after going through the same manœuvre as the first draft, they were committed to No. 4. These, together with the former draft, made four hundred and seventy Americans, and seven hundred naked outcast French, all intermixed in one prison.

Care was taken to keep the yard of this prison always locked, to prevent us from going to market. By this means, all we obtained from the market came through the hands of the French prisoners in the other prisons, who obliged us to pay twenty-five per cent. above the market price for all we had. At this time, about thirty were missing out of the number, some dead, and others had enlisted into the king’s service.

On the twenty-ninth, fifty more American prisoners were transported from on board the Hector, in a ship of war, round to Chatham. Two only at a time were permitted to come on deck; the others were compelled to remain below, without hammock, bed, or blanket. I leave the reader to judge whether this measure arose from wanton cruelty in those immediately concerned, or whether it was absolutely necessary to prevent their escape, or rising and taking the ship, which had her whole crew on board.

On the thirtieth, two hundred prisoners were ordered to go ashore, who accordingly made themselves ready, and landed at New Passage, under a guard of seamen and marines. Here they were received by a guard of soldiers, consisting of two hundred and fifty, who were to convey them on foot one hundred and thirty-four miles to Stapleton, within a few miles of Bristol.

Stapleton is a pleasant situation, and is a fine healthy country; but the fatigue of the journey, the restrictions and inconvenience to which the prisoners were subjected, presented to them a melancholy prospect.

At the commencement of their journey, they were provided with a shilling (twenty-two and a half cents) per day, for their traveling expenses. This was all the allowance made them to purchase food, drink, and lodging; and they were to perform the whole journey in eight days. They were also particularly enjoined not to leave the ranks on pain of death, and the guard had orders to despatch any prisoner who should attempt to escape. The particulars of their march, their arrival at Stapleton, and treatment at that place, will be mentioned hereafter.

On the first of July, two hundred more were ordered from on board the Hector, to march and share with us the miseries of Dartmoor. They were landed as usual, and marched under a strong guard to that mountain of wretchedness, and after passing through the usual forms at their arrival, were received into prison No. 4, and might justly have exclaimed, in the language of an eminent poet, “Hail, horrors! hail, thou profoundest hell! receive thy new possessor.” For every one ordered to this prison, counted himself lost.

On the third of July, another draft of prisoners, consisting of about two hundred and fifty, were taken from the Hector, and sent to Stapleton, under the usual guard, allowance, and restrictions.

The fourth of July, the birth-day of our nation, had now arrived. The American prisoners, feeling that fire of patriotism, and that just pride and honor, which fills the bosom of every American, when that great day of jubilee arrives, roused all their drooping spirits, and prepared to celebrate it in a manner becoming their situation. We had by some means obtained two American standards; and being upward of six hundred in number, we divided into two columns, and displayed our flags at each end of the prison. Of the propriety of the proceedings, I leave the reader to judge. We were, however, resolved to defend them till the last moment: but Captain Cotgrave, either from a determination to depress our spirits as much as possible, that we might the more readily be induced to enter the service of the king, or that an enemy’s flag should not be hoisted in their country, ordered the turnkeys to enter the prison-yard, and take the colors from us. We returned him an answer, that the day was the birth-day of freedom, and the anniversary of our nation; and that he would confer on us a particular favor, if he would permit us to enjoy it with a decorum and propriety suited to our situation as prisoners of war. We added this _arrogant_ condition, that if he should persist in attempting to take that flag which we should ever respect, in whatever country we were, he must abide by the consequences. Captain Cotgrave, being irritated at this haughty and independent language, ordered the guard into the prison-yard to take the standards from us. An obstinate resistance was made. After some time spent in fighting for the flags, the guard obtained one: the prisoners bore off the other in triumph, and secured it. The remainder of the day was spent in harmony and quietness. At evening, when the guards came as usual to turn us into the prison, a dispute arose upon the pitiful revenge sought for in depriving the prisoners of their flag. This soon grew into an affray; the guards fired upon the prisoners, and wounded two, which ended the affray.

From the disturbance on the evening of the fourth, nothing remarkable took place, the prisoners being generally tolerable quiet and peaceable till the tenth, when a dispute arose between the French and American prisoners in the yard of No. 4; the dispute was quite warm, and pervaded nearly all the prisoners of both nations, each of whom espoused the cause of his fellow-prisoner. Things were not pushed to extremities this evening, the hour to turn in prevented their further progress; but animosities had not subsided. At this time the French prisoners occupied the two upper stories of prison No. 4; they consisted of about nine hundred outcasts from the other prisons, as we had occasion to mention before. They had during the night, with malice prepense, concerted a plan to massacre the Americans. With this design, they had provided themselves with knives, clubs, stones, staves, and every kind of weapon they could obtain.

Thus armed, they had managed to be in the yard first in the morning, and arrayed themselves to give battle as soon as a sufficient number of Americans should come out. Accordingly, when about one hundred and twenty had entered the yard, this group of naked malignity began the attack with desperate fierceness; the Americans, unsuspicious of an attack, were of course unarmed, and at first could make no resistance; but after recovering from the surprise which so sudden an attack had created, they made an attempt to rally; but the Frenchmen cutting off their retreat into the prison and preventing those within from joining or rendering any assistance, soon caused the Americans to fall a prey to their superior number. Before the guards could interfere to prevent the further proceedings, the Americans were mostly stabbed or knocked down with heavy stones, and mangled in a most shocking manner. What would have been the issue, had not the guards entered, and by charging on both parties put a stop to the battle, is difficult to tell. On examining the wounded, (fortunately none were killed,) it appeared that about twenty on both sides were badly, and many others slightly wounded. The former were taken to the hospital, and though apparently dangerous, in a short time all recovered. Captain Cotgrave immediately informed the Board of Transport of this unhappy event; but painted it in such dark colors on the side of the Americans, that the Board gave answer, that the Americans were totally different from all other men, and unfit to live in any society. “If the household be devils, what is the master of the house?” Did not the Americans descend from England?

The yard of No. 4 was ordered to be divided, which was done by a wall fifteen feet high, which cut off all communication with the Americans, and their late meager associates. This act, though it seemed to have been done to injure the Americans, certainly created no regret; for instead of doing them an injury, it was a great relief to be disencumbered of that outcast tribe.

A spark of momentary joy may burst through the darkest clouds of grief, and hope for a moment make us forget our miseries. On the twenty-ninth of this month, Captain Cotgrave received orders to remove one hundred and twenty Americans from this prison to Chatham, which was to be the complement of a cartel ship then lying at that place; this embraced the greater part of the prisoners captured before January, 1813. There remained of those captured before and after that time, 1200 at Chatham, 400 at Stapleton, and a few less than 500 at Dartmoor, some on board the prison ships, and a number of officers on parole at Ashburton. The greater part of these had been delivered up from ships of war.

At the close of this month, forty-five were found to have entered the service of the enemy, and fifteen had died at this place, seven or eight at Chatham, and not one at Stapleton.

At the commencement of August, we found ourselves limited and very much straitened in our regulations. We were not permitted to go out of the yard. A more alarming scene of distress than any we had before experienced, now presented itself before us, and death seemed to be the inevitable lot of every man.

The King of Terrors daily reached forth his inexorable hand, and removed the sufferer from the pale of this clay tenement; for the small-pox had got among the prisoners, and its ravages were so alarming, that every prisoner expected each day would be his last; for numbers died daily.

The prisoners who remained able, collected themselves together, and formed a committee of correspondence, who, by bribing the guards, conveyed letters daily to Mr. Beasley; particularly describing their situation, that they were almost naked, and defrauded by the Contractor of half their rations, which before were but one-third enough. That the small-pox had got among them, and numbers died daily--that they were covered with _animalcula_, and unless he could do something for their relief, they must all perish together.

To these complaints he paid no kind of attention, neither came to see whether they were true or false, nor sent any answer either written or verbal.

The reader can easily figure to himself what must have been our feelings, when five hundred men, closely confined in one apartment, with that mortal epidemic among them without any assistance, or possibility of escape.

The evil must lie somewhere; we were in doubt whether to believe it was the will of the general government, of the people at large of this country, or whether it was not entirely the fault of our agent, in not seeing that all the officers in whose immediate care we were, acted the honest part in the performance of those duties, which both this government and that of the United States had intrusted to them. It was not a general thing, and the evil was near at hand. The prisoners at Halifax fared well; they did not, nor could not, complain; prisoners in other places in England were tolerably well provided for.

After so many fruitless applications to our agent, we despaired of any relief from that quarter, and then made application to Captain Cotgrave, and demanded of him, what provisions the government of England made for prisoners of war, when neglected by their own government. He gave us every opportunity to search out the fault, by producing the following printed rules and regulations, made by the Transport Board.

The honorable Transport Board have made arrangements with certain agents or contractors, to supply all prisoners of war, as follows:

Each prisoner to receive per day, for five days in the week, one and a half pounds of coarse brown bread; one-half pound of beef, including the bone; one-third of an ounce of barley; the same quantity of salt; one-third of an ounce of onions; and one pound of turnips. The residue of the week, the usual allowance of bread; one pound of pickled fish, and just a sufficient quantity of coals to cook the same. These to be served out daily by the contractors.

We watched the contractor, and found he weighed all the articles at once, neat weight; and saw him scrimp the weight, to fill his pocket out of the prisoners’ bellies.

On beef days, the whole is thrown into a large copper; when it is sufficiently boiled, the bone is taken out, and each mess, consisting of six, receives twenty-seven ounces of beef, and one gallon and one pint of soup.

On the fish days, every mess boiled their potatoes and fish in a net made of rope-yarn, that they might have it separately to themselves; after it was boiled, it was taken up in wooden buckets, with which each mess were provided; and each prisoner, being also furnished with a wooden spoon, sets round the bucket, on the wet floor, and makes a fierce attack.

After making these, and some other demands, which we considered ourselves entitled to, most of which were immediately granted, but some delayed, as we shall note hereafter, our sufferings were somewhat relieved.

Could not these have been removed by our agent long before? We find but few men so honest that they do not need looking to sometimes by those who are interested in their honesty. These contractors would have been as honest as many other men, with sharp looking after. Was it not, then, the duty of Mr. Beasley to see that the prisoners had what the government of England allowed them? If it was not, what was his duty? Was he sent there, as the log of wood in the fable was sent by Jupiter into the pond, to be god for the frogs?

We found, by the printed regulations delivered us by Capt. Cotgrave, the government allowed each prisoner a hammock, one blanket, one horse-rug, and a bed, containing four pounds of flocks; these articles too were to serve us two years. By the same regulations, the prisoners were to receive for clothing, every eighteen months, one yellow round-about jacket, one pair of pantaloons, and a waistcoat of the same materials, as the government of England allow for their soldiers; and one pair of shoes and one shirt, every nine months. The shirt, though coarse, was a change which we had not had for a long time before. All these we demanded and received; we also received a woollen cap, which was to serve us eighteen months.

I cannot leave this subject without some little description of several of the articles of clothing. I will begin with the cap, and take them in their natural order, from head to foot.

The cap was woollen, about an inch thick, and seemed to have been spun in a rope-walk, but much coarser than common rope-yarn. The jacket was not large enough to meet around the smallest of us, although reduced to mere skeletons by such continued fasting; the sleeves came about half way down the arm, and the hand stuck out like a spade; the waistcoat was short--it would not meet before, nor down to the pantaloons--thus leaving a space between of three or four inches; the pantaloons, which were as tight as our skin itself, came down to the middle of the shin. The shoes, which was the pedestal for all the ornaments above, were made of list, interwoven and fastened to pieces of wood an inch and a half thick. The figure we made in this dress was no common one.

“_Spectatum admissi risum teneatis amici?_”--HOR. A. P.

“My friends, were you admitted to see this sight, could you keep from laughing?” When you see us tackled, and put upon runners--skeletons as we were.

By the regulations handed us, we also found that the Board allowed a sweeper to every hundred men, to sweep and keep clean the prison, who was to be taken from among the prisoners, and allowed by the government three pence per day; and one out of every two hundred was allowed four pence halfpenny a day for cooking. In like manner, a barber had three pence; and the nurses in the hospital, six pence a day. All these offices were occupied by Frenchmen, as was also the employments in the mechanic arts at six pence per day.

During this month great numbers died of the small-pox, and some of other diseases. Several entered the king’s service. Suspicions had arisen, that several taken in arms against Great Britain, were British subjects; they were consequently taken out, and charged with having committed high treason. That they were taken in arms against Great Britain, was not denied; but that they were her subjects, which was the most essential part of the charge, could not be proved; they were consequently acquitted, and remanded to prison.

We had but one clear day during the whole month of August.

September commenced, and we remained in the situation just described. The prisoners continued very sickly.

Men, otherwise commonly honest, when reduced to extreme necessity, naturally resort to the commission of crimes. It is a maxim strikingly true, that “hunger will break through a stone wall;” and it is equally true, that it will break through all moral obligation. Honesty and integrity are but mere chimeras in dire necessity. Such was our situation, that it resembled more a state of nature than a civilized society. Petty larcenies were daily committed among the prisoners; brothers and the most intimate friends stealing from each other. To provide a remedy against this evil, we appointed a legislative body, to form a code of laws for the punishment of all such misdemeanors. A tribunal was also formed to try and convict all criminals according to law and evidence. Many were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to receive twenty-four lashes equally as severe as is given at the gangway of a man-of-war ship.

To show the force of habit, though it is a vicious one, we will give the reader a striking example. Some of the prisoners were so attached to chewing tobacco, that they sold all their day’s allowance of beef to the French at the gate, to purchase one chew. They sometimes sold this allowance to buy soap enough to wash one shirt, but this was only enduring one evil to remedy a worse.

By letters received from our fellow-prisoners on board the Crowned Prince, and the Nassau, prison ships at Chatham, we received information that the Americans were distributed among the French prisoners on board the several different ships at that place, and very severely used; that they had vainly addressed Mr. Beasley, and that several had died and numbers entered the British service.