d -tp^ W\) til - m At t- Vi- I'' -' < ' V : ■ Ul / • I LIBIURY OF CONGRESS. 1 # ■ <^ # ^ ! ^ UNITED STATKS OP AMERICA. ^ ^ / 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 afiected by those of the body. If misery is less interesting collectively in groups than when viewed individu- ally, 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 con- fined 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, Capt. Samuel H. Ginnodo, - Capt. Frederick H. Coffin, Mr. Joseph C. Morgan, Lieut. Homer Hull, Mr. Jacob Evans, Capt. Bonjamin F. Chesebrough, Mr. Luther S. Dunbar, Capt. Richard Longly, - Mr. Ephraim Abbott, - Mr. Feuton Conner, Mr. Joseph Conner, Mr. David Morrison, Mr. Caleb Coffin, - - • Mr. John Merrill, - Capt. Charles Bennet, - Mr. William Griffin, Mr. James Bowie, Mr. John F. Foster, Mr. Joseph Clark, Mr. John Stafford, Mr. Charles White wood, Mr. Reuben Bunn, - - - Mr. Samuel Rossett, - Mr. Jacob F. Taylor, Mr. William Conklin, Mr. Samuel S. Brush, ISiew-York. Newport, R. L Hudson, N. Y. Newport, R. I. Conn. Baltimore, Md. Conn. Boston, Mass. Portland, D. M. Boston, Mass. Charleston, S. C.' Newbern, N. C. Pennsylvania. Nantucket, Mass. Portland, Maine. Hudson, N. Y. Salem, Mass. do. do. Gloucester, Mass. Cape-Elizabeth, do. Boston, Mass. New-York. do. do. Philadelphia. New- York. do. THE PRISONERS' MEMOIRS, OR DAETMOOR PRISON CONTAININR A COMPLETE AND IMPARTIAL HISTORY OF Cljr iuiin €^M\vi nf i\}t Mnmm in in^lmX 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 6tk of jSpril, 1815. THE WHOLE CAREFULLY COMPILED EY A PRISONER IN ENGLAND, Who was a Captive during the whole War. Quague ipse miserrima vidi, Et quorum pars magna fid ; quis talia fandn, Temperet a lacrymis ? Virg. I., ii., v. 5. "These sufferings T 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. CERTIFICATE. Capt. John C Rowles, Mr. John Meigh, Mr Edward Shaw, Lieut. S. S. Fitch, Mr. Samuel Correy, Mr. Samuel Howard, - Mr. William Clark, Mr. Joseph Fosdick, Mr. Samuel Morrison, Mr. William Hull, Mr. William Atkins, Mr. Daniel Hotchkins, Mr. Thomas Carlton, Mr. John xMigat, - Mr. Cornelius Hoy, Capt. Jesse S. Smith, - Mr James Sproson, Mr. Benjamin Wheeler, Mr. George Scott, - Capt. Matthew S. Steel, Mr. W. P. Sevear, - Capt. James McQuilter, Mr. John S. Miller, Mr. "Thomas Bailey, Mr. Warren Humphrey, Mr. WiUiam Rea, Capt. Thomas Hussey, Capt. James Boggs, Capt. James Gays, - Capt. Thomas Mumford, Mr. Isaac Dowel, Mr. Frederick G. Low, Mr. Henry Bull, Doct. Benjamin Mercer, Mr. Reuben Sherman, Baltimore, Md. Boston, Mass. Bahimore, Md. Connecticut. Vermont. Baltimore, Md. Boston, Mass. do. New- York, do. Connecticut. Salem, Mass. Boston, do. Warren, R. L Baltimore, Md. Stonington, Conn. New- York. Baltimore, Md. Philadelphia, Penn, Baltimore, Md. do. do. do. ■ do. Salem, Mass. Connecticut. Boston, Mass. Hudson, N. Y. Philadelphia, Penn. Virginia. Newport, R. L Baltimore, Md. Cape- Ann. Connecticut. New- York. 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, wiiich 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 Presi- dent 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 Chat- ham, some to Hamoze, and others to Portsmouth ; where a strict examination took place as to their nativity and citizen- ship. 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 Read- ing, in Berkshire ; the former is situated about twenty-six miles inland from Plymouth, and the principal place of con- finement 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 king- dom. Here all the officers on parole had their names regis- tered, 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 1* THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, 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 j^rovisions, 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 an- swer at a particular place appointed by their keepers, in the presence of their agent or inspector. In this manner some hundreds of officers v/ere compelled to drag out a tedious ex- istence 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 in- deed, 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 nov^ 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, en- sign, and corporal, consisting of thirty-five soldiers to each of these ships. The Hector and La Brave lie about two miles from Ply- mouth, well moored by chain moorings. Captain Edward Pelew, of the royal navy, the agent for prisoners of war, re- sides 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 exam- ination, 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 bed- OR DARTMOOR PRISON. chamber 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 suf- fering prisoners, although a prisoner is seldom or never suffer- ed to expire on board ; for at the moment death seems inevita- bly 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 pi-isoners to cook their own victuals, Avhich con- sisted of the following rations allowed by the English govern- ment : 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 v/eek ; the other two were fish days, the ra- tions 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 8 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, counted with it on his shoulder. He then leaves his hammock on deck all day, and has permission lo 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 permit- ted 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 pro- hibited 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 Yeiy 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 prison- ers 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 senti- ments ; 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 ao;ainst their country. It could not be a crime ; for self-preservation is the first law of na- ture. From the first of our imprisonment, which was shortly after the commencement of the war, prisoners were constantly ar- riving, and immediately disposed of in one or other of these depots : — among them were great numbers of American sea- men 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 OR DARTMOOR PRISON. at the gangway of the ships, were sent to prison with the ap. pellation of " dammed rebellious villians, 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 ofien 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 be- ing 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 pur- pose, issued an order to Captain Pelew, then agent for the pris- oners at Plymouth, to make preparation for removing all the prisoners then confined on boar.i 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 prison- ers ; and on the morning of the third of April, they were or- dered on deck, with their hammocks, baggagf^ &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, al- ready too wretched, were called, each of whom received a pair of shoes, and his allowance of bread and salt fish. Or- ders were then immediately given, for every man to deliver up his bed and hammock, and to repair forthwith into the dif- ferent 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 lO THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, the Hector and La Brave. We were landed at New Passao-e, near Plymouth, and were placed under the guard of a com- pany 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 ijround 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 here- after, 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 Eno-land, and is sur- rounded on all sides, as far as the eye can see, by the gloomy features of a black moor, uncultivated and uninliabited, 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 no- thing but human woe and misery. Even riches, pleasant friends and liberty could not make it agreeable. It is situated seventeen miles distant from Pljmiouth, 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 cir- cumference and sixteen feet high ; the inner wall is distant from the outer thirty feet, around which is a chain of bells sus- })ended by a wire, so that the least touch sets every bell in mo- tion, 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 disordeHy motion of the prisoners. Between the two walls and over the intermediate space, are also stationed guards. The soldiers' guard hous?, the turnkey's office, and many other small buildings, are also within these two circular walls. Like- wise several large commodious dwelling-houses, which are occupied by the captain of the prison, doctor, clerks, turnkeys, OR DARTMOOR PRISON. H &c., &c. Inside of the walls are erected large barracks, ca- pacious 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 certainl)^ much credit is due to the director of this hunnane 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 insur- mountable. Thus much for the court-yard of this seminary of misery ; we shall next proceed to give a description of the gloomy man- sion itself. On entering, we found seven prisons enclosed in the following manner, snd situated quite within all the walls before mentioned. Pri.son No. 1, 2 and 8, 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 pretetice. 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 pave- ment 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, alorig 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 ^bout eight thousand, who were also pris- oners of war. Among these fluttering, ghastly skeletons, we 12 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, 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 beinoj 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 Ameri- can 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 tier of joists for the prisoners to fasten their hammocks to. The hammocks hav^e a stick at each end to spread them out, and are hung in the manner of cots, four or live 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 ; al- most every one that passes that way finds the top of the moun- tain enveloped in a thick fog and heavytorrentof rain. In -winter the same cause makes as frequent snows as rain in summer. It is also soma degrees colder during the whole j-ear than in the adjacent country below. This too is occasioned by tlie 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 ot itself, reflects but little heat. These two causes combined, produce constant cold and wet weather. Information was brought us that all prisoners in England OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 13 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 tlieir business, and without giving a satisfactory ac- count of themselves ; if they did this, they were then permit- ted to enter and begin their trade. At the market, the French prisoners carry on a great traf- fic. 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 mis- ery, we sliall 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 ex- change. " Numbers died, and some entered the service of Great Britain. The names of those who died, and those who enter- ed the service, are mentioned in tlie catalogue hereunto annex- ed. 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 prison- ers, too wicked and malicious to live with their other unfortu- nate 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 resem- bled the fabled ghosts of Pluto, as these naked and starved 2 14 THT^ prisoners' memoirs, French prisoners. Much of the misery and wretchedness of these creatures was owing to their imprudence and bad con- duct. 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 prison- ers ; 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 re- duced 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, wiUi the liberty of that one yard. We often demanded of Captain Cotgrave, the reason why such distinc- tion 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 Chat- ham, and those on board the prison ships at Plymouth ; who informed us of every particular of their situation at both pla- ces ; 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 suffer- ings 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 soldie-rs, 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 OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 15 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 re- luctantly) 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 dis- ease 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 im- positions of the Americans during the revolutionary war, and 16 THE PRISONERS MEMOIRS, 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 fel- low beings. On the eighteenth of May, we received letters from the other depots, and were informed that there were seven hundred pris- oners at Plymouth, on board the Hector, which was so much crowded, that Captain Pelew, of the Royal Navy, and princi- pal agent of the Board, had received orders from the Board, to remove the prisoners to other depots, either to that of Chat- ham, 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 march- ed to Dartmoor. They arrived there on the same day, and after going through the same manoeuvre 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. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 17 Care was taken to keep the yard of this prison always lock- ed, 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. 1 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 sliip, 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 ^uard 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 coun- try ; but the fatigue of the journey, the restrictions and in- convenience 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 per- form the whole journey in eight days. They were also par- ticularly enjoined not to leave the ranks on pain of death, and the guard had orders to despatch any prisoner who should at- tempt to escape. The particulars of their march, their arri- val at Stapleton, and treatment at that place, will be mention- ed 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 un- der a strong guard to that mountain of wretchedness, and after passing through the usual forms at their arrival, were received 2* 18 THE PRISONERS MEMOIRS, into prison No. 4, and might justly iiave exclaimed, in the language of an eminent poet, " Hail, horrors ! hail, thou pro- foundest 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 patriot- ism, and that just pride and honor, which fills the bosom of every American, when that great day of jubilee arrives, rous- ed 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 display- ed our flags at each end of the prison. Of the propriety of the proceedings, I leave the reader to judge. We were, how- ever, resolved to defend them till the last moment : but Cap- tain Cotgrave, either from a determination to depress our spirits as much as possible, that we might the n)ore 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 turn- keys 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 situa- tion 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, tlie 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. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 19 From the disturbance on the evening of the fourth, nothing ramarkable took place, the prisoners being generally tolerable quiet and peaceable till the tenth, when a dispute arose be- tween 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 pro- gress ; but animosities had not subsided. At this time the French prisoners occupied the tv/o 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 pro- vided 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. Accord- ingly, when about one hundred and twenty had entered the yard, this group ot naked malignity began the attack with desperate fierceness ; the Americans, unsuspicious of an at- tack, 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 oft' their retreat into the prison and preventing those within from joining or rendering any assist- ance, soon caused the Americans to fall a prey to their supe- rior number. Before the guards could interfere to prevent the farther proceedings, the Americans were mostly stabbed or knocked dowm 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 appa- rently 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 Ameri- cans were totally different from all other men, and unfit to live 20 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS. in any society. " If the household be devils, what is the mas- ter 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 communica- tion 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 Cot- grave 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 lim- ited 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 ten- ement ; 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 remafned able, collected themselves to- gether, 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 nalved, and defrauded by the Contractor of half their rations, which before were but one-third enough. That the small-pox OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 21 had got among them, and numbers died daily — that tliey 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, neiiher cam'^ to see whether they were true or false, nor sent any an- swer 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, wnich 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 pro- vided for. After so many fruitless applications to our agent, we de- •spaired of any relief from that quarter, and then made appli- cation to Captain Cotgrave, and demanded of him, what pro- visions 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 us- ual 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. 22 THE prisoners' memoirs, 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 pris- oner, 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 imme- diately granted, but some delayed, as we shall note hereafter, our sufferings were somewhat relieved. Could not these have been removed by our agent long be- fore ? We find but few men so honest that they do not need looking to sometimes by those who are interested in their hon- esty. 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. Bv 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 chanoe which we had not had for a lon^ time before. All these we demanded and received ; we also re- ceived 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 com- mon rope-yarn. The jacket was not large enough to meet around the smallest of us. although reduced to mere skeletons OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 23 by such continued fasting ; the sleeves came about half way down the arm, and the hand stuck out like a spade ; the waist- coat was short — it would not meet before, nor down to the pan- taloons — 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, inter- woven and fastened to pieces of wood an inch and a half thick. The figure we made in this dress was no common one. " SjKctatum admissi risum tcneatis 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 prison- ers, and allowed by the government three pence per day ; and one out of every two hundred was allowed four pence half- penny 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 de- nied ; 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 Au- gust. 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 chi- meras in dire necessity. Such was our situation, that it re- sembled more a state of nature than a civilized society. Petty 24 THE PRISONERS MEMOIRS, 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 prison- ers were so attached to chewing tobacco, that the}^ 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. By letters received from Stapleton, we were informed of the particulars of their march from Plymouth, which we promised to give the reader in a former part of this work. The reader will remember, that at the commencement of their journey, they were allowed a shilling a day for traveling expenses, and on their way, tliey had to pay three pence a night to lodge in a bnrn, or some public building, on straw. As they were al- lowed a shilling only, this took one-quarter of the whole. With much ado they reached Stapleton ; they found the prison at that place well constructed for the convenience of the pris- oners, within a short distance of theacity of Bristol : which is the third city in England, and situated in Somersetshire, at the conflux of the river Avon, with the small stream of the Froom, about ten miles from the mouth of the Severn ; tiiese, and several other small tributary streams, running through a fertile country, bring into market all kinds of provisions and fruits common to the country, which are sold at a much cheaper rate than at most other places in the kingdom. From these sources, the market at Stapleton, which is kept every day at OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 25 the prison, is supplied with all kinds of market produce. On their arrival they found five thousand French prisoners. There are three prisons enclosed and garrisoned in the same manner as those at Dartmoor ; they were distributed amono- the French prisoners in the different prisons. They had also written to Mr. Beasley several times, and informed him, that their situation was bad, although much better than that at Dartmoor, and required his attention. But he was determined to take no notice. They therefore concluded, that no arrange- ment was to be made for their exchange, or that any assistance was to be offered from the government of the United States, made necessity an excuse for entering the service of the ene- my of their country ; which many did at that place. • How far this is a crime, when vve consider the quo ammo ? I shall take this opportunity to show what is the custom of na- tions, and what appears to be the law of nature. It is said, " If a person be under circumstances of actual force and con- straint, through a well-grounded apprehension of injury to his life or person, this fear, or compulsion, will excuse his even joining with either rebels or enemies in the kingdom, provided he leaves them wlienever he hath a safe opportunity." Now to return to Dartmoor. At a time v^hen the prisoners had despaired of any relief, and began to reconcile themselves to their hard fate, they were very agreeably surprised to hear that Mr. Reuben G. Beasley had condescended to visit them, and then waited at the gate for admittance. The idea, that their deliverer had come, diffused a general joy through the whole prison, and " lighted up a smile in the aspect of woe." The soldiers and guards were ordered into the prison, and turned out every man, both sick and well ; overhauled the hammocks, swept the prison, and opened the window-shutters : all filth was removed and every thing made clean, for the first time since our arrival. The guards were then stationed at the door, to prevent any prisoner from going in, to have any communication with the agent : we were told, that no man could speak to him, or have any communication with him whatever. At three o'clock, the entrance of Mr. Beasley was announced by the turnkeys. We arranged ourselves in the yard, in anxious expectation of the glad tidings he might bring. He appeared, attended with his clerks, the clerks of the prison, and a very numerous train of soldiers. As he entered the yard of the prison, we presented a frightful appearance, in our 3 26 THE PRISONERS' MEMOIRS, yellow uniform, wooden shod, and meager, lantern-jaws. He felt the sight, and seemed much surprised at the group. We stood in silent expectation ; he moved along to the prison ; but how were our feelings damped at this moment ! when we expected from him the language of consolation and relief, he only uttered, in a careless tone to his clerks, " that he did not think that the number had been so great ! " He entered, and cast his eyes around, the cold wet walls of the prison, and seemed to say, with a shrug of his shoulders, " I am glad that it is not 1 that is to live here.'' When he returned, we were determined to have some conversation with him. We therefore collected round him, demanded what ar- rangements were made for our I'elief, whether we must expect to remain in our present condition ? Telling him, that- if we must, that we could not long survive ; and presenting him with a list of names of those who had already entered the king's service ; and telling him all the particulars of our dis- tress. He then opened his mouth, and said, he had no power to do any thmg, nor any funds to do with ; but he would do his endeavor. We asked him the cause of so great a difler- ence in the treatment of the prisoners here and at Halifax ? There they had all the necessaries and conveniences of life ; here we had none of them. We asked him to whom we should apply for relief in future? We told him we had been to great expense, heretofore, and much trouble, in conveying letters to him, while he had npt thought fit to answer. He said the ex- change of prisoners was stopped for the present year, and that we could not expect to have our condition altered. With these unwelcome observations, he went immediately out of the gates, and left us to all the wretchedness of despair. We returned into the prison, lamenting our fate. Some cursed the day they were born ; some, the day of their cap- tivity ; some attributed all their sufferings to the inattention of the Agent, and others, to the government of the United States. We retired to our hammocks, and gave vent to our feelings in sighs and tears. The thought that we must forego all the endearments of life, and perish together, in a foreign country, among our enemies, was too much for our feelings to bear. The groans of the dis- consolate and sick filled the whole prison. Our Agent not empowered to act, and without funds ! We had now only to look to heaven, whose will it was to bring us to this state, and throuoh whose mercy alone we could hope to find relief. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 27 The winter was fast approaching, and the cold upon this mountain was very severe. The small-pox still continued, and the measles had got among us, and great numbers were sick with both diseases. The next day, conceiving they had no other alternative, a great number entered the British ser- vice ; rather hazarding the chance of escape, and censure of their country, than to trust life to the perils of this prison. Although 1 am a little before some part of my story, I must not forget to mention, that about the middle of September, an- other draft was taken from the Hector, now at Hamoaze, near Plymouth ; among which were the crew of the United States' brig Argus, taken by the Pelican. One Robinson, who had belonged to the Argus, had declared, that several of the crew of that vessel were British subjects. And immediately seven- teen, whom he pointed out, were taken and conveyed on board the receiving ship, St. Salvador, and put into close confine- ment, there to await their trial and execution, should they be found guilty. The boatswain, and a number of others, wound- ed in the action, were conveyed to the hospital, in Mill-prison at Plymouth. At the end of this month a great number had died, and numbers down with all complaints, prevalent in crowded camps or prisons. The weather much like the month before. By letters, received the tenth of October, from Chatham and Stapleton, we were informed, that Mr. Beasley had visited them, and his conduct and language at those places were the same as at this depot. By the letters from Chatliam, we had an account of eighteen making their escape, by cutting a hole through the side of the Crown Prince, at that place ; that after- wards the guard were increased and more vigilant. On the sixteenth, Capt, Cotgrave gave orders, by directions of the Transport Board, to have all these outcast Frenchmen in No. 4 collected. This took four hundred and thirty-six from the prison, and much relieved us. Before 1 proceed with the remainder of my story, I can- not but here observe the strange effect habit and corruption have in changing our common nature. They had been many of them ten years in this prison in a state of perfect nudity, and had been so for many years ; had slept upon the bare stone-floor without covering for many years, till the flesh had acquired a sort of hardness, like the stones themselves. This was the effect of gambling, which had acquired a 28 THE PRISONEES^ MEMOIRS, greater power over them than hunger or nakedness. When- ever they were supplied with clothing, they never put them on, but turned to gambling, till they had lost the whole. They had often been supplied by their countrymen in the other pris- ons, with hammocks, beds, and clothing : but they no sooner got possession of them, than they went to the grating of the other prisons, and sold them, and gambled the whole away. It is difficult for the mind to conceive, how human beings could be possessed of fewer virtues or more vices ; or hov/ they could any further change their common nature to a bestial one without the assistance of a Supreme Being. It is a re- markable fact, that these men (if they yet deserve the name) were more healthy, though stark naked winter and summer for ten years, than any prisoners at tiiis depot ; though to the number of nine thousand. The French prisoners never received any assistance from the French government, but depended entirely on the British. Though I cannot praise the general acts of the latter govern- ment, nor am I disposed to flatter; yet they did a humane act which certainly dese'*ves credit. They took these four hun- dred and thirty-six Frenchmen out of this prison, clothed them well, and put them on board a prison-ship at Plymouth, separ- ate from all other men, except their guards, who carefully watched them, and prevented them from disposing of their clothes, and kept them decent during the remainder of their captivity. In the six prisons, occupied by the French prisoners, is car- ried on almost every branch of the mechanic arts. They re- semble little towns, being mostly soldiers ; every man has his separate occupation ; his work-shop, his store-house, his coffee- house, his eating-house, &c., &c. ; he is employed in some business or other. There are many gentlemen of large fortunes here, who having broke their parole, were committed to close confine- ment. Thess were able to support themselves m a genteel manner; though they were prisoners, they drew upon their bankers in other parts of Europe. They manufactured shoes, hats, hair and bone-work. They likewise, at one time, carried on a very lucrative branch of manufactory. They forged notes on the Bank of England, to- the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling; and made so perfect an imitation, that the cashier could not OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 29 discover the forgery ; and very much doubted the possibility of such imitation. They also carried on the coining of silver, to a very consid- erable advantage; they had men constantly employed outside of the yard, to collect all the Spanish dollars they could, and bring into prison. Out of every dollar they made eight smooth English shillings ; equally as heavy, and passed as well as any in the kingdom. Whether they are constituted by nature to endure hardships, or so long confinement has got them wonted to live in prisons, I will not venture to say ; but they really seem easy under it, live well, and make money to lay up. They drink, sing and dance, talk of their women in the day-time, and, like Horace, dream of them at night; but I have not heard of any issue by this visionary connexion. But the Americans have not that careless volatility, like the cockle in the fable, to sing and dance when their house is on fire over them. When any one has committed a crime, or becomes a nui- sance among them, lie is condemned, and sent to No. 4, to re- main during his captivity; so the Americans must dwell among the damned. On" the twenty-eighth, a large corps of French prisoners, taken at the battle near St. Sebastian, in Spain, arrived at this depot, and took their abode among the other Frenchmen. At this time, a very mortal distemper prevailed among the French prisoners, that carried off eight or ten every day. When any one dies in the hospital, his body is removed to the dead-house, a place made for that purpose ; after being stripped of his clothes, shirt and all, (which go to the govern- ment, or the nurse of the deceased,) the body is then opened, to learn the nature of the disease ; it is afterwards, quite nak- ed, put into a coarse shell, made of rOugh pine boards, and re- mains in the dead-hou%e for several days, till a number is col- lected in the same manner : when a sufficient number is heaped together to call their attention, a large hole is dug back of the prison, and all thrown in together, without form or cere- mony. The hospital department consists of a surgeon, two assist- ants, and as many male nurses as are necessary. Every morning, at nine o'clock, orders are given, by the ringing of bells, that every prisoner, wanting relief or medical aid, must 3* 30 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, repair to the hospital to be examined, and receive prescriptions ; he then returns to the prison, where he remains till carried in again. The sickness among the Americans somewhat abated the latter end of this month. Many entered the king's service. As the recruiting officers receive a premium on every soldier they enlist for his majesty, they used every inducement in their power. An officer belonging to a Dutch regiment, thought it a good opportunity to mock de gildt, entered the yard, and began to solicit men to enlist into the regiments to go against the United States; but the Americans took this the greatest insult, that such a booby should think of getting them to fight against their country ; they soon hustled Mynheer out of the yard, and frustrated all his hopes of gain. The majority of the prisoners used every means in their power to prevent our countrymen from entering the enemy's service. We often, on discovering the intention of any one to enlist into their service, fastened him up to the grating and flogged him severely, and threatened to despatch them secret- ly if they did not desist ; but attempts were vain ; they justi- fied themselves on the plea of self-preservation ; that there was a possibility of escaping and saving their lives ; and if detected by their country, their death was distant, but here it was speedy and certain. Capt. Cotgrave, perceiving the great exertions that were made to prevent any entering his majesty's service, adopted a plan to encourage it. When any one was known to be dis- posed that way, he would send him a line, and invite him to come to the guard-house, where the other prisoners could have no communication wiiJi him : here he was kept till a number sufficient for a draft was collected, then sent to Plymouth, and put on board a receiving ship, and received their bounty. About one draft a month commonly took place. ISovemher. — The weather is much similar to that of the State of New York at the same season ; rain, snow, and hail, almost every day ; tlie prisoners without stockings, and many had been so unthoughtful of tlie future as to sell their jackets to buy food ; and the whole dress allowed them was no more than sufficient in the most clement season, the prisons being always damp, and the weather very rainy. We were allowed no fuel ; some had also sold their hammocks, blankets, and beds, to the French. These thoughtless wretches were now OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 31 obliged to sleep, or rather lie, upon the stones the whole night, and when there happened a fine day, which was seldom, it was with the greatest difficulty the guards could rouse them from this stupor, and get them into the yard. We dreaded the winter. We received letters from our fellow-prisoners at other pris- ons, informing us that they had applied to Mr. Beasley, and advising us to do the same, which we had already done ; they wished to be informed of our situation ; this was done in poetry. The time had now expired for relieving the present guard ; this being done, its place was supplied by a Scotch regiment. Sympathy glowed in the minds of these gallant fellows; no nobler act has nature done than form the heart that feels for others' woes. They felt for ours, and though enemies, at the peril of life relieved them ; it was an act that superior beings might behold with admiration. Touched with this tie of na- ture, when ordered to bring out every prisoner into the yard, sick or naked, they often pitied him, gave him some relief, and left him behind ; though ordered to cut him down or run him through, if he offered to remain. They supplied us with late papers, and gave us all the ac- count they could of the affairs in America. They cheered us with the ao-reeable account of the Essex, and her success in the South Seas : we had friends that pitied us, though they cou4d not greatly relieve us. About this time a few prisoners from Plymouth, lately cap- tured, and lately from the States, arrived at this depot. The news they bring of the success of the American arms, animates every soul, and for a moment we forgot our troubles. By them the account of the Boxer and Enterprise, the com- plete victory of Commodore Perry on Lake Erie is given us, but no hope of exchange or prospect of peace. No alteration in our treatment by government ; the prisoners not permitted out of yard No. 4. The French go any where through the several prisons ; go to market, but the Americans not permit- ted to. The government grew more strict in their enlistments ; they would receive none but regularly. bred sailors, and no in- valids. At the latter end of this month a great number of prisoners, taken under the American flag, claimed a release from con- finement, and showed that they owed their allegiance by birth 32 THE prisoners' memoirs, to powers in alliance with Great Britain. To Holland, Swe- den, and other places, and are released on account of their neutrality. Weather very cold all the month. The prisoners without shoes or clothes, obliged to keep their hammock. Fewer deaths than the month before. Yard covered with snow. December. — Cold increasing. Prisoners in despair. Capt. Cotgrave ordered the prisoners to turn out every morning at the hour of nine, and stand in the yard till the guards counted them ; this generally took more than an hour. Many of the prisoners were without stockings, and some without shoes, and many without jackets. They cut up their blankets to wrap up their feet and legs, that they might be able to endure the cold and snow while ihey were going through this ceremony. We complained to the captain of this practice, and told him it was too severe for the prisoners to endure ; he said it was his orders, and as agent he must obey them. We reminded him of seve- ral instances that must shock the heart of every feeling man, that he himself was knowing to the day before. Several of these naked men, chilled, and benumbed with cold, and being half starved, fell down lifeless in his presence, and in presence of the guards and turnkeys. This was a cruelty which ex- ceeded murder in any shape whatever ; to expose the naked helpless prisoner to perish in the pitiless blast of this bleak mountain, was an act that made our hearts recoil with horror. We remonstrated with the infamous author, but all our sup- plications and remonstrances were in vain ; the "wretch was inexorable ; his feelings had become callous by continuing so Ions among the suffering-s of the French prisoners. After these men fell down in the yard, they were taken up and car- ried to the hospital, and with some difficulty were restored to life again ; they were then immediately sent back to prison, there to lie on the stone floor without bed or covering. At this treatment I presume the reader will not so much wonder that so many died, as he will that any could live at all. The name of Isaac Cotgrave, agent at Dartmoor, of cruel memory, will ever be engraven, in odious characters, on the mind of every American who witnessed his unparalleled cruelty. On the 22d of this month the iron sceptre was wrested from his hand, and placed beyond his reach. A new agent, Capt. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 33 % Thos. G. Shortland, at this time superseded Cotgrave. Short- land was a man whose feelings had not yet grown callous by being familiarized with human misery, and at his first arrival he was shocked at the scenes of our misery, which presented themselves in every shape before him ; touched with compas- sion, he could not continue the cruel practice of counting over the prisoners every morning in the yard. , He countermanded the order which his predecessor pretended to have been com- manded to put in force. He declared to us that he would do all in his power to procure us some relief from his govern- ment ; that he himself would do all he could in his situation as agent, to assist us ; he very politely and kindly offered to forward to Mr. Beasley, or to the Congress of the United States, any communication or petition which might procure us any re- lief. He stated in feeling terms to the Board of Transport the real condition of the American prisoners. He ordered the doctors' assistants to visit the persons daily, and to remove to the hospital all the sick who had before been refused admit- tance. He granted permission for two of the prisoners to attend the market each day, and purchase such little neces- sary articles as they were able, such as soap, potatoes, to- bacco, &c. These relaxations in the morning of his power seemed to promise a bright day ; but the noon began to grow a little ob- scure, and, we are sorry to say, at last went down in blood, and left obscure the bright traits of the morning. The weather was incredibly cold upon this mountain ; the moor, as far as the eye could extend, was covered with frost and snow ; the prison walls, by being continually damp, had become like solid ice, and the prisoners obliged to keep their hammocks, for being allowed no fire, had 'no other means to keep themselves warm. The rigor of treatment seemed somewhat relaxed ; for our friendly officers and Scotch guards gave us as much relief and consolation as their station would permit, and we endeavored to cultivate their friendship. According to Capt. Shortland's advice, and our own neces- sities, we again made application to Mr. Beasley. In this let- ter we informed him that we were fully of opinion that the United States would sanction any reasonable overtures he should make to prevent her citizens from starving or perishing for want in a foreign prison ; that his being agent for the 34 THE PRISONERS MEMOIRS, United States was sufficient power, and he had a right to pledge the credit of the United States, which was amply suffi- cient to procure any sum requisite for our relief. We farther stated, in the most unequivocal terms, that unless some relief was given us soon, that the prisoners had come to a unanimous and final determination to offer our services en masse to the British government, and at the same time transmit to the United States a copy of all letters from us to him, and set forth to Congress all our reasons for so doing, which would most undoubtedly cast all the blame on him. This month ended with increased cold, and snow falling daily. The prisoners did not go out of their hammocks, only at dinner, which was the only meal they had. January, 1814. — The year commences with as cold weather as we ever experienced in the city of New York ; the buckets in the prison, in the short space of four hours, froze ten or twelve quarts to a solid, and the prisoners must inevitably have frozen, were not the hammocks placed so near together as to communicate the animal heat from one man to another. The running stream that supplied the prison froze solid, and the weather was allowed to be colder than it had been for fifty years before. On the 1st the snow was twQ feet on the level, and began to snow again ; the cold somewhat abated, and it continued snow- ing the greater part of the time till the nineteenth ; it had now- got to be four feet on the level, and the drifts in the yards as high as the prison walls (fifteen feet), the water all frozen, and the prisoners obliged to eat snow for drink. The guards were all obliged to leave the walls and retire to the guard-house ; no sentry on duty except in the barracks. At midnight ; this dreary night, eight prisoners, thinking to take advantage of the night to make their escape, as no sen- tries were in sight, formed a ladder, and with it ascended and descended the first wall directly against the guard-house, and in ascending the second, the soldiers in the guard-house dis- covered them, and apprehended seven ; the eighth got quite over the wall, and made his escape. These seven were taken to the guard-house and there put into the black-hole, which is the place for prisoners that attempt to make their escape : the weather extremely cold, was likely to prove their last. But the fifth day they were removed to the cachot, and remained on two-thirds allowance, sleeping on straw for ten days. The 1 OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 35 prisoners, soldiers, and officers, were now furnished with salt provisions, which are alwtiys kept at the prison against any emergency of this kind. Every man upon the mountain was now much alarmed, as only ten days' stock of provision was in reserve on the mountain, and there were now upwards of nine thousand French and American prisoners, besides fifteen hundred soldiers and officers, doctors, and a numerous train of turnkeys. LINES, BY AN AMERICAN PRISONER. O.N' the 14th day of Jaiuary, This night ordained by Fate, For eight poor Yankee sailors To try for their escape. Seven of them detected were, And in the guard-house lay ; The eighth resolved on liberty, By chance he got away. The night, being dark and dreary, And he had far to go, So this poor Yankee sailor Got hobbled in the snow. Discovered by his enemies. That forced him back again. Within the walls of Dartmoor, Oppressed with cold and pain. Shortland, bred a seaman, In Neptune's school was taught ; His heart compressed with pity, Methinks I read his thought — Saying, go into the guard-house, And set those eight men free, I'll show the sons of liberty There's honor still in me. The back house was at some distance, and the snow drifted in from ten to fifteen feet deep ; this formed an impassable barrier; but.Capt. Shortland, at the head of two hundred French' prisoners, all the horse of the garrison, and clerks, turnkeys, &c., after working one whole day, shovelled a pas- sage sufficient for wagons to pass. For should the weather continue as cold as it then was, all communication between 36 THE prisoners' memoirs, that place and Plymouth, whence the provisions were brought, being totally stopped by the great depth of snow, they were in danger of starving. On the twenty-fifth the weather began to nioderate and the snow began to dissolve. The eighth man, who made his escape, had v/andered over the moor, through the deep snow, till by chance he came to a single hut on the moor ; the peasants suspected him to be a prisoner, as no person could travel in such tedious weather, and after examining him some time, he confessed he had made his escape frdm prison. They broughfhim back, and he re- ceived the same sentence as his unsuccessful companions. During his absence, all the officers and prisoners were much concerned at the miserable fate they were confident he must have shared, as it was impossible for him long to live, for if he survived the storm, he must starve in a few days : but it seemed he had reached the hut on the second day, without be- ing frozen in any part. The officers and guards considering his attempt so bold and fearless of death, and showed such a noble longing for liberty, were really sorry to see him brought, back, and declared that a man so dauntless as to dare such perils, deserved his liberty, and a reward ; and had it been in their power he would have been released. Here I must beg leave, though 1 fear the repetition of our distress may tire the reader, to appeal to the feeling of my fel- low-citizens, at this time at ease beyond the great Atlantic : what would you have done, could you have seen your fellow- citizens at Dartmoor, the coldest winter there has been for half a century, without fire or light, during the night, without stockings, and many without shoes, and nearly naked, half starved, buried in sno%v, upon the top of an uninhabited and uncultivated mountain, the camp distemper among tliem, and overrun with vermin ; great numbers dying, and death grimly threatening every man 1 Say, would you not have pitied and flew to their relief, and left the gay circle of your amusement ? But few entered the service of the enemy this month ; the weather being so very cold, they dreaded the removal to Plymouth. Fehruanj, 1814. — The weather was more moderate, and snow dissolving very fast. We received a letter from Mr. Beasley, for the first time since our confinement, which had continued ever since April, OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 37 1813. This is the first scrap in writing any prisoner in Eng- land had ever ireceived from him. It reads as follows: — '' Fellow-citizens, I am authorized by the government of the United States to allow you one j^enny halfpenny per day, for the purpose of procuring you tobacco and soap, which will commence being paid from the first day of January, and 1 earnestly hope it will tend towards a great relief in your pres- ent circumstances. I likewise Vvould advise you to appoint a committee, by which means you can convey to me any intel- ligence through the Board of Transport." Immediately after the reception of this letter, we formed a committee of six, five besides myself, who were to see that every man had his money, and gave a receipt to Capt. Shortland, who was authorized by Mr. Beasley to pay it. In conformity to these arrangements, we received, on the 5th of February, three halfpence sterling per day (less than three cents). This money was to be paid every thirty-two days : as one month had passed from the time it was to commence, we received the payment for all that time. The day's allow- ance of cash would purchase two pounds of potatoes, or three chews of tobacco, which latter was five shillings and six-pence sterling all-over England. We returned to Mr. Beasley a let- ter, acknowledging the receipt of the money, and stated the great alteration this little attention had made in the prisoners; every man was animated beyond description to find himself again acknowledged by the United States ; that before that time they concluded that during the twelve months they had been immured in prisons, so far from thefr country, that they were entirely forgotten by her, and that she did not any more remember she had such sons as those at Dartmoor. The gloom that had so long clouded their countenances now began a little to disappear, and the prospect a little brightened, and we had hopes of life ; but still our nakedness was grievous to bear. In a letter of thanks to our government, through the medium of Mr. Beasley, we stated every particular of our situation, our past and our present sufferings. VVe stated to him that it could not be possible that the Congress of the United States had allowed that small sum for those few ar- ticles, and had not made any provision for clothing, which ought to have occupied their first attention, for without clothes we did not need soap. We must, therefore, conclude this sum was allowed by himself out of the United States funds, and 4 38 THE prisoners' memoirs, that we were extremely grateful for it ; that the United States, were they acquainted with all the particulars of our situation, would make immediately all requisite arrangements for clothing, which his Honor Mr. Beasley must be well satisfied we were much in need of. After this correspondence with Mr. Beasley, we formed resolutions to expel all gambling, and were fully confident that some greater arrangement would be made for us. Before this time seventy-five had entered the British ser- vice out of nine hundred Americans at this depot ; but now not a man mentioned such a thing ; he could not be persuaded to do it. This shows how much effect so little attention of Mr. Beasley had upon the prisoners. We, on the 22d of this month, petitioned to have the black prisoners separated from the white, for it was impossible to prevent these fellows from stealing, although they were seized up and flogged almost every day. Our petition was granted, and we greatly re- lieved, and the blacks, ninety in number, occupied the upper stories. The weather greatly moderated, but vast quantities of rain fell. The British government made an order to release all prisoners belonging to the King of Prussia, taken under the flag of the United States. A few days after they issued a general order, that all prisoners belonging to any nation with whom she was in alliance, under whatever flag they were taken, should be released. This order released manv Ameri- cans, who were acquainted with different languages, and could make a plausible story : the Yankees were citizens of all nations whose language they knew. • At the close of this month, we received letters from our countrymen on board the prison-ships at Chatham, and like- wise those at Stapleton, informing us that they had received the same allowance of three halfpence per day at both places, at the same time that we received it. They also sent a copy of a letter of Mr. Beasley, which is the same as the one al- ready mentioned. They also mentioned that they had had a very severe winter, but it was not as severe there as^ at this place. The prisoners at Chatham, among whom were great numbers that had been released from the British service dur- ing the winter, had received their wages and prize money ; which, as is usual with a generous-hearted sailor, they distrib- uted for the good of the whole. At the depot at Stapleton, the OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 39 American prisoners were distributed among the French, who, in many instances, were very kind. On the last day of this month, by papers conveyed to us by our friendly Scotch guards, we found an account of Captain Porter's taking two large South-Seamen, mounting 16 guns, and upwards of fifty men each. He says they surrendered without firing a gun ; that they were taken by the boats of the Essex, and speaks rather slightly of the courage of the* British on those occasions. In March the weather began to be mild ; the snow was now mostly gone ; the prisoners could remain in the yard the greater part of the day, and their spirits were much revived at the expectation of receiving their penny halfpenny per day in a lump; but this was prolonged, and the prisoners began to despond, as they had received no information from Mr. Beas- ley since the second of last month ; but on the fifteenth orders were issued to pay it, and glad enough were we, for every man considered this little payment his sole support. The gates were now left open, and we had all the privileges of the market which were allowed the French ; we were al- lowed to go through all the prisons, visit the French officers, and gain all the information we could from London papers, which many of the French officers took daily. The French prisoners were much concerned at the fate of their country when the)^ learned the success of the allies, as every prisoner had been in the army or navy of Bonaparte, and were much attached to the Emperor. Having received no letters from Mr. Beasley, we now gave up all hope of exchange, gave ourselves up to our condition, and resigned our destiny into the hands of Heaven to deal with us as he pleased, during the long captivity which we believed we had to endure ; for, seeing the English papers filled with accounts of the success of their arms in Europe, and every day declaring their full confidence of a complete conquest of America, we could not expect peace, though this hoisting did not frighten us, for we knew the strength and valor of the American people. On the 18th we established a coffee-house in our prison, as the French had in theirs, and sold coifee at a penny a pint; but you cannot think it very delicious when 1 inform you that it could not be bought under two and three pence per pound, and molasses seventy per hundred weight. At the same time 40 * THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, some of the prisoners received money from home, and all established themselves in some kind of business. Some estab- lished themselves as tobacconists; others as potato merchants, butter merchants, and indeed almost all kinds of merchandise were carried on in our prison after we received our second payment : we had " free trade and 'sailors' rights." We could purchase any article of provision in the markets ; coffee, sugar, molasses, any thing the country afforded. The gates being now opened, we traded with the French. We could buy potatoes at six-pence a score, butter at one and six-pence per pound ; and as for meat, that was out of the question aho- gether. Every man began to use all the economy he could, which he perceived the French did. Some went to work for the French at making straw flats, at which they could earn one penny per day. Others were employed in making list shoes, some in the manufactory of hair bracelets, necklaces, &c. ; while great numbers employed themselves in working the bones we got out of the beef, in imitation of the French, who were very ingenious, and would form the most admirable and beautiful sliips, plank, mast, and rig them all of bone. The French, for their amusement, had regular plays in a theatrical form, with very elegant scenery, once a month. Hamlet's ghost was an easy part to act, for they had only to show their natural visage, being mere shadows themselves. They had excellent music, and appropriate comic and tragic dresses. They also had schools for teaching the arts and sciences, dancing, fencing, and music, and each of these in great perfection. As numbers of them were daily receiving money from France, their prison was very rich. But No. 4, where the sons of liberty had lived* so long on the vapor of a dungeon, when will the same be said of you ? Perhaps some victim as unhappy as myself, when some ten years have rolled away, and the human mind, compelled by stern necessity to invent, and I myself have found my quietus behind the prison- walls, may tell a sorry story of splendid misery within your gloomy gates. During the whole month of March the weather was quite mild, and the prisoners gained their health and strength greatly. On the 21st we detected the contractor cheating us in our rations, by giving scant weight. We immediately in- formed Capt. Shortiand of the fraud, who examined into the fact, and had the cheating stopped, but gave the conduct OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 41 of the contractor a very easy term, by saying it was a mistake. Towards tiie close of this month many of the Americans had obtained some remnants of garments from the French, and mostly all the boys had got into the employ of the French offi- cers as waiters. Many of these little victims of war were under thirteen — and there were many old men above the age of sixty imprisoned : bo^Ji these classes it has been considered contrary to the custom of nations to imprison. What use could it be to sacrifice the aged or the child in a prison ? I had sailed for many years in the employment of merchants of England, and had ever had a most exalted idea of the hu- manity and generosity of that nation, but by woeful experience 1 found 1 had been deceived. Many of m}^ readers may, per- haps, dispute the truth of what I have here asserted ; but I appeal to thousands of my countrymen, who will testify the truth of what I have said, and thousands who have suffered with me will say, that the pen of Homer or Milton would fall short in describing the miseries of Dartmoor. Though the weather was quite mild at the end of the month, yet, as many of the prisoners were almost naked, they suffered greatly for want of more clothing. On the last day of this month we received a letter from Mr. Beasley, being the second ever received at this depot from him. I shall commence the transactions of April by giving a copy of the letter which we received the day before. Fellow- Citizens, — In addition to the allowance of three halfpence per day, which has heretofore been allowed, I shall make remittance to Captain Shortland, to enable you to have coffee and sugar twice a week, that is, the days on which your rations consist of fish ; my intention at first was to have the articles them- selves sent to be distributed, but it being suggested to me by the committees at the other depots that the value in money would be more serviceable to the prisoners, I have determined to allow three-pence halfpenny per man, two days in the week, being the value of those articles, and 1 hope the committee will find means to ensure its being applied to the purpose in- tended. Yours, &c., R. G. Beasley. With the letter was accompanied an additional allowance, *4 42 THE prisoners' memoirs, which augmented the sum to two pence halfpenny, and we now received the sum of six and eight pence on the eighth. This was to continue being paid monthly. As it is natural to expect, this payment produced great spirits and animation among the prisoners, and was as welcome as a thousand pounds when we were free and had plenty. With this money the prisoners purchased many little necessary articles of clothing, such as shirts, shoes, trovvsers, &c., which could be bought very cheap of the French, who always kept stores of second-hand clothing, which were obtained from the officers. The weather was fine — for this place — and the prisoners healthy ; and, having obtained some clothes, and anticipating the reception of more, began to be quite comfortable in iheir situation, when we compare it to the distress of that cold win- ter they had just passed through. Our little salary seemed to command some respect from the turnkeys, soldier-officers, and subalterns, who were themselves as poor and meager as Romeo's apothecary. It brought us many indulgences, such as full liberty of the markets, which before had been prohibited, and we compelled to purchase of the French at the gratings. This was a great benefit to us, for we could now trade with the country people much cheaper. To regulate our rations, we were also allowed to appoint a committee of two, to attend at the store-house to see that the contractor gave us weight in those articles allowed by the Board. The day after we received our payment, we received Lon- don papers containing an official account of the allies entering Paris, and the complete defeat and downfali of Bonaparte. This news was a sore affiiction to the French prisoners, who were passionately attached to the Emperor, and not much less galling to the Americans ; for now some boasting pettimaitres among the British officers would come into the yard, in the most taunting, vile manner, to sport with tiie feelings of the prisoners of both nations : " For," said they, " we have con- quered France, and have not the least doubt but we shall shortly completely reduce the United States to colonies of Great Britain, and your haughty President become a mendi- cant vagabond." This insolence was too much for flesh and blood to bear. They declared they could have peace on any OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 43 terms they wished, and, although we were yet prisoners of war, they considered us their subjects. Such language to prisoners who could not resent it, showed that the authors of it could be nothing better than the vilest caitiffs, and could flow from nothing but the meanest of envy. The French prisoners felt this conduct much more severe than we : for the conquest was already made, and they were obliged to look to a master whom they hated, to one who was the clioice of their enemies, Louis XVIII. Many gentlemen visited the prison to congratulate those un- fortunate men on their being restored to liberty, and thought that as they had been many of them confined from five to eleven years, they would rejoice at the idea of liberty under any monarch. They presented the prisoners with the old na- tional flag, and advised them to wear the white cockade ; but they declared, in the presence of those gentlemen, that they would prefer staying in prison all their lifetime than to serve any other master, or become subject to any other king than Bonaparte, whom they loved. But the sequel will show how lasting their determinations were, and how like they were to their nation at large. At this time to express iheir regret at the misfortune of their beloved emperor, and their resentment to the proffered flag and cockade of the new monarch, they came forward every man, wearing the tri-colored cockade, and the white ones on the heads of the dogs that ran about the yards. The white flag they destroyed with great eagerness, in presence of the visitors and great numbers of British officers standing on the wall. Shortly after this intelligence of the affairs of France, we had letters from Chatham, which informed us that, since the last from that place, there had arrived great num.bers of pris- oners there, and that many were almost persuaded in their own minds to enter the enemy's service ; that they had re- ceived the additional allowance at the same time as ourselves. On the 15th we were informed that there was a draft ready at Plymouth, and would shortly be sent to this depot. About this time a separate arrangement was made for allow- ing the crew of the U. S. brig Argus half pay, to be received monthly, and at the time the first payment was received, they received clothing. This was an additional benefit to our prison, as there were established in ijt a great number of shops for 44 THE prisoners' memoirs, various branches of business ; this money circulated within ourselves, and every one derived some advantage. The preliminaries of peace being agreed on at Paris, the French prisoners, towards the close of the month, began to make all preparation for leaving the prison, and once more visiting their native country. The idea of returning to their na- tive laW, their homes, and their wives, was too nicely inter- woven with the threads of their nature to be razed by that of their aversion to the Bourbons. The change which was about to take place in their situation had in it too many of the en- dearments of life to be sacrificed for the love of any monarch. The scenes of their youth, the places where they had spent so many careless, pleasant days, the embraces of their friends, all rushed upon their minds at once, and they could not for- bear the highest transports of joy. They went to leave all the evils that men suffer in this life, and to embrace all the good and blessings of it. We had now an opportunity of procuring all the tools and utensils of the mechanical arts which the French carried on. And during their long imprisonment they had obtained almost every article that could be named ; all these articles we pur- chased, and every man turned all his ingenuity to some branch or other. Tiie weather being pleasant, and the prisoners healthy, they bore their confinement with as much patience as could be ex- pected. By permission, towards the close of the month, they established a beer-house, where small-beer was sold for two pence halfpenny per pot. On the last day of the month a school was established for the instruction of the boys in the arts of reading, writing, and common arithmetic ; to maintain the school, the rate of tuition was fixed at six pence per month per scholar, to be paid by them. May commenced, the weather was equally fine, but some rain. In the bustle of the crowd, we almost forgot our situa- tion ; the market square was crowded every day with people of every description — some came for curiosity, others to trade, and among the latter were many Jews, who brought clothing, and many other articles whiclr might be wanted by the French for their journey. The French prisoners were all in confusion making ready for their departure. The proposal was again made to the French prisoners to hoist the white flag, and wear OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 45 the insignia of Louis XVIII. ; but they rejected it, and would not listen to an}^ argument. Now was the time to try the strength of their attachment to the emperor, whom only they had sworn to serve or die in prison. When the proposition was made to them either to hoist the flao- and wsear the insignia, or remain in prison till the last draft of prisoners in England, they then immediately, but rather reluctantly, hois'ted the white flag and put on the cockade. But it was a grievous sight to them, and they could not look at it but with the bitterest reflection, and the most poignant regret ; for they had for years endured all the calamities and hardships of dunger and war for the sup- port of their beloved emperor, who now must give place to those they hated. On the 10th a draft of Americans from Plymouth, about 170, in great distress, arrived at this depot, among whom were the seventeen that were taken and put into close confinement by the information of Robertson. They had been tried for high treason by a court of judicature, but there not being suffi- cient evidence on the part of the crown to support the charge, they were acquitted, and sent to this prison, to be dealt by as prisoners of war only. In the same draft were a number of prisoners who had been released from British ships of war. On the 15th we received our monthly pay; this came very appropos, to enable us to buy all the furniture used by the French at a very low price. On the same day Mr. Williams, clerk to Mr. Beasley, and a Jew merchant of London, Mr. Jacobs, brought and delivered to each, prisoner a jacket, pair of trowsers, a pair of shoes, and a shirt. The jacket and trowsers were of very coarse blue cloth, much coarser than that of the English ; but it was such a dress as we had been used to w^eaiing. Mr. Williams then told us that We were to be clothed altogetiier by the United States, and these w^e had now received were to last us eighteen months. These were the first we had ever received from the agent; and it. is impos- sible to describe the great change and life it gave the prison- ers : they all cleaned themselves, and every thing about them, and laid by their yellow rags. - They began to attract the attention of all about them ; the British officers would now visit them, and were not afraid of being covered with vermin as before; our appearance was not loathsome to one another ; we were in great spirits now, and to prevent some thoughtless men from selling their clothing to 46 , THE prisoners' memoir's, the French to wear home, we passed an act that every man should appear in his dress which he had received from the United States, to receive his monthly payment, or not receive it at all. We now felt a spirit of independence which had before been smothered in the wretchedness of our situation ; we could now converse with ease, and without that restraint which a mean and dirty habit will ever give a man in presence of those in a clean and genteel one ; that old, dirty, tawny dress depressed us with a sense of inferiority ; but now we could vindicate our country's rights in argument with any visitor ; we came out boldly, and demanded restitution for any injury or fraud that heretofore had been practised upon us ; every man began to see to it, how he should gain something more, now he was fur- nished with utensils, and set himself about something. On the twentieth, orders arrived for the first draft of French, and the day after five hundred were taken out and marched to Plymouth, where they took shipping and went to France. A very singular kind of conduct now showed itself in the British government. Twenty-four Americans, citizens of the United States, who had been taken under the flag of France about two years before the war between the United States and Great Britain, were now among the French prisoners at this place. They had often applied to the government to be re- leased as citizens of the United States before the war. They also, asserting their citizenship, had applied after the war, to be enrolled on the list of United States prisoners, but had been refused both their applications. They now expected to be re- leased with the French prisoners, on account of their always being considered by government as French prisoners ; but the government would not release them as such, but detained them in prison. They now, seeing they could not have the privi- lege of French prisoners, applied to Mr. Beasley, and claimed their citizenship in the^ United States, but received for answer from him, " that he could not receive them as such !" These men were citizens of the world sure enough, for they belonged to no nation in it ; they therefore remained unpro- vided for by either government. But we could not see them perisli as long as we had any thing whicli could be divided ; they therefore lived upon our charity the whole time. On the twenty-fifth, another draft took place as before, and THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, 47 released one thousand. At this time, all the Swedish subjects, taken under the flag- of the United States, were released and permitted to go home. The French, who had been employed in different occupations, being now released, we applied to government to be allowed that privilege, each man employed at these different occupations, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, nurses in the hospital &;c. ; and two hundred labourers were paid six pence a day. In answer to this application, we were told, that after the dis- charge of all the French prisoners we should have them allowed us. When ihe French prisoners passed out, they were all called over by name, and great numbers being dead, which was not known to the keepers, afforded a fine opportunity for the Ame- ricans to answer, and pass out in the name of the deceased. Great numbers, who could speak French, obtained their release in this manner. At the end of the month, another draft of one thousand took place, among whom, twenty Americans passed out in the same manner as before, the deception not being as yet discovered. At the same time, we received information by letters from Chatham and Stapleton, that Mr. Williams, and the Jew mer- chant had visited them, and supplied them in the manner as ourselves, and also, that the French prisoners at those places were released daily. Few died this month, the weather o-ene- rally pleasant, but much rain. Before I leave the events of this month, I cannot forbear mentioning one very melancholy and striking instance of the force of disappointment and despair ; where hope has painted glowing scenes of pleasure ; the heart sickens and the mind grows frantic. On the discharge of the prisoners, every man before he can be discharged, must return the same complement of bed- ding which he had received two years before ; he must have the same number of articles, let them be in ever so worn-out- state ; if he do this he can then pass, if not, he cannot pass. It happened, that one unfortunate man, called for in the last draft, did not brina: forward the articles of beddino- : he was re- fused a pass, and ordered back to produce them ; he ran about in great confusion and the most terrible anxiety to procure them, but could not find them ; he returned again to pass out, he was refused ; he had been immured and buried within the cold, 48 THE prisoners' memoirs, gloomy walls of this prison, eleven tedious and painful years, he said : he ran and looked, and looked again — he could not procure them, and he was refused to pass ; — then, in the agonies of despair, he seized a knife and put an end to his suf- ferings, by cutting his own throat, in presence of his country- men and the keepers ! The spectacle was too horrible to behold without the deepest regret and sorrow ; it was a sight, that all-powerful Juno might have sent down Iris from heaven, to relieve his strug- gling soul from her united limbs. Many, through despair, had committed suicide before in the French prisons. June. The weather continued much the same. On the fifth, another draft of French prisoners was made. At this time, an order was issued, to discharge from confinement all French prisoners who had been taken under the flag of the United States. The Americans, who were ever watchful for an opportunity to make their escape, took advantage of this order to obtain their liberty many came forward and claimed their birth right in France and its dependencies ; being well versed in the French language, they bore a good examination, and one hundred and twenty-one were released in the last draft of French subjects. By this time all the French from No. 4 were released, and we had the whole prison to ourselves; but the blacks being mixed with us were very troublesome. We having purchased from the French all they had, were now well furnished with household furniture, such as tables, dishes, seats, and things to cook in. We now carried on the business of making straw flats for hats and bonnets, although not allowed by government ; by strict attention, we could make at this bussness three pence a day. On the fifteenth, we received our monthly pay, which never failed to come about that time. . On the twentieth, the whole of the French prisoners were discharged except a few sick in the Hospital. On the 22d, Capt. Shortland gave us information that all the prisoners in England were to be collected at Stapleton, as the Transport Board determined on that place for a general depot for all American prisoners. There were now in England, three thousand five hundred unparoled prisoners.' The same information was given at Chatham and Plymouth. We anticipated much advantage in the change of situation, OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 49 and began to prepare for the removal, and from the authentic account we had received from that place, there had not died but one-fiftieth as many in proportion to their number, as had died at this depot; the change was therefore much to be de- sired ; the climate was much more pleasant and healthy, and the contiguity to the city of Bristol, where every article manu- factured by the prisoners, would find a ready market at a much higher price than at this place ; all articles of provision much cheaper. But much to our disappointment, on the twenty- fourth, the late order was countermanded, and Capt. Shortland ordered to make all things ready for the reception of all the prisoners in England, as the board had determined on making this depot the general receptacle for all prisoners in the country, as they considered it the safest of any in the kingdom, and they might have added, far more infernal than the Bastile. He also told the prisoners that he had orders to employ any number of the prisoners he should think necessary, such as carpenters and masons, to build a church near tlie prison, and a number of laborers to repair the roads ; also blacksmiths, coopers, painters, lamp-lighters, and nurses in the hospital, &c. The numbei', he said, would amount to upwards of one hundred. He then told us under what restrictions we were to work ; we were to be under the eye of a guard all the time, and if any prison- er attempted to make his escape, that no more Americans would be enjployed, and to prevent this, the following rule was adopt- ed ; they were to receive their pay, at the rate of six-pence per day, every three months, and if any prisoner escaped, the whole pay was forfeited ; this kept every prisoner watchful over each other, ibr when one run away, all the others lost their whole pay and employment ; besides, this was the method they had used with the French. We found this to be* a great benefit to us, for those workmen who went out of tha prison yards, smuggled in all kinds of prohibited articles, such as rum, candles, oil, and news papers; and smuggled out all the prohibited articles, manufactured in the prison. At this trade each man could make four or five shillings a day. There were now eleven hundred prisoners, and manufactures having got to considerable perfection, the receipts of money brought into the prison each week besides the allowances, were fifty pounds sterling. Besides this sum of money, many 5 50 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, prisoners had friends in England, and received from them con- siderable sums. The prisoners now began to live, and got into good spirits. The latter part of this month 150 workmen were employed at different branches of mechanical business. At this time pris- oners from Stapleton arrived at this depot ; their number at first was 400, but was now reduced to 350. Seventeen had enlisted in the British service, eight died, and the remainder made their escape. On their arrival here, they were commit- ted to No. 4, which contained upwards of 1400, and was much crowded. These 350 were in a very bad condition, many were without shoes, and had travelled most of the dis- tance in the same condition, for the shoes they had received from the agent did not last more than three or four weeks. This was an imposition of the contractor, as the agent after- wards said he had learned. On the twentieth of June we were informed, by Capt. Short- land, that when the other prisoners arrived from Chatham, he would open the yards on the south side of the enclosure, and give us all the privileges of the other prisons. These yards being large, would admit of many amusements which that of No. 4 would not, such as playing ball, &c. At this time, viewing our circumstances on all sides, and seeing no hope of exchange or peace, we formed a design to make our escape ; our plan was, that immediately after our removal to the other prisons, to dig a hole two hundred and eighty feet long, all the way under ground ; this would reach from the prison beyond the outer wall. The success of this design will be mentioned hereafter. On the same day we re- ceived London papers, containing an account of the capture of the United States frigate Essex, by the frigate Phebe and sloop- of-war Cherub. The London editor said that the Essex was equal in size to a seventy-four. Had he said her defence was equal to a seventy- four, Capt. Hilliar would have agreed with • him. The garrison was again renewed with a new regiment, and the old one removed. This regiment was very much em- bittered against the government; their term of five years, for which they had enlisted, having expired, the government re- fused to discharge them. At this time the government was giving great encourage- ment to soldiers to enlist to fight against the United States ; OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 51 this regiment was offered every inducement to join ; they therefore made it their business to make particular inquiry of the prisoners what was the manner of our warfare, and the dispositions of the American soldier^. I found they were very ignorant in these things, and easily deterred from their enlist- ing. I composed a song, and distributed it among them, after which not a man ever enlisted or offered to. This very iijuch enraged the soldier-officers of the garrison, who issued orders that if any sentry was found conversing with a prisoner, he should be punished ; but it was impossible to stop it, the sol- diers were equally desirous as the prisoners to converse. The fourth of July was not fur distant, and we began to make preparations to celebrate the day a second time since our confinement. We obtained permission from the keeper to purchase two hogsheads of porter ; we likewise had got a number of gallons of rum unbeknown to the keeper. We also provided ourselves with American colors, and in- vited all the soldier-officers, clerks of the prison, and soldiers, to attend and hear an oration that would be delivered on the fourth, which was the anniversary of American Independence. The prisoners were in high spirits, expecting to enjoy them- selves much better than they had done on 'the preceding one, when they were half naked. In the month of June we had but few deaths, and the prison- ers generally healthy ; we had rain, and many showers. On the first of July we received letters from Chatham, in- forming us that they were much concerned at a late order, which was shortly to remove them to this depot ; the same letter informed us that the prisoners on board the Crowned Prince had been confined three days without victuals or drink ; the reason why is yet- untold. On the second of the month the crew of the Argus received another payment of several pounds each man, through the hands of the late purser to that vessel ; this came very timely to us in the celebration of American Independence. By letters from Plymouth, this day, we were informed the reason of the prisoners being confined below deck on board the Crowned Prince. It happened that the boats' crew of that ship had been on shore and stole a sheep from a farmer, and the commander had had his table served v/ith the best pieces ; the farmer get- ting information where the sheep had gone, came and de- 52 THE PRISONERS MEMOIRS, manded reparation for his sheep ; the commander, to screen the boats' crew, paid the farmer the price of the sheejD. The story of the sh(^ ep was soon known to the prisoners, who, having a dislike to the commander, one morning, as he was going on shore with his wife, and at the moment he was entering the boat, they all as one acrreed to cry blar ; he under- stood the meaniniT the very instant the sound struck his ear, and turning back, he ordered the prisoners all below, and to be kept there three days without victuals or drink. On the evening of the third, an event happened at Dart- moor, which ended in a very serious manner. A dispute arose between two of the prisoners late belonging to the United States' brig Argus, bv the names of Thomas Hill and James Henry; the quarrel growing quite warm, and not- being ended that night, they agreed to fight next morning ; accordingly, next morning, about nine o'clock, they commenced the battle in prison No. 4, and by an unfortunate blow from Hill, Henry was killed on the spot : a jury of inquest was called next morn- ing and held over the body of the deceased, and after hearing the evidence, the jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter, (or a killing not wholly without fault, but without malice.) Thomas Hill was removed and confined in the county prison at Exeter, there to await his trial at the August assizes then next ensuing. The fourth of July now having arrived, and all things in great preparation, we displayed our flag in the yard, with the following inscription upon it in large capitals, ^' All Cana'da or Dartmoor prison for Hfe.'^ This pleased the soldiers, but irri- tated the oflrjcers, who, dfscovering our firm resolution to defend the flag, and not having but part of a regiment in the garrison, and tiiey friendly toward us, thought best to be quite silent, and let us proceed our own way ; for if they attempted to de- prive us of the flag, we might rush on the guard, who would make but a faint resistance, or join us, and all the prisoners might make an easy escape. But the prisoners did not wish to niake the attempt, for they knew a reinforcement could easiK be raised, and make a vigorous pursuit, and were therefore willing to wait some more favorable opportunity. At eleven o'clock all the prisoners assembled in the yard. The British oflicers belonging to the garrison, colonels, majors, captains, clerks, turnkeys, and a great number of soldiers, as- sembled on the walls to hear an oration comj)oscd by a Yankee OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 53 sailor, upon the circumstances of the present times. An empty cask was placed in such a situation, as all the strangers on the walls could hear distinctly. The orator of the day then mounted the cask,. and all the spectators keeping a profound silence, began his oration, which we shall give our readers verbatim, as it was delivered by the sailor. '' Countryinen and fellow -citizens : " This day we dedicate as the birth-day of freedom, it being the fourth of July — the day that our fathers declared them- selves free and independent from the tyrannical laws of this country. After many years hard struggle, and the loss of many of our fathers and friends, America was acknowledged by all civilized nations, a free and independent government. " For many years our fathers, and we, their offspring, re- mained in the most perfect state of peace and tranquility, and reaped every blessing that grows on the soil of liberty ; Eng- land, ever envying us the honor our fathers acquired by their valor in arms, when they declared that themselves and their sons should no longer wear the yoke of tyranny. Since that time, England has used every intrigue to deprive us of the greatest of blessings. First, contrary to the laws of civilized nations, she has dragged you from your homes, from your wives, your families and friends, into her infernal bulwarks — her ships of war ; there, after sufTering every degradation, from the terror of the lash, she has sent you to the most horrid pris- on in compensation for your long and faithful services. Eng- land, envying the happiness our countrymen enjoyed under so mild a government, the reverse of her own tyrannical laws, exerted every art to destroy their tranquiliiy, by offering insults to the United States ships at various times, impressing and murdering our brother seamen, within the jurisdiction of our own waters, and within sight of our capitol. Our country was passive, and wishing to remain at peace with all nations, bore these insults with a fortitude becoming a great and wise people, and was in hope that, at some future day, England would redress those injuries in a fair and honorable way. But, contrary to every expectation for years before the war. she grew more bold, and showed a disposition to add injury to in- sult, by issuing orders to make prizes of all American vessels not bound to her own ports or tliose of her allies. 5* 54 THE prisoners' memoirs, " All nations stood amazed to see our country insulted, our seamen impressed and murdered within our own waters ; our commerce confined and completely destroyed, contrary to the laws of neutrality. All this was done by England, and she unprovoked. Then, fellow-citizens, the results of all these de- predations must be a formal declaration of war, which could no longer be delayed. Our country then, prudently and wisely, mustered all their forces, both by sea and land ; England stood ready for combat fully prepared, and with the fullest assurance of a speedy victory ; but, alas ! for England ; within a few weeks after the declaration of war, the United States frigate Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, fell in with His Majesty's ship Guerriere, and then retaliated for one insult by sending her to the bottom. Great was the astonishment of England. " Shortly after, the U. S. ship Wasp fell in with His Ma- jesty's ship Frolic, of far superior force, and after a second retaliation, she acknowledged her country's wrongs by striking her colors to the gallant Jones. " The officers and seamen of our infant navy now felt the ardor of our forefathers. ''Decatur, in the frigate United States, fell in with a vessel of equal force, the Macedonian, the pride of the British navy ; and, after displaying the courage of injured Americans, he took and brought her into port. " The Constitution shortly after took her station alongside of the Java, a frigate completely fitted and manned with a superior number of seamen ; and again did the god of battle decide in favor of the injured Ameiicans, and sent the Java to the bottom. The tidings had scarcely reached the American shore, when anothei' laurel was added to our infant navy ; the United States ship Hornet engaged His Majesty's ship Pea- cock, of equal force ; and Capt. Lawrence, unwilling to make any distinction between her and the Java, sent her to the bot- tom, too. " This intelligence had scarcely reached the shores of liberty, when victories were proclaimed from all directions. "The British, feeling their pride wounded by the great ex- ploits of our undaunted seamen, fitted out the Boxer, with the fullest assurance of recovering her lost honor, and were confi- dent of taking our brig Enterprise, of much inferior force. But Divine Providence, ever extending the hand of assistance OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 55 to the injured, decided the contest in favor of our insulted country ; and the Boxer was captured and brought safe into port, in the United States. " Our next laurel was reaped on Lake Erie, by Commodore Perry. He bravely captured all the naval force on that lake, to the amazement of all surrounding nations, and the disgrace of the British flag. " Commodore Chauncey, at the same time, had a complete ascendency over the whole British force on Lake Ontario ; while Commodore Rodgers is traversing the ocean in every direction, and destroying British property to an immense value. The United States ship Essex is complete master of all the South Seas, in defiance of all the boasted superiority of the British. The United States ship Congress is cruising on the coast of Brazil, and completely intercepting the trade of Great Britain to all Spanish South America, and defying any thing of equal size. " And now, fellow-citizens, this country, what has she done ? She has long boasted of her honor and her bravery ; and she has issued orders to her frigates, never to engage an American frigate unless under cover of a ship ot the line. She has like- wise 'endeavored to rouse the anger of the savage tribes in the wilderness of Canada, to murder and scalp your brethren in arms, in that country. But Divine Providence, still assisting your injured country, turned the ferocity of the savages against those who moved them to anger, and their vengeance recoiled on the hand that attempted to use it. And you, fellow-citizens, although prisoners of war, feel the benefit of belonging to so great and wise a nation. Have the United States not assisted us in our unhappy situation," and much meliorated our suf- ferings, though illy able while carrying on so expensive a war ? '•'And now, fellow-citizens, I conjure you to be patient, and consider your country to be using her utmost endeavor to bring about an honorable and speedy peace. In. a state of war, many stories are circulated in this country favorable to her success in arms, which have no foundation ; and this is done to encourage and inspire the soldiery to enlist in her wars ; and perhaps, fellow-citizens, many of you may honestly believe the reports, but let them not make you despair of your country. No, depend upon it, she cannot be conquered. En^^land may get momentary possession of one small city, or perhaps ten, 66 THE prisoners' memoirs, but America is not conquered till every man is either taken prisoner or killed. " The success of our naval arms is a sufficient proof, and our country is now in triumph at her great naval success. Have we not this moment, as it w^ere, heard of another brilliant achievement upon the ocean ? The United States ship Pea- cock, on her first cruise after she left the stocks, captured and brought into port His Majesty's ship L'Epervier, of equal size, with immense sums of silver and much treasure on board ? " From the success of American arms, which have already astonished our enemies, we have nothing to fear; and we have the greatest reason to believe that the American cause is big with the most wonderful achievements ; that the exploits of our countrymen in arms, in the present contest, will astonish all nations, and be recorded on the pages of history, and remain in the choicest archives of posterity, with equal glory to those of Marathon and Thermopylse. *' Fellow.prisoners, let us then be resigned to our present unhappy condition ; and through the great exertion of our country, and the assistance of Divine Providence, who disposes ;of events and governs futurity, we may hope once more to re- visit our native country in an honorable peace, and live happy and free." After the oration was delivered, the officers that were on the walls entered the prison yard, and expressed the greatest sur- prise that we should entertain a hope that the United States would be successful in a war with Great Britain, when she was at peace with all other nations. But for consolation to us in our present condition, we might rest fully assured that we should be released in a very sliort time by a peace, which would be brought about by their conquering the United States, and reducing tliem to colonijss again ; and such a change, which must shortly take place, they said must be imputed en- tirely to the had management of our President and Congress: we have now conquered Prance, and America must be con- quered next. We found them iirnorant of the strenstii and re- sources of the American people ; we gave them a particular account of the situation of America, her means of defence, and the spirit and determination of the people ; the great supe riority of gunnery which the American seamen possessed over OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 57 those of Great Britain ; the truth of which was shown in the actions of the Guerriere, Frolic, Java, &c., &c. They left the yard much ciiagrined scaped from the cartel, went into the countiy and worked at liis trade, which was that of a blacksmith, and had resided there the whole time. On the second we had information that the ship JVHlo, of Boston, had arrived in England in eightet-n days from that port; she was the first American vessel which had reached this place since the peace. 8* 90 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, On the same day, we received a letter from Mr. Beasley, which read as follows : " Fellow Citizens, " From the numberless letters I receive daily, I find that the prisoners entertain an idea of my releasing any prisoners that are enabled with a sufficiency to provide for themselves ; I therefore must give you fully my intention on that subject, which is, to grant passports only to such persons as have friends or connexions in this country, of responsibility. " I must also acquaint you that I am making every possible dispatch with the cartels for your conveyance to the United States, where you are much wanted, and the encouragement for seamen very great." This letter again revived the drooping spirits of the prison- ers, who for many days had been almost distracted with the tedium of suspense. We now felt that a few days would release us from this earthly hell, and like iEnas of old, pass by propitious gales from hell to heaven, and shortly repose on the Elysian fields, in the arms of the goddess of liberty. The prisoners that had kept shops in the prisons for retail- ing small articles, such as tobacco, thread, soap, cofTee, sugar, &c. now broke up, and every thing was in great confusion for want of these articles ; these shops were a great advan- tage to those who kept them, and a great accommodation to all the prisoners. There had been from sixty to eighty in each prison ; at these places all these small articles might easily be obtained, though at somewhat higher price than in the market. Our salary would not go far in purchasing these arttcles, which were very high at this time all over England; we could buy for a penny sterling, only one small chew of tobacco, which was selling at JPlymouth by the quantity at nine shillings and six pence per pound. We find mentioned in the paper of this day, the arrival ot the late U. States frigate President at Plymouth; ihey barely mention that she had arrived at that place, and that she was captured by the Endymion, but the circumstances of the capture they very prudently left out, as reflecting no honor on the captors. Capt. Shortland had two men committed to close confine- ment, who had been aceused of drawing money from the Dire tors of Greenwich Hospital, under assumed names. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 91 On the fourth, a circumstance occurred, which may lead to the recital of other circumstances, which many to whose hand this work may come, may be inclined to doubt the veracity of ; but I can appeal, not only to those who have certified this work, but to nearly six thousand of my fellow prisoners, who upon their solemn oath can attest to the truth of what is herein contained. During the whole of this day the prisoners remained without bread, and the captain of the prison gone to Ply- mouth : we were obliged to subsist on the four and a half ounces of beef, and the soup made of it ; we demanded of the contractor the reason of our not drawing oui usual allowance of bread ; he answered, that it could not be obtained till to- morrow ; we waited as patiently as our feelings would allow, till the expiration of thirty-six hours from the time we had received the last bread, when hunger became so pressing, that it drove us to a state of desperation, and we could no longer endure it, as the whole allowance was scarcely suffi- cient to sustain life. At dusk in the evening, we again demanded the reason of our not receiving our allowance of bread as usual, as the store-house we well knew contained a sufficiency of both hard and soft bread. The contractor's clerk informed us, that a quantity of damaged hard bread, which had been kept in reserve for times of extreme neces- sity, now remained on hand, and that unless we would accept of one pound of that in lieu of the pound and a half of soft bread allowed by the Transport Board, until all they had was expended, he should not serve us with any brtad, until Capt. Shortland returned from Plymouth. The prisoners then collected themselves into companies, to consider of this very extraordinary conduct in the contractor ; and after mature deliberation, they all concluded that it must be a design in the contractor to get rid of his damaged bread, before we went away, and had taken this opportunity, while the captain was absent, to compel us to receive it by starving us till we were willing; we therefore concluded rather to die by the sword, than the famine, and determined to remain no longer in this starving condition, for we had all this time lived solely on the four and a half ounces of beef. Thus desperate by starvation, we determined to force open the gates in front of the prison, disarm the soldiers, break open the store-house and supply ourselves; and provided the gar- 92 THE prisoners' memoirs, rison should charge or fire upon us, to make a general attack, and take possession of the guard house and barracks, and stand the consequences let come what might. Accord- ingly at dark, the prisoners were ordered, as usual, inside the prisons to be locked up for the night, but instead of com- plying with orders, a signal previously agreed on was given, and passed like lightning through every prison, and every prisoner appeared instantly at the gate in one solid body ; on approaching the gates, and bursting open the first three, the soldiers and turnkeys stationed there, fled in the utmost con- fusion and consternation to the main body in the guard house. The alarm-bells rung and the drums in every direction around the orarrison beat to arms ; the women in the different houses connected to the depot, flew in confusion and terror m every direction from the depot; in a few moments the alarm had reached the neighboring villages for many miles, and the militia assembled in arms to assist the garrison, which was at this time twelve hundred. We stood arranged in front of the store-house ready to receive the attack of the soldiery, or receive oar usual allowance of bread ; in a few moments the soldiers arrived and advanced with charged bayonets within two yards of the prisoners. The soldiers were then brought to a stand by the threats of the prisoners who all declared, in the most determined tone, that if they attempted to fire or make a charge on them, they must abide by any consequences that would follow : we told them that we were confident that no such orders had been issued by the govern- ment of Great Britain ; we also told them, that unless the bread was served out immediately, that the store-house should be levelled with the ground, and every prisoner should march out of the prison. The contractor, clerks, &c. then immediately came forward and entered into this engagement, that if the prisoners would retire into the prison yards, that the bread should be immediately served to them ; the prison- ers aofreed and retired, and for the securing the fulfilment of the engagement, they took with them as a hostage one of the clerks inside of the prison, and there to remain till every prisoner had received his "usual allowance of bread, which was not till after twelve o'clock at night. During this time, the guards, soldiers, keepers, and every person connected with the prison, remained in the greatest apprehension, fearing the prisoners had some further intention than merely OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 93 to obtain their bread ; they feared their troubles would end in a more serious way, and the prisoners all make their escape, But next morning showed that the prisoners had no intention of escaping, for during the confusion of the night, many of them had taken the opportunity to scale the walls in an oppo- site direction, while the attention of the guard was taken up with the main body of them. Those that had gone out after remaining all night, came and demanded admittance into prison again This movement in the prisoners astonished the natives of the moor, who left va- cant their huts and fled for safety; and the women and child- ren had retired to the nearest towns, and there took refuge, and the men had joined the garrison for protection. During the night an express v/as sent to Plymouth to ac- quaint Capt. Shortland of the event, and that the prisoners had complete possession of the whole garrison, and the control of all things at Dartmoor. In the morning Capt. Shortland ar- rived with a reinforcement of two hundred soldiers ; but found all things quiet and tranquil ; as the prisoners had obtained their usual allowance of bread, they were satisfied and sought nothing more. Capt. Shortland made an apology for the con- duct of the contractor, and things passed on tolerably well ; but great suspicions remained among the people who had for- merly attended the market, and these had spread abroad and become the general opinion outside the walls, that the Ameri- can prisoners being detained so long since the ratification had arrived, now three weeks, in which time Mr. Beasley might have had all discharged and on their passage to the United States, had grown impati-'nt ; and as no ships had yet sailed from London to receive them, their forbearance was quite ex- hausted, and from some threats that had been thrown out by some of the prisoners in presence of the market people, that if the agent of their country did not procure their release within one month from the arrival of the treaty, that they would take their liberty in a body, being determined to risk their lives at all hazards, and depend on their own exertions for their liber- ty among armed soldiers, rather than remain in the wretched condition they were then in. These suspicions had gone so much abroad, that every body about the prison was apprehen- sive the prisoners would make the attempt to escape in a body, and some unhappy issue grow out of it. But the prisoners generally had no design of escaping, as by that means they 94 THE prisoner's memoirs, would lose their opportunity of returning home in the cartels. On the sixth, we addressed a letter to Mr. Beasley, on the subject of our discharge, and informed him that we had made application to the British Gov^ernment to interfere in forward- ing our release, as he, Mr. Beasley, had delayed the time al- ready nearly one month, and had only procured three ships, and ihem slill in London, when at the same time ships could have been procured at Plymouth, on equally as good terms as at London, which would, with very little exertion on the part of iMr. Beasley, have released the greater part of the prisoners in two weeks from tiie arrival of the ratification of the treaty. The story I am about to relate is of the deepest concern, as well to every citizen of the United States as to those who were the immediate subjects of it. The event concerns the interest of both governments, and deserve to be treated in the most candid and impartial manner ; every transaction whereby the intention of those acting in it can be discovered, require to be shown in the purest and most open view. That the public may have all that can be known on this important subject, I purpose to lay before them, in the first in- stance, what passed within my own knowledge, that I myself was witness to ; then to give them the report of the committee appointed by the prisoners to investigate the circumstances of the massacre ; and lastly, to give the report of the agents ap- pointed by the two governments. What one of that Nation, or what soldier of that hardened, wretched band, can refrain from tears even while he relates the murderous deeds? " What blind, detested madness could afford, Such horrid license to the murd'ring sword !" Though the scene is of painful memory, and my soul shud" ders at the remembrance, and hath shrunk back with grief at the thought, yet will I relate what my eyes hath seen and my ears heard. On the sixth of this month, April, about six o'clock in the evening, Capt. Shortland discovered a hole in the inner wall, that separates the barrack- yard from prison No. 6 and 7 ; this hole had been made in the afternoon by some prisoners out of mere play, without any design to escape. On discovering the hole, Capt. Shortland seemed instantly OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 95 to conceive the murderous design ; for, without giving the prisoners any notice to retire, he planted soldiers in proper positions on the top of the wall, where they could best assist in perpetrating his murderous and barbarous deeds. A few minutes past six, while the prisoners were innocent- ly* and unapprehensive of danger, walking in the prison yards and those in No. 1, 3 and 4 were particularly so, as the yards of these prisons are entirely separated every way from the yard in which the hole in the wall had been made — the alarm bells rung, and the drums of the garrison in every direction beat to arms ; this was about ten minute§ past six. This sudden and unexpected alarm excited the attention of all the prisoners, who, out of curiosity made immediately for the prison yard to inquire the reason of the alarm. Among so many as were in this depot, it is reasonable to suppose that some mischievous persons were among them, aud among those collected at the gate were some such persons who forced the gate open, whether by accident or design I will not attempt to say ; but without any intention of making an escape, and totally unknown to every man, except the few who stood in front of the gates; those back naturally crowded for- ward to see what was going on at the gates ; this pressed and forced a number through the gates, quite contrary to the in- tention of either those in front or those in rear. While in this situation Capt. Shortland entered the inner square, at the head of the whole body of soldiers in the garri- son ; as soon as they entered, Capt. Shortland took sole command of the whole, and immediately drew up the soldiers in a position to charge. The soldier-ofHcers, perceiving by this move the horrid and murderous design of Capt. Shortland, resigned their authority over the soldiers, and refused to take any part, or give any orders for the troop to fire. They saw by this time that the terrified prisoners were re- tiring as fast as so great a crowd would permit, and hurrying and flying in terrible flight, in every direction, to their re- spective prisons. The troop had now advanced within three yards of the prisoners, when Capt. Shortland gave them orders to chaige upon them ; at this time the prisoners had all got within their respective prison yards, and were flying with the greatest pre- cipitation from the point of the bayonet ; the doors now being 96 THE PRISONER S MEMOIRS, full of the terrified crowd, they could not enter as fast as ihey wished; at this moment of dismay, Capt. Shortland was dis- tinctly heard to give orders to the troops to fire upon the pris- oners, although now completely in his power, and their lives at his disposal, and had offered no violence, nor attempted to resist, and thi gates all closed. The order was immediately obeyed by his soldiers, and they discharged a full volley of musketry into the main body ofthe prisoners, on the other side of the iron railings which separat- ed the prisoners from the soldiers. These volleys were repeated for several rounds, and the prisoners falling, either dead or wounded, in all directions, while it was yet impossible for them to enter the prison, on account of the numbers that flew there for refuge from the rage ofthe blood thirsty murderer. In the midst of this horrid slaughter, one man among the rear prisoners, with great presence of mind and the most un- daunted courage, turned and advanced to the soldiers, amidst the fire of hundreds, and while his fellow-prisoners were fall- ing all around him, and in an humble and suppliant manner, with his hat in his hand, this resolute soul, in the face of danger and death, implored mercy of Capt. Shortland to spare his countrymen. *'0 ! spare my countrymen !" he cried, " O ! Captain, forbear, don't kill us all." To this supplication, this cruel, inexorable Shortland replied, "Retire, you dammed ras- cal; I'll hear to nothing." The soldiers then pricked him with their bayonets, which compelled him to retreat to the prison door, where he must wait his doom with the other unfortu- nate prisoners, till the soldiers, who had now entered the dif- ferent prison yards, and were pursuing and firing should dis- patch him with the rest To do justice to the merits of this young man, T must inform the public that his name is Greenlow, of Virginia, and late a midshipman in the United States navy, but now a prisoner of the crew ofthe privateer Prince of Neufchattel. The soldiers now advanced, making a general massacre of men and boys, whom accident or impossibil'ty had left with- out the doors ofthe prison ; they advanced near to the crowded doors, and instantly discharged another volley of musketry on the backs of those farthest out, endeavoring to force their pas- sage into the prison. This barbarous act was repeated in the presence of this in- OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 97 . human monster, Shortland — and the prisoners fell, either dead or severely wounded, in all directions, before his savage sight. Bat his vengeance was not glutted by the cruel murder of the innocent men and boys that lay weltering and bleeding in the groans and agonies of death along the prison-doors, but turned and traversed the yard, and hunted a poor affrighted wretch, that had flew for safety close under the walls of prison No. 1, and dared not move lest he should be discovered, and immediat-i death be his lot. But, alas! the unhappy man was discovered by these hell- hounds, with this demon at their head, and with cool and de- liberate malice, drew up their muskets to their shoulders and despatched the unhappy victim, while in the act of imploring mercy from their hands. His only crime was not being able to get into the prison without being shot before. in the yard of No. 7, they found in their hunt another hapless victim, crouching close along the wall at the far end of the yard, and fearing to breathe, lest he should share the fate of his unfortunate countrymen that had already fallen a sacrifice to the rage of this lawless banditti ; when, ! cruel to relate, five of them drew up the instruments of death, and by the order of this fell murderer, discharged their contents into the body of this innocent man, while begging them to spare his life ! This Nero, now having accomplished his murderous de- signs, retired with his troops from the yard, and left it a hor- rid scene of his relentless rage ! The dead and the wounded lay scattered about the yard ; seven were killed dead on the spot, and six with the loss of a leg or an arm, and dangerously wounded ; several were pro- nounced mortal. The names of (very man, either killed or wounded will be given in the catalogue annexed. As it was much feared the murderers would endeavor to conceal many of the dead, Dr. McGrath, head surgeon of the Hospital, an honest skillful man, entered immediately after Shortland retired, and exerted his utmost ability in collecting the dead and wounded from the'several prison yards, and con- veying them to the Hospital. At the same time he sent to the neighboring towms to call in the aid of medical gentlemen that resided there ; he also de- manded admittance into the prisons, which were now closed, 98 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, to receive the dead and wounded that had reached the inside of the prison. A despatch was immediately sent to Plymouth, to infoim the Admiral and Commodore, and the Commander in Cliief of the Military Department, of the fatal sixth of April, one, thousand eight hundred and fifteen; which day must be of horrid memory to every American, whose mind will revolt with in- dignity at the name of SHORTLAND AND THE MASSA- CRE AT DARTMOOR ! ! Shortland ! thou foul monster and inhuman villain ! is ^thy soul glutted with the blood of the innocent victims, that Fate had doomed to thy revengeful and blood-thirsty power ? I ap- peal to the world to say whether the conduct of Warren Has- tings, whether the massacre of St. Domingo, can exceed the horrid catastrophe of this ill-fated night, conducted under the immediate inspection of your murderous eye? and should the laws of your country not doom you to a death of the most se- vere nature as a public example for your well known crimes? Your whole nation is involved as a black accomplice in your monstrous guilt ; and the blood of my unfortunate countrymen, shed by your base hand, must ever remam a stain to the char- acter of your nation. Tell me, ye bloody butchers ! and thou who contrived, as well as ye who executed the execrable design ,hovv dare ye breathe that air, which wafted to the ear of Majesty the groans of the wounded and the dying ? How dare ye tread that earth which is wet with the blood of the innocent, shed by your ac- cursed hands? Do not the goads and stings of conscious guilt wound you in your daily walks? Do not the ghosts of the murdered rise before you in your nightly dreams? On the morning of the seventh, by order of the commander- m-chief at Plymouth, a Colonel, with a reinforcement of troops, arrived and took command of the depot. Immediately on his arrival, he sent notice to the prisoners of his taking the command, and that Capt. Shortland wished the prisoners to appoint some few men to receive the explanation of his last night's conduct; but we unanimously agreed, and despatched a letter to the Colonel, acquainting him that as citizens of the United States of America, we should conceive it a disgrace to the national character of our country to hold any communica- tion with the murderer of our fellow-citizens. But provided the Colonel should require any conference with the prisoners, OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 99 they should at any time with pleasure attend, and explain the nature of every past event The Colonel, requesting a conference, came to the gate at- tended by the guilty Shortland, who could not now disguise the guilt of his crime ; he could not look a prisoner in the face ; as he walked along towards the prison bars with his eyes fix- ed on the ground, and as he came to the spot where, a few hours before, lay one of our murdered countrymen, he saw the blood, and faintly attempted to speak ; but the monitor of Hea- ven was not quite overcome by the powers of Hell, and he could not utter a word. After several efforts he hesitatingly attempted to justify his conduct by saying it was a part of his duty, which was grounded on the fear he had of the prisoners making an attempt to escape, and imputed part of the fault to Mr. Beasley, in driving the prisoners to a state of desperation by his great delay of sending them home. The Colonel very patiently heard the stories of both parties, and promised a jury of inquest should be held over the bodies of our departed countrymen the next day, and a strict investi- gation of every circumstance of the event had, according to evidence. At nine o'clock we hoisted the colors half-mast on every prison ; we then visited the Hospital, but the spectacle was painful indeed, and enough to freeze the blood of the most hardened parricide ; the tables were covered with the amputa- ted legs and arms of our fellow-prisoners, and our ears stunned with the groans of forty-two, wounded in the most shocking" manner ; and seven lay dead as solemn witnesses of the horrid act. We then returned to the prisons and appointed a committee often to take depositions of a great number of persons who were best acquainted with the particular facts. The commit- tee being severally sworn, proceeded to make all possible in- quiry into the circumstances of the massacre, and prepare every testimony to lay before the jury which were to sit over the bodies the next day. At two in the afternoon arrived an Admiral and another officer of high rank in his Majesty's navy, and after intro- ducing themselves to the prisoners, in a very friendly and feeling manner, expressed their extreme regret for the horrid and barbarous act of Capt. Shortland, and informed us that they had come clothed with proper authority to make inquiry 100 *■ THE prisoner's MEMOIRS, into the conduct of Capt. Shorlland in the late unhappy event ' and his conduct during his agency at the prison. They as- sured us, that he would be called to an account by the govern- ment, and that a fair investigation should be had of all his con- duct. I have omitted to mention a circumstance which occurred during the dreadful scene of the night. A lamp-lighter, who was in the act of lighting the lamp at the door of prison No. 3, in which I myself resided, being compelled to take refuge among the prisoners, was forced by the hurrying group into the prison. He belonged to the same regiment of soldiers who v/ere that moment committing these most horrid outrages. He was immediately seized by the prisoners, and conveyed to a particular part of the prison, and the prisoners being in the most enraged state, it was immediately proposed to put him to death, and sacrifice him to our resentment, as a just retalia- tion of our injury ; but on cool deliberation and debate through- out the prison, it was thought better to spare him; and to the pleasing astonishment of this man, half dead with fear, he was told to rest easy, for his; life should not betaken, but he should be preserved, that the whole world might distinguish the dif- ference of humanity between unprovoked British soldiers, and the injured and provoked American seamen ; accordingly, when the doors were opened to take out the wounded, the man was released, which astonished and confounded the whole soldiery, who felt the force of the reproach wiih the keenest remorse, and were compelled to express the highest respect for this sfenerous revenge. The following is a correct list of killed and wounded on the 6th of April, 1815. and contains a true statement of their con- dition at 12 o'^clock on the 8th day of the same month. Killed. John Haywood, black, Virginia, discharged ; the ball entered a little posterior to the acromion of ihe left shoulder, and passed obliquely upwards; made about the middle of the right side its egress of the neck. Thomas Jackson, N. Y. Orbit of N. Y., the ball entered the left side of the belly nenrly in a line with the navel, and made its egress a little below the false ribs in the opposite side; a large portion of the intestinal canal protruded OR DARTMOOR PRISON. IQl through the wound made by the ingress of the ball. He languished until 3 o'clock of the 7th, when he died. John Washington, Maryland, Rolla privateer; the ball en- tered at the squamore process of the left temporal bone, and passing through the head, made its exit a little below the cruceal ridge of the occipital bone. James Mann, Boston, Giro; the ball entered at the inferior angle of the left scapula, and lodged under the integument of the right pectoral muscle. In its course, it passed through the inferior margin of the right and left lobesofthe lungs. Joseph Toker Johnson, not known ; the ball entered at the inferior angle of the left scapula, penetrated the heart, and passing through both lobes of the lungs, made its egress at the right axilla. William Leverage, N. Y., Saratoga; the ball entered about the middle of the left arm, through which it passed, and penetrating the corresponding side, betwixt the second and third ribs, passing through the left lobe of the lungs, the mediartenum, and over the right lobe, lodged betwixt the fifth and sixth ribs. James Campbell, N. Y., discharged ; the ball entered at the outer angle of the right eye, and in its course fractured and depressed the greater part of the frontal bone, fractured the nasal bones, and made its egress above the orbital ridge of the left eye. He languished until the morning of the 8th, when he died. Dangerousey Wounded, and Limbs Amputated imme- diately ON THE night OF THE SIXTH. John Gray, Virginia, prize to the Paul Jones, left arm. James Wills, Marblehead, Paul Jones, left arm. James Trumbull, Portland, Maine, Elbridge Gerry, left arm. Robbert Willett, Portland, Maine, left thigh. Thomas Smith, New- York, Panl Jones, left thigh. John Gier, Boston, Rambler, left thigh, Wm. Leversage, N. Y., Magdalen, right thumb. Dangerously Wounded, Limbs not Amputated on the eighth. Thomas Findley, Marblehead, Enterprise, wounded in the thigh and back. Ephraim Linson. 9* 102 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, John tlogerberlh, Philadelphia, Good Friends, of do., thigh and hip. William Blake, Kennebeck, discharged, M. W., three wounds in the body. Peter Wilson, New-York, Virginia Planter, in the hand. James Israel, do., do., thigh. Jacob Davis, do., do., thigh. Caleb Cotton, Taunton, Mass., M. W., two places in the body. John Roberts, do., do , thigh. Joseph Phipps, Old Concord, Zebra, thigh and belly. William Lamb, do , do., eyes. Edward Gardner, Marblehead, impressed, in the wrist. William Appleby, New-York, Magdelen, arm, James Bell, Philadelphia, Joel Barlow, wrist and thigh. Philip Ford, Philadelphia, impressed, five wounds, side, breast, back and thigh. James Birch, thigh. Henry Montcalm, Roxbury, Mass.. Governor Tompkins, knee. Andrew Garrison, thigh and head. Robert Tadley, Bath, Maine, Grand Turk, privates. William Penn, Virginia, impressed, thigh. Joseph Reugh, thig-h. Thaddeus Howard, Rochester, Mass., Hart of Bedford, leg. Edward Banker, Portsmouth, N. H., impressed, back. Thomas George, Norfolk, Virginia, U. S. Rattlesnake, thigh. Alexander Wilson, Providence, R. I , Leo, hand and leg. John Surrey, N. Y., French privateer, cheek. Nathaniel Wakeneld, Beverly, Mass., Giro, right knee. Samuel E Tyler, Boston, Tom, thigh and arm. Joseph Reaver, Salem, Mass.. legs and thighs. Stephen S. Vincent, New-Jersey, head and ears. James Christie, Tickler, different places. William Smith, New- York. Robert Willet, Portland, man of war, knee. Slightly Wounded/- Ephraim Lincoln, Boston, Argus, by the bayonet. Greenlow, Virginia, different places. James Newman, Baltimore, impressed, by the bayonet. Alexander Peterson, New- York, Erin, Boston, by the bayonet. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 103 Joseph Music, Charleston. S. C, impressed, by the bayonet. John Willet, Philndelj^hia, by the bayonet. Joseph Hindil, Philadelphia, Young Wasp, in the hand. Perry Richardson, Bath, Maine, Rolla, by the bayonet. John Cowen, Teezer, by the bayonet. James Barker, Wiscassel, Elbridge Gerry, by the bayonet. James Wedgewood, Portsmouth, N. H. Lark, in the head. James Matheas, Delaware, by the bayonet. Jo in Murray, New-York, by the bayonet. William Marshal, Lawrence, by the bayonet. Thomas Johnson, Albany, Criterion, by the bayonet. The list of killed and wounded contains all that could be ascertained at that time, but great suspicions remained among the prisoners that more had been killed than were certainly knpvvn, as some were missing, and not to be found among the livling or the dead ; it was supposed that these had been killed, and being mangled in a most shocking manner, were privately taken away by Capt. Shortland, and buried that night, before Doctor Magrath entered the yard, and a report pre- vailed that he had done it: as great nurnbers who were slightly wounded did not go to the hospital, I, to ascertain the exact number of killed and wounded, took the list of those in the. hospital, from the doctor's books, and every prison mustered all those that refused going to the hospital, by which means the list can be depended on as strictly correct. j» At twelve o'clock, at noon, on the eighth, a jury of inquest arrived, composed of twelve farmers, and a coroner, and sat over the bodies of our murdered countrymen ; they began to take the, depositions of the prisoners and turnkeys, and pro- ceeded on till seven in the evening, and adjourned till next morning. The evidence of the prisoners corresponded with the state- ment in a preceding page. On the m.orningof the ninth, the dead not yet beingburied, the jury sat over them again, and proceeded on with the evi- dence on both sides, which consisted of Dr Magrath, whose evidence was against Shortland, prisoners, turnkeys, soldier- ofFicers, soldiers, &-c. The summary of the evidence I shall give presently; but I must here digress a little to give some circumstacces that intervened betwixt the taking of the depositions, and the verdict of the jury. 104 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS This morning an order arrived for the discharge of thirty- four prisoners, who had applied to he released to man ships in different parts of Europe. During the eighth and ninth, the prisoners made every inquiry in their power to learn whether any were missing, who were not included among the dend, wounded, or dis- charged ; but nothing satisfactory could be obtained, but only a report that after the prisons were closed, Capt. Shoriland had secretly buried some of the most mangled bodies, before Dr. Magrath entered, as he is a man of integrity, feeling, candor, firmness, and unshaken veracity, as well as genius and skill, that no favor or affection could swerve from the truth. Shortland would therefore endeavor to conceal as much as possible from him, as whatever came within his knowledge, came out without fear or reward, and was much against the conduct of Capt. Shortland. On the morning of the seventh, as before mentioned, we ascertained by the tes timony of those persons whose names are mentioned in the certificate to this work, the particulars of the killed and wounded, whose names have been already mentioned, the number of which and their situation, were as follows: Seven were killed dead in the yards, and in the prisons. Six suffered amputation of a leg or an arm. Thirty-eight dangerously wounded and many supposed to be mortal by the surgeon of the depot. Twelve slightly wounded. The total amount of killed and wounded sixty-three^ Among these were many mangled in the most horrid manner, having received five, six, and seven wounds apiece from the bayonet. Hundreds of the prisoners very narrowly escaped, having received several shots through the hats and clothes. We have just discovered that the soldiers here at present are the Somersetshire militia; and the garrison consists of fifteen hundred soldiers of different military classes. On the evening of the ninth, the inquest, consisting of twelve peasants, dependants of Capt. Shortland, delivered in this most extraordinary and unjust verdict, of Justifiable Homicide; such a verdict astonished every person, who was not particeps criminis. This verdict seems to have been given against evidence ; a summary of which on both sides I shall now proceed to give the reader, that he may judge for himself It appeared from the different witnesses before mentioned, that the hole made in the wall was unknown to OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 105 more than three-fourths of the prisoners confined in the yard of No. 5 and 7, where the hole was made, and that no com- bination had ever been entered into by any of the prisoners to escape; it was also proved that the prisoners corfined in the yards of No. 1, 3 & 4, were totally ignorant of there being any hole in the wall. It was proved that the gates were broken open by a man in the state of intoxication, and unknown to the prisoners, and that when broken open it was in the power of the sentry to have taken the offender and confined him without any resistance of the prisoners. It was also proved that they came running to the gate out of curiosity, to leai'n the occasion of the alarm bells ringing ; that the few persons (who were not above fifty,) flocked into the square, were carried out of the gates by the numbers pressing in the rear to gratify their curiot-ity ; that no stones or clubs were thrown while they were in this situation ; that they all imme- diately retired into the yards of their respective prisons, and shut the gales after them ; that Capt. Shortland took the im- mediate command of the soldiers, and ordered them to fire on the prisoners; that on firing the prisoners made all possible exertion to gain the inside of the prison ; but some fell before they could reach it; that the soldiers pursued and fired into the prisons and killed two within the prison ; that the soldiers on the ramparts singled out the prisoners, and fired and killed them, as they were going into the prisons; that after all the prisoners had got in, except some few, being frightened, and not able to get into the prisons, ran for refuge close to the walls, and were fired upon singly, and either killed or wounded by several soldiers firing at one. That an officer of low rank assisted under the com- mand of Capt Shortland, in killing a boy, not over thirteen years old ! that a prisoner applied to Capt. Shortland to forbear, and stop the horrid massacre, as the prisoners were retiring as fast as possible, and that Capt. Shortland answered, „ retire, you damned rascal, I'll hear to nothing." It was proved that the turnkeys, contrary to the invariable custom, had been in and locked all the doors of each prison, except one; there being four doors to each prison, they had ever before been left open, till a horn was sounded, and the turn- keys cried "turn in, turn in;" but that night no horn was sounded, nor was there any cry to turn in, but the doors secretly locked, which much surprised the few that happened' 106 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, to see the doors locked, but did not suspect any mischief was about to be done; that this was done some time before the usual hour for turning in. Also, that Capt. Shortland actually took hold of a musket with his own hands in conjunction with a soldier, and fired the first gun. That the soldier- officers were unwilling to give any orders to the soldiers, or take any active part in the proceedings. From the summary of the evidence above given, on the part of the prisoners, it must appear evident to every impar- tial reader, that Capl Shortland made the aitack with malice prepense. But to give the public the fairest opportunity to judfje, I shall give a summary of the eridence on the part of Capt. Shortland, which came all from the mouth of witnesses particeps criminis, and acting with him. Those consisted of clerks, turnkeys, and soldiers, ^^ho had been the very instru- ments of the massacre. They deposed and said, that the prisoners were in a state of mutin^s and that great numbers had threatened to escape by forcing through the walls, and that the hole in the wall was big enough for a man to pass through; that the lock on the gate was broken by some pri- soner, and that stones were thrown while the prisoners were at the gate, and also clubs and pieces of iron thrown at the guards by the prisoners while there ; that great numbers had got into the square, and that they did mean to make their escape. Nothing material could be further drawn from these witnesses. In the evening of this da}^, the bodies of our murdered countrymen were buried behind the prison walls in the same manner as before the peace, without form or ceremony, and no prisoner permitted to attend to see the last sad office, which one friend can perform for another in giving the grave its due. O! Britannia, thy boast is gone, thy pride is lost; humanity is fled from thy degenerate sons, and a safer asylum in the bosom of the savasfe tribes is found. Deny the deiid their sacred due ! Thou ingrate race, is this the reward due to men who have labored many years thy fiithful servant, and now, after having dragged out a painful imprisonment for two years, and the moment the hope of returning had rekindled the sparks of life, must be massacred in a most barbarous manner, and denied the right of the grave ? I must here relate one instance which occurred a few years iicro, and which goes very far to show the inhumanity of those OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 107 who have had the command of this depot heretofore. In a manuscript which was left here by the French prisoners, which I was this evening perusing, 1 find the following re- markable circumstance of cruelty related, which took place durino^ their confinement. Captain Cotgrave being agent, and Dr. Decker head sur- geon of the hospital, in December, one thousand eight hundred and nine, a most malignant and contagious disease, bearing the most frightful and mortal symptoms, broke out among the French prisoners, which, in the short space of one month, car- ried off' more than eight hundred. This unfeeling man, Dr. Decker, caused the coffins to be brought into the rooms of the hospital to receive the bodies: where they often remained several days in readiness to receive the unhappy man fast approaching the end of all his sufferings. It is said in the manuscript, that this worse than barbarian, would gaze with the greatest satisfaction on the surrounding victims, that he might discover from the very inmost recesses of the heart, what effect the appearance of these coffins had on their exhausted spirits. However unfeeling this might be, yet their lot was envied by hundreds of their countrymen, who were left to perish in the prison without any assistance, without a friend, and in want of everything ; and would not be received into the Hospi- tal by this unfeeling man. Their extreme sufferings would have moved the heart even of a cannibal, and it is a solitary instance of cruelty, that any one belonging to a civilized nation could rejoice at such a mournful spectacle, and exult over their fellow-beings in the agonies of death, as did this man often, in saying the more deaths the fewer enemies. Another circumstance is related in the same manuscript, in which Capt. Isaac Cotgrave was the principal actor. On the eighth of October, one thousand eight hundred and nine, the turnkeys, by mistake, had left one of the prison doors unlocked, which being discovered by some of the prisoners, they determined, if possible, to effect an escape ; they got into the yard but, unfortunately, were discovered the very moment they came out, by one of the senteries, who gave the alarm, and instantly a volley of sixty muskets was discharged at them ; numbers were wounded, but none killed ; they then hastily retired into the prison. 108 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS. Capt. Cetera ve, the agent, then entered the yard at the head of a larg'e body of troops, and after searching the yard in every direction, and discovering- nobody he was retiring, when they discovered a man creeping along the wall; the blood-thirsty monsters instantly fell upon the unhappy victim, and would neither listen to his cries nor prayers, but before he could make himself known to them, several musket-balls had pierced his vital parts, and laid him lifeless on the ground ; but they were not content with this ; they ran up to him, and ran over and over his lifeless corpse, stabbing it with their bayonets in many places; after having satiated their ferocity, on inspecting the body, they found it to be one of their own men, whom the dark- ness of the night had prevented them from distinguishing. In memory of this horrid act, the French prisoners raised a monument on the very spot where it was committed ; but the keepers of the prison had it destroyed the same day, for it was a monument of their cruelty. THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF PRISONERS. We, the undersigned, being each severally sworn on the holy evangelists of the 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 the 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 Captain Shortland [the Agent] at their head ; it was like- wise 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 di- rectly. This, of course, occasioned considerable alarm among OR DARTiAlOOR PRISON. 109 them. In this moment of uncertainty, they were running in different directions, inquiring 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, Captain Shortiand ordered the soldiers to charge upon them, which order the soldiers were reluctant in ol>eyino-, as the prisoners were using no violence; but on the order beino- repeated, they made a charge, and the prisoners retreated out of the Square into the prison-yards, and shut the gates after them. Captain Shortiand himself opened the gates, and or- dered the soldiers to fire in among the prisoners, who were all reireating in different directions toward their respective pris- ons. 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 Shortiand seized a mus- ket out of the hinds of a soldier, which he fired. Imiuediately 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 tovvards the lower doors, the soldiers on the walls commenced firing on them from that quarter, which killed some and wounded others. After much difiiculty, [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. 3 and 4 prisons, and fired several voUies 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 fol- lowed up with a disposition of peculiar inveteracy and bar- barity. 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 lev- ' elled their pieces at him, and shot him dead on the spot. — I'he soldiers who were posted on the walls, manifested equal cru- elty, by keeping up a constant fire on every prisoner they could see in the yards endeavoring to get into the prison, 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. 6 prison cook-house, which was pointed out by the soldiers on the vvalls, to those who were marching in 10 110 THE prisoner's MEMOIRS, omthe Square ; they immediately went up and fired into the ^ame, 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 the circumstances of the case, we are induced to believe that it was a pre- meditated scheme in the mind of Captain Shortland, for reasons which we will now proceed to give — as an illu- cidation 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 expectaiion of their usual allowance beinsr served out ; but at senset, finding this w^ould not be the case, burst open the lower gates, and virent up to the store, demanding to have their bread. The officers of the garrison, on being alarmed, and in- formed of their proceedings, observed, that it was no more than right the prisoners should have their usual allowance, and strongly reprobated the conduct of 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 con- duct, 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 afiernoon 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 sen- try in that yard refusing to throw it back to them, they picked a hole in the wall to get in after it. ThisafTorded 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 ready 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, wfiile the turnkeys were despatched into the yards to lock all the doors but one of each prison, to pre- OR DARTMOOR PRISON. HI vent the prisoners retreating out of the way before he had suf- ficiently wreaked his vengeance. What adds peculiar weight to the belief of its being a pre- meditated, determined mnssacre, are. First. — The sanguinary disposition^ manifested on every oc- casion by Shortland, he having, prior to this time, ordered the soldiers to fire into the prisons, through the prison win- dows, 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 over-ruling Provi- dence alone ; for the balls were picked up in the prison, 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 the cachot, which order the commanding officer of the soldiers re- fused to obey; and generally, he having seized on every slight pretext to injure the prisoners, by stopping their mar- keting 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 rung, while all the prisoners were quiet as -usual in their respective yards, ^' TlJ fix the damn''d rascals directly^ Thirdly. — His having all the soldiers on their posts, and the garrison fully prepared before the alarm bell rung. 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 yards 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 inva- riable practice of the turnkeys, from vvhich they never de- viated before that night, when coming into the yard to shut up, to hollow to the prisoners so loud as to be heard through- out the yards, '^turn in, turn in f' but, on that night, it was done so secretly, that not one man in a hundred knew they 112 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, were shut; and in particular their shutting the door of No, 7 prison, wliich the prisoners usually went 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 w hich the pris- oners had to pass in gaining the prisons. We here solemnly aver, that there was no preconcerted plan to attempt breaking out. There cannot be produced the least shadow of a reason or inducement for that intention, the prisoners 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 so. Total, sixty-seven killed and wounded. (Signed) WM. B ORNE, WiVl. HOBAFiT, JAMES BOGGS, JAMES ADAMS, FRANCIS JOSEPH, JOHN F. TROBRIDGE, /C^owwuiiee. JOHN RUST, HENRY ALLEN, WALTER COLTON, THOMAS B. MOTT. ) \ Dartmoor Prison, April 7th, 1815. The- same day Mr. Ingraham come to the prison and inform- ed the prisoners that he had come for the purpose of shipping a number of men, to man ships now^ lying" in different ports in Europe ; he also informed us that he had been appointed agent, under the consular agent of the United States : and that every preparation was making for the immediate release of every prisoner, and we might be assured of the immediate arrival of the ships from London to convey us to the United States. On the tenth, a number were discharged to man different ships in Europe; this day arrangements were made by the prisoners, for the assistance and relief of our wounded countrymen in the OK, DARTMOOR PRISON. 113 Hospiial, and also an arrangement for the prisoners to wear crape on their arm for thirty days after their arrival in America, as a tribute of respect due to their departed friends and fl low- prisoners. The wounded in the hospital were paid every at- tention, for their comfort and speedy recovery, by Doctor Ma- grath. We received no letters from Mr. Beasiey, although hundreds of letters had been sent to him since the melancholy event of the 6th. Reports were circulating that a new agent was to be ap- pointed by the United States to supersede Mr Beasiey, which every man most anxiously wished might be true, but had not the satisfaction to learn it was the case; every day's delay made mo.'e confusion and anxiety among tne prisoners. The weath- er during this month up to the present day, had been remark- ably fine, pure and healthy, and more so than it had been at this place since our confinement ; as if the All-Seeing Eye of Hea- ven looked down with pity and compassion upon our injured and wounded countrymen, and dispensed His blessings for their speedy recovery in the salubrity of His air. That passage in Holy Writ, in this instance, seemed to be remarkably verified : " that when the prisoner was sick in prison, He visited hirn." Capt. Shortland, after being acquitted, resumed the command of the depot, but he was seldom seen by the prisoners, being very apprehensive that the prisoners would shoot him the first oppor- tunity ; therefore- he kept a body guard around him, and this day a draft of thirty prisoners being discharged, and having to pass by his house, he had Jiis guard stationed at his door. On the morning of the twelfth, we were informed by Capt. Shortland that the drafts for the discharge of the prisoners were already made out, and that the draft for the first cartel would consist of 280, to be discharged as they entered this depot. I therefore obtained the exact number of prisoners then in each prison, which I shall give as follows ; Prison No 1, contained, - - 1290 3, - - - 952 4, - - - 978 5, - - - 938 • 7, - - - 1248 In different employments about the stores and hospital, - - - 29 Patients in the hospital, 107 Total number of unparoled prisoners in England, 5542 10* 114 THE PRISONER S MEMOIRS, In visiting the hospitals, I found the wounded prisoners fast recovering, all in high spirits, the prison generally more healthy than it had been since our arrival in it. Capt. Shortland re- moved his family from this place, for his guilt had brought up- on him the apprehension of the first draught's retaliating upon him by attacking his family ; but no such idea had entered the imagination of any prisoner ; it was the creature of his own guilt. We were ordered at this time to be in readiness to deliver up every article which we had received from the British Govern- ment ; such as beds, hammocks, blankets, &c., &.c These ar- ticles had been in our possession, and in constant use ever since the second of April, 1813, and hid never been changed; we felt but little reluctance in delivering them up, when animated with the idea of once more visiting our native country, and leaving a dreary prison, which many of us had inhabited for upwards of two years. On the following day we received a London paper which contained the following account of the late horid massacre at this depot ; it read as foUovrs : " An affair of a serious nature has recently taken place at Dartmoor prison : the prisoners attaching the greater part of the fault of their long detention since the peace, to Mr. Beasley their country's agent, resident at London, had, before the affray, burnt his person in efHgy in the yard of their prison; on ac- count of which,. Captain Shortland, unarmed and unattended, entered the yard of their prison with a view to appease the ang- er of these 'unfortunate men; but his reception was attended with the prisoners discharging a pistol at him, the contents of which grazed his clerk; upon this the prisoners attempted to gain their liberty by rushing out of the gates, but were soon coiled by the guards firing upon them, and killing twelve, and wounding thirty." The account was equally base and false, as the act was cruel and murderous; but the m"ention of twelve killed confirmed the prisoners in their belief that this number had been killed, and the five which were not to be found, were secretly buried by Captain Shortland that night, and that he, in the guilty and con- fused state of his mind, had given an account of twelve instead of seven, which were the only ones found of the killed. I leave it to the reader to judge whether nature or habit had done most towards hardening the feelings of this man It is well known OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 115 that men accustomed to the sufferings and misery of their fel- low-beings, soon grow hardened and forget them. But could this man from the short time here, have grown so callous in his feelings as to commit such acts from habit, or must cruelty and malice have been woven in his constitution? On this day, the prisoners in making preparation for their departure, prepared a large white flag, and as a memento had in the middle of it, the representation of a tomb, with the God- dess of Liberty leaning on it, and a murdered sailor lying by its side, and an inscription over jt in large capital letters, ^'Columbia we efs, and we remember ^ This flag was intended to be carried home to the United States, as it showed a just resentment for the execrable deeds which it recorded, and a just respect for the sufferers. This same day, numbers of prisoners were released by application of their friends in Eng- land, for the purpose of manning ships in different ports. We had no news from Mr. Beasley, and most of the prisoners barefooted, the oldest in a state of nudity, not having received any jackets or trowsers for more than eleven months. At length, when we were almost dead with impatience and delay, on the fourteenth we received a Utter from Mr. Beas- ley to the following etfect: " Fellow Citizens, " I have been informed that numbers of the prisoners have entertained an idea that they are to remain in prison, until the arrival of some United States' ships in this country ; but I can assure them that there is no foundation for the belief; and I can assure them of eight cartels being already taken up for their conveyance to the United States. And with regret I hear from officers who were sent to inquire into the shameful conduct of the sixth of April, that the extravagant excess of the prisoners was parti}?- occasioned by their censuring the United States and myself." Mr. Beasley had, no doubt, been informed of \vhat he wrote, but it was not the fact, for his information, no doubt, came from the two officers who were here, the Admiral and his as- sociate ; but no such conversation took place in their hearing, which numbers of the most respectable prisoners can testify, and no such idea had been entertained by any prisoner in the prison. These officers intended that Mr. Beasley shou>d bear all the blame. God knows his conduct was blameable enough throughout; but to do him justice he had no blame in the 116 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, murderous act of the fatal sixth of April. His effigy had been burnt on the 24th of March, and all animosity had been dissi- pated with the ashes of his effigy, and his name seemed to be forgotten, for it was scarcely ever mentioned, Mr. Beasley had had every particular of the event before his interview with the officers, but made no exertions as yet to inquire into the affray. The weather up to this day since the month began, had been remarkably fine for this place, but this morning the mo:>r, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with snow, and continued to snow all day, and the weather very cold. On the sixteenth we received letters from London, from many of our fellow-citizens, who had received passports and left the prison since the fatal sixth of April ; on their arrival in London, they were taken before the lord mayor of that city, and their depositions taken relative to the massacre of the sixth, which was to the same purport as before the coni- mittee. On the same day, Col. Hawker, formerly consular aoent, under the American consul at London, visited the prison for the purpose of shipping seamen to man ships at Plymouth, bound to New-Orleans. In this way the prisoners were daily diminishing in number, as any one might obtain a passport who could procure a friend to make application for their release, and informing Mr. Beasley that they required no assistance from him to convey them to the United States. In obtaining a passport in this way from Capt. Shortland, they needed no other protection in this country. This day a man was committed to the cachot for drawing money from Col. Hawker in an assumed name. The colonel was determined to have him brought to condign punishment: this man the next day was taken out of the cachot and con- veyed to Exeter, to be tried at the next August assizes. On visiting the hospital, I found the wounded and the sick fast recovering, and had every attention paid them by Dr. Magrath, for their health and comfort, that his resources would allow. On the seventeenth, a black man belonging to No. 4 was found dead in his hammock. On this day we received another letter from Mr. Beasley, which informed us that those officers who had visited the prison by order of the British government, had represented the conduct of the pri- soners on the sixth of April, in a very unfavorable light, but OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 117 having- received a correct statement from the prison, and a general summary of the evidence on both sides as delivered in to the jury of inquest; he now apologized for his last letter. On the nineteenth, at four o'clock in the afternoon, an express arrived informing Capt. Shortland that one cartel had arrived at Plymouth, and ordered him immediately to remove two hundred and forty-nine prisoners from this depot to that place, for embarking on board the ship. At five in the after- noon, the whole draft was collected in the square, with all their baggage. This was the first draft of prisoners that had entered the prison after the declaration of Avar, and had been immured within these gloomy walls more than two long and tedious years. They were then informed that one baggage wagon would be allowed to every hundred men, for the con- venience of their baggage to Plymouth. The prisoners being the greater part barefooted, made inquiry whether any arrangement had been made by Mr. Beasley for providing them with shoes and clothes, as they were much in want of them ; but were much surprised and disappointed when they found no provision had been made. The mfrney due from government had run over the usual time of payment, now twenty-five days, although application had previously been made for the payment of the dailv allow- ance, and also, the other articles, both by the prisoners and Capt. Shortland himself; but Mr. Beasley still neglected to make any arrangement for either. At six every prisoner's name was called, and they com- mitte"d together with their baggage to a separate prison, ready for their departure the next morning. The joy they felt on this occasion is better imagined than described ; I therefore leave to the imagination of the reader, what emotions the heart must feel, when a change which promised every endear- ment of life to them, and freed them from every evil of it, was about to take place. I visited the hospital this evening for the last time, and had the pleasing satisfaction of finding the sick and wounded in a stale of fast recovery, except a few who were dangerous. The next morning we took our departure for Plymouth, and with joy in our hearts bid farewell to that pale of misery, and at four in the afternoon arrived at Plymouth, having travelled all the way under the direction of a strong guard. 118 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, We were immediately embarked on board the cartel Maria Christiana, a Swedish ship, commanded by Capt. Dirkes; we found some few of our countrymen who had been on parole, on board the ship. It was now just forty days since the arrival of the ratified treaty in England. The next day eight of the prisoners left the cartel to join a brig under French colors bound for France. On the twenty-second the wind being contrary, the prison- ers were permitted to go on shore and spend the day. A court of inquiry had been instituted by commissioners ap- pointed by both governments, for the investigation of the unfortunate occurrences of the sixth ot April, and was then sitting for that purpose. Several of the prisoners were called upon to give evidence in the cause, and their depositions taken by the court that day. The court was attended by Mr. Williams, deputy consular agent to Mr. Beasley. Before we set sail Mr. Williams informed us that he was instructed by Mr. Beasley to take down all the particulars of the investigation, for the purpose of laying them before the American government ; but the commissioners had not re- ported when we left Plymouth, but it was expected they would in a few days, which shall constitute a part of this work as soon as it is received. Mr. Williams informed us that the money allowed by government, which had been due thirty days* would not be paid by Mr. Beasley, nor would any provision be made by him for shoes or clothing, but that the prisoners must go home as they were. On the twenty-third, the wind being favorable, we hove short, and made preparations for sailing. On mustering the prisoners, we found their number amounted to two hundred and sixty-three; this increase of number was by officers paroled at Ashburton. At three in the afternoon we left the port of Plymouth, with a fresh and favorable wind. We had left behind at Dartmoor five thousand one hundred and ninety-three of our fellow prisoners, whom the agent ii*- formed us would be conveyed to this place in the same manner as ourselves in a few days, as the other cartels were on their way round to Plymouth, and thence to embark OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 119 immediately for the United States. After leaving Plymouth we found the provisions under the direction of Capt. Turner, appointed by the agents to deal out the rations to the prisoners. We were allowed, five days in the week, one pound of salt beef, one pound of bread, half a pound of potatoes a day; the other two days one pound of pork, the same quantity of bread, and half a pint of peas per man, and half a pint of vinegar a week. Mr. Beasley had made arrangements for eac h pri&onerto have a small bed and blanket ; the cartel was equipped according to custom, with great guns and small arms. A Physician had been appointed with a sufficient quantity of medicine to serve during the passage. One part of the ship was allotted to the sick, where every attention was paid them by their countrymen for their com- fort and convenience. During the residue of the month nothing material occurred; cartel quite healthy, only five cases of sick, and them not very dangerous ; the month ended with winds, light and unfavorable. On the first of May we were in lat. 45° North, and longi- tude 23° 4P West. On the second, being in long. 24°, we spoke a brig from London bound to Cluebec. From the first to the fourteenth the winds were from N.W. to S. W, and the cartel kept between the latitudes of 42^ and 44° North. Some few sick but not dangerously On this day we dis- covered a sail on our weather beam, standing to the east- ward ; at 2 P. M. she bore up and stood for the cartel, with a British flag flying ; at four we spoke her in lat, 42, and long. 38. She proved to be a British transport with a number of troops from Mobile, bound to England, and fourteen days from Bermuda. She sent her boat ixlong-side of the cartel with a naval and military officer, and the captain of the trans- port ; they came on board the cartel and remained for an hour, and then returned to the transport, and each ship made sail for their destined places The winds still continued the same way the twenty-eighth. This day, Sunday, we fell in with several large islands of Ice, lat. 43° ; on the same day, lat. 42° long 60°, we spoke the brig Sally Barker, six days from Boston, bound for Portugal ; the three days following the winds continuing light, from the 120 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, . South and West, we spoke a brig from Portland four days out, bound to Surinam. Cartel perfectly healthy, with the exception of one man very law in a consumption. On the first of June, lat. 40, 50, long. 64, spoke the ship Helvitius, of Philadelphia, bound home, after remaining- during the whole war up the east country. On the 2nd of June, lat. 40, 35, long 69, the majority of the prisoners agreed to take possession of the cartel, and run her into New-York, for the following reasons : the ship being disabled by the loss of her main trussel-lrees, which endangered the top-mast, and ren- dered her unfit for sea; secondly, there being every appear- ance of a gale from the S. W. and the weather thick and hazy ; thirdly, the port of Nevv-York being the most con- venient for the greater part of the prisoners ; for which reasons, at twelve meridian, by the general voice of all on board, the command was taken from her former captain, and she directed for the port of New-York. At 4, P. M. the man in a consumption " put off this mortal coil," and took his quietus in thirty-five fathoms of water, in the usual form at sea. The captain of the ship required some document, that he mic^ht show for his indeninification for resigning the com- mand of the ship, and deviating from his destined port, which was Norfolk, Vir. ; the following certificate, signed by a great number of the prisoners, was delivered him. CERTIFICATE. " We, the undersigned, citizens of the United States of America, do hereby certify, that on the second day of June, 1815, at twelve meridian, being in lat. 40, 30, long. 69, 30, by mutual agreement of a majority of prisoners now on board the cartel Maria Christiana, bound for Norfolk, did take possession of her, and directed her for the port of New- York." , ^ , At four o'clock on the third, we discovered the highland of New-Jersey bearing W. by S. ; at eight made the light house, distance three or four leagues; at two P. M. obtained a pilot and stood within the Hook; at seven came to an anchor ; the next morning arrived at New-York. Having received the report of the commissioners since our arrival in the United States, we shall give it to the reader OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 12l verbatim. The reader will perceive that it differs somewhat from the account of the massacre which I have given before, and that of the committee of prisoners. The public are to judge of the report ; the facts seemed not to warrant just such an one ; but to give my simple opinion as an individual, I believe that the commissioners, through a soxi of pia fraus for the love of peace and harmony between the two govern- ments, have made it a vail of amnesty, and a preventative of new troubles. THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. Plymouth, 26th April, 1815. We, the undersigned commissioners, appointed on behaJf of our respective governments, to inquire into, and report upon, the unfortunate occurrence of the 6ih of April instant, at Dart- moor 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 ; proceed immediately to the examination upon oath, in the pre- sence of one or more of the magistrates of the vicinity, of all the witnesses, both American and English, who offered them- selves for that purpose, or who could be discovered as likely to afford any material information upon the subject, as well as those who had been previously examined before the coro- ner, or otherwise, to the number in the whole of about eighty. We further proceed to a minute examination of the prisons, for the purpose of clearing up some points, which upon the evi- dence 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 11 l22 THE prisoners' memoirs, confinement appears to have prevailed amongst the American prisoners at Dartmoor, which, though not exhibited in the shape of any violent excess, has been principally indicated by threats of breaking out if not soon released. On the fourth of this month in particular, only two days previous to the events, 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, demand- ing bread, instead of bircuit, which had on that day been is- sued by the officers of the depot ; their demands, however, having been then almost immediately complied with, they re- turned to their own yards, and the employment of force on that occasion became unnecessary. On the evening of the sixth, about six o'clock, it was clearly proved to us, that a breach 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 senti- nels on the walls, which was of course forbidden by the reg- ulations of the prison, and that in the space between the rail- ing 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 tim«i 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 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 duly, 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 DARTMOOR PRISON. 123 or even that they were ever acquainted with the fact, it natur- ally 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 usuar'' 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 unfortu- nate, and deeply to be regretted. A considerable number of the prisoners in the yards, where no disturbances existed before, and who were either already within their respective prisons, or quietly retiring as usual towards them, imme- diately 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, com- pelled, in order to reach their own homes, to pass by the same spot, and thus, that which was merely a measure of pre- caution, in its operation increased the evil it was intended to prevent. Almost at the same instant that the alarm-bell rang, (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 fast- ening of No. 1 gate, leading into the market-square, by means of an iron bar ; and a very considerable number of the priso- ners 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 oc- casion, 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 Short- land and the military, was, that an intention on the part of the prisoners to escape was on the point of being carried into exe- 124 THE prisoners' memoirs, cation, and it was at least certain that they were by force pass- ing beyond the limits prescribed to them, at a lime 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-wagon pass and repass to the store, although at the period in question they were in fact closed. Under these circumstances, and with these impressions ne- cessarily 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. Capt. Shortland, in the first instance, proceeded down the square towards the prisoners, having or- dered 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. McGrath en- deavored by quiet means and persuasion, to induce the prison- ers to retire 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 Capt. Short- land, about two thirds of the way down the square — the latter is about one hundred feet broad, and the guard extended near- ly 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 gale which had been forced, to charge the prisoners back to their own yards. I'he prisoners were in some places so near the military, that one of the soldiers states he could not come fairly down to the charge ; and the military were unwilling to act as against an enemy. Some of the prisoners also were unwilling and reluctant to retire, and some pushing and strug- gling 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 OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 125 the part of these yards in the vicinity of the gates. This as- semblage still refused to withdraw, and according to most of the English witnesses, and some of the American, was mak- in- ^S SETH WALKER, f B-t^ WILLIAM WEST, [ ^b^ CHARLES DEXTER, \ ^^ 5' WILLIAM MOLLEY, \^^ cr JOHN S. TROUBRIDGE. K S&- HENRY SHERBURNE, / § ^ THOS. B. FROST. / "" CO ANSWER. Officers and hrave Americans collectively : Permit me to request you will accept the warmest and most sincere thanks of my heart, for the flattering testimo- nials of your approbation of my conduct, with which you OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 135 have honored me, and allow me to assure you, that nothing can be more exquisitely gratifying to my very best feeling, than the language in which you have been pleased to convey this mark of your esteem. I feel convinced that you will indulgently excuse me, if I find it impossible to command words sutficiently emphatic, adequately to express the senti- ments of gratitude, with which I am penetrated, for this unex- pected proof of your regard ; I must therefore allow my heart, rather than my pen, to thank you. But it would not be doing justice to my feelings were I to abstain from assur- ing you, that I have endeavored to perform my duty towards you, with that self-devotedness which looks onlv for its re- ward in its own consciousness of right, and its own secret sense of virtue ; and whatever difficulties I have had to en- counter in the discharge of my important trust, by struggling with a succession of the most violent and exasperated epidemic diseases, perhaps ever recorded in medical history, during the whole of my service among you, the distinguished proof of your confidence, and approbation of my professional labors, with which you this day have been pleased to honor me, amply compensates me, and must rank amongst the proudest and happiest events of my life. It now only remains for me, in this plain, but unfeigned language, again to beg you will receive my most sincere thanks ; and to assure you, collec- tively, that a due and lively sense of the high honor which you have conferied upon me, shall, to the last moments of my existence, remain ingrafted in n^jy breast. And here allow me most sincerely to congratulate you on the happy event which terminates your captivity, and which is soon to restore you to the bosoms of your families and friends; and that you may all enjoy peace and happiness, is the sincere wish of your most grateful and much obliged humble servant, GEO. MAGRATH. Dartmoor, March 30, 1815. Dartmoor Prison, April 9th, 1815. To His Excellency John Q,. Adams. Sir: Impressed with the sense of duty which we owe to our country and to ourselves, we respectively solicit permission to 136 ^ THE prisoners' memoirs, introduce to your Excellency George Ma^rath, Esq., M.D., principal of the medical department at this depot. Language is incompetent to delineate the worth and character of this gentleman, pre-eminent in medical science, enriched by every virtue and accomplishment that can dignify and adorn human nature, and form the gentleman and philanthrophist. His professio.nal skill has been peculiarly conspicuous in his successfully combatting a succession of diseases, of the most exasperated and malignant character, which prevailed among the prisoners. Dr. Magralh's health, from his indefatigable exertions, became seriously impaired, but he persevered in the perform- ance of his arduous duties and unremitting efforts to arrest the alarming and rapid advances of the prevailing diseases; and he was the ageni under divine Providence of rescuing many citizens of the United States from a premature grave, and as it were, renewing their existence, but more particularly on the late unhappy occurrence. Language is too impotent to describe Dr. Magrath's unex- ampled endeavors to prevent the effusion of blood ; regardless of the many dangers by which he w^as environed, he per- severed, amidst the heavy and incessant fire of musketry, in his humane endeavors to prevent the fatal catastrophe. His treatment of the unfortunate wounded Americans is superior to all praise, and was such as to entitle Dr. Magrath to the esteem and gratitude of the citizens oi the United States. We therefore respectfslly and ardently solicit that your Excellency would be pleased to honor Dr. Magrath with your particular notice and esieem, and to convey these our sentiments to the government of the United States ; for we would wish to give all possible publicity to our high sense of Dr. Magrath, and to evince to our country and the w^orld how gratefully we appreciate the essential services we have re- ceived from that gentleman. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to offer to your Excellency our congratulations on the happy termination of your important duties at Ghent, by the conclusion of a peace so highly honorable to our beloved country, and to yourself, OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 137 and to assure 3'our Excellency of our high respect and attach- ment to your character and person. We have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient humble servants, For and in behalf of the American prisoners of war at this depot, PIERRE G. DEPEYSTER, HENRY PROCTOR, HENRY BULL, JOHN COTTLE, THOS. GAIR, THOS. CARBERRY, JAMES LESTER, BENJ. MERCER, ISAAC DO WELL. Dartmoor, April 10, 1815. Gentlemen, Honored as I am with the approbation of those whose good opinion I so highly estimate, I cannot permit myself to re- ceive this additional mark of your friendship and regard (in which you much overrate my humble exertions, in the dis- charge of my duty and the cause of humanity,) without begging leave to assure you, that whilst it reflects upon me the highest honor that could be conferred, it lays claim to my heartfelt acknowledgments and everlasting gratitude. With the most sincere and cordial good wishes for your health and happiness, I remain, gentlemen, Your much obliged and most grateful servant, GEO. MAGRATH. To the gentlemen forming the Hospital Committee. 12^ 138 THE prisoners' memoirs, February, 1815. The following is a correct list of all who entered his Majesty- s service out of Dartmoor prison from April 1813 until 1814; to which is annexed their former residence^ and the ships in which they were captured or impressed. James Akin, Roxbury, Mass., Wm, Bayard. Abel Akins, Penobscot, Maine, Tygris, Baltimore. Alford Arnold, unknown, Penn., Viper, do Wm. Armstrong, Salem, Mass., Rolla, priv. Anthony Agusta, New Orleans, do do Henry Allen, Roxbury, Mass., Wm. Bayard, N. Y. George Blanchard, Elizabeth, N. J., do . Gabriel Bugoine — Vir., brig Star, N. Y. Henry Brown, New York, Criterion, Baltimore. Edward Blackstone, Kennebunk, Maine, do Wm. Bishop, Danverse, Mass., Spitfire, Boston. Wm. Brown, New-Point-Comfort, Vir., U. S. brig Argus. Frederick Cransburgh, Prussia, brig Star. John C. Cox, b. New York, do Stephen Churchell, Richmond, Vir., Viper, Bait. Samuel Cook, Tiverton, R. I., Price, do Albert Cooper, Newburyport, Mass., man-of-war. Jerodia Denison, Middleton, Con., brig Star. John Duncan, Boston, Viper. Wm. Ervine, New York, Virginia Planter. Francis Foster, New London, Con., Meteor, N. Y. Shubel Folger, Nantucket, Mass., Wm. Bayard. William Fenton, Wiscasset, Maine, man-of-war. Daniel Holt, New London, Con., brig Star, N. Y. John Hughs, New York, do do John Hubbard, do do do James Holms, Portsmouth, N. H., Magdalin, N. Y. Thorn as Howell, Beverley, Mass., Independence. Anthony Hughieco, New Orleans, Rolla, privateer. Aaron Hinkley, Bath, Mass., Viper, Bait. Francis Joseph, New Orleans, brig Star, N. Y. James Jackson, Phil., Penn., Paul Jones, N. Y. John Little, do Unknown Mathew Latimore, N. Y., Meteor, N. Y. Robert Murray, Newport, R. L, Rolla, Phil. Henry Neal, N. Y., N. Y., Ned, Bait. Charles M'Nites, Bait., Maryland, Ned, Bait. John Newgen , N. Y., True-blooded Yankee. Francis Rice, Boston, Mass., Virginia Planter. Ebenezer Rich, Portland, Mass., Flash, N. Y. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 139 John Senate, Philadelphia, Wm. Bayard. John Sheard, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., do. John Shultz, Denmark, Criterion, N. Y. Wm. Smith, New York, Terrible. John Thompson, Denmark, brig Star. Wm. Thomas, Germany, Viper, Bait. Zach. Tough, New London, Con., Terrible. John Williams, New York, N. Y., Wm. Bayard. Edward Washburn, New York, N. Y., brig Star. George Williams, Bait., Maryl., Charlotte, Charls. John Wilson, Phil, Penn., Governor Gerry, N. Y. William Warner, New York, N. Y., Ajax. John West, do do Dukanor. Israel Wright, Tinmouth, Ver., brig Star, N. Y. Wm. Wilson, Long Island, N. Y., Ned, Bait. Robert Wesel, New York, do do James Pickerton, Hampton, Vir., Lightning, Phil. Francis Lisda, New Orleans, Louisiana, Unknown. James Johnson, New York, N. Y., brig Mars. The following is a correct List of all who entered his Majesty* s ser- vice from the different prison ships at Chatham, from April 1813, until June 1814. Copied from the clerk's books. John Anderson, b. Newcastle, Del., man-of-war. John Atkinson, b. Baltimore, Maryland, True Blood. John Austin, unknown, unknown. Josiah Abraham, Phil., Penn., man-of-war. James Anderson, Bait., Maryland, unknown. Peter Boyd, New York, N. Y., do John Boyd, Kennebunk, Mass., do John Brown, New Bedford, Impressed. John Bauld, Block Island, man-of-war. Isaac Baily, Boston, Mass., do John Brown, Salem, do True Blood. Peter Brown, Phil., Penn., unknown. George Bing, New York,N. Y., man-of-war. John Brown, b. Salem, Mass., do Samuel Billham, b. do do do John Barks, New Bedford, do George Burns, Phil., Penn., do Asa Bumpus, New Bedford, Mass., unknown. Rufus Brown, Eastport, do John Burns, North Carolina, do John Baily, Hainsbury, Mass., do Ebenezer Carter, Portsmouth, N. H., man-of-war Isaac Crawford, Boston, Mass., do 140 THE prisoners' MEMOIRS, Benjamin Cotton, Norfolk, Vir., man-of-war. Thomas Charles, b. New York, N. Y., do Charles CufFee, Long Island, do do Isaac Carrol, New York, do unknown. Ezekiel Church, Phil., Penii., do Peter Dowling, Lewisburg, Vir., Gov. Tomkins. Wm. Denning, New Bedford, man-of-war. Isaac Darlton, Boston, Mass., do Thomas Denison, Portsmouth, N. H., man-of-war. Thomas Dunn, New York, N. Y., unknown. John Davis, Alexandria, Vir., man-of-war. Henry Dison, Holmes' Hole, unknown. Silas'Eaton, Phil., Penn., M. S. Malta. Dudley French, b. Newburyport, Mass., unknown John Fowler, do Elias Field, do Nicholas Gold, North Kingston, R. I., do Wm. Goes, New York, N. Y., do Jeremiah Gills, b. Baltimore, Maryland, do Isaac Griffin, Boston, Mass. do Gills, New York, N. Y., do Samuel Harvey, North Carolina, Impressed. James Hoyd, New York, N. Y., man-of-war. Henry Hamong, Phil., Penn., brig Esel, Bait. Henry Holsworth, New York, unknown. John Hopkins, do do Samuel Hopkins, do do Samuel Hainsly, b. do do Wm. Hull, b. Bait., Maryland, do Johnson Harlem, b. New York, do James Hall, VVainsburg, N. Y., do Wm. Hubbard, Providence, R. I., do Peter Henrv, Phil , Penn., do Thos. Hazaird, Narragansett, R. I. do John Fitz, New Bedford, Mass., do Benjamin Holbrook, Kennebeck, do Thomas Jackson, b. New- York, do John Jackson, Long-Island, do. Samuel Jackson, b. Salem, Mass., do. John Jackson, b. New-Bedford, do. Wm. Johnson, Norfolk, Vir. do. Zaca James, Snowhill, Maryland, do. Francis Johnson, Bal. do. do. Nathan Kezer, Newburyport, Mass. do. John Jones, Boston, do. do. Isaac Lemur, do. do. Impressed. Andrew Lamson, Portsmouth, N. H. unknown. John Lunderson, New-York, do. OR DARTMOOR PRISON* 141 John Lames, Portsmouth, N. H. brig Hunter. George Lewis, b. unknown, unknown. George Lee, b. Salem, Moss. do. Asa Freeman, Pittyfoog, unknown. Jeremiah Miller, Soco, Maine, do. Edward Mathews, Phil. Penn. man of war. John Morris, do. do. do. Mr. Fairlin, Bait. Maryland, do. Benjamin Morgan, b. unknown, do. Benjamin Melvin, b. Nantucket, Mass. do. John Molden, b. Bait. Maryland, do. Morris, New-York, do. Edw. Moulton, Newburyport, Mass. do. Henry Moore, New-York, do. John Mackey, Portsmouth, N. H. do. John Nicklas, New- York, N. Y. do. Owens, Philadelphia, Penn. , Richard Porter, Wiscasset, Mass, Impressed. Thomas Parkman, unknown. Edward Phillips, do Elisha Paul, Maryland. Simon Roy, Saybrook, Connecticut. John Ride, Philadelphia, Penn. Thomas Roberson, Plymouth, Mass. man of war. John Rough, Alexandria, Virginia. William Riley, Philadelphia. Henry Randolph, , Massachusetts. Robert Real, New-York, N. Y. James Roberts, b. Wilmington, N. C. Robert Roberts, b. Njew-York. John Ring, Philadelphia, Penn. . Nathan Robinson, unknown. Morris Russell, Savannah, Georgia. William Rich, Warrington, Conn. Isaac Somendycke, New-York. George Simsons, b. Philadelphia. David Simond, b. Alexandria, Virg. impressed. John Smith, Norfolk, do. do James Stanly, New-York. William Symons, b. Chaiieston, S. C. William Stewart, b. unknown. John Simon, b. do William Strong, Marblehead, Mass. David Stephens, Long-Island, N. Y. William Scofield, Turkey-Hill, Oldhadam, Conn. John Thompson, Long Island, N. Y. Edward Fitley, New^-York. 142 THE prisoner's memoirs, John Vanderhoven, New- York William Welch, Charleston, S. C. _ Charles Wetmore, Norwich. Con, John B. Williams, Baltimore, Md. John Wells, New- York. Charles Wright, Alexandria, Vir. Charles Wilford, New- York. Charles Williams, unknown. William Watson, Charleston, S, C. man of war. William Walker, Pelham, N. H. Jason Wood, Philadelphia, Penn. William Wood, do do Ezekiel Wilson, do do ' William Wolf, Savannah, Georgia. Charles Wilson, Providence, R. I. Robert Wilson, Newport, do The following is a correct list of prisoners who entered his Majesty'' s service at the Depot of Stapleton, from July 1813, until May 1814, copied from the clerk'' s books. John Abrahams, b. New- York, Grand Napoleon. John Brown, Charleston, S. C. Revenge. John Reinbridge, Dutchman, Tickler, Boston. Charles Burgoin, Charleston, S. C. Revenge. Joseph Fletcher, Portland, Mass. Orders in Council. Henry Henrick, do Eben. Jacobs, Newburyport, impressed. William Howard, Philadelphia, Fox. Stephen Henry, black man. Robert Hackley, New- York, unknown. Mark Mason, Philadelphia, Fox. James Marley, Norfolk, Virg. impressed, Georg'e Russell, New- York, Tom of Baltimore. John Smith, Paul Jones. Francis Surges, black man. Thomas Taylor, Maryland, Price of Baltimore. Charles White, New-York, Meteor. The following is a list of names of persons who died, at Stapleton prison^ from July 1813 until June 1814. George Morgan, Long-Island, N. Y. Grand Napoleon. David Smart, New- York, Price, of Baltimore. John Dunn, Philadelphia, do do D. Francis, Providence, R. 1. Hebe of Philadel. John Mitchel, New-York, unknown. Isaac Watts, Charleston, S C. do Lambert Johnson, New-York, do OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 143 The following is a list of names of persons who died at Chatham^ on board the different prison-ships, from January 1813 until June 1814; at which time all the prisoners were removed to the depot at Dartmoor. Feb. 28, 1814. Feb. 19, do Jan. 4, 1813. Jan. 7, do Dec. 5, 1814. Feb. 28, 1814. March 31, do Dec. 1813. Jan. 9, 1813. May 3, do June 5, do June 11, do Nov. 23, do May 4, do April 16, do May 25, do March 4, do April 27, do July 5, do April 18, do May 19, do Jan. 27, do Mar. 27, do April 12, 1814 May 18, do June 6, 1813 June 25, 1814 Dec. 27, do Feb. 14, do April 17, do May — do Mar. 29, do Feb. 5, do May 16, do Mar. 12, do Feb. 23, do Jan. 7, do Mar. 30, do Mar. 22, do Mar. 29, do Samuel Abbet, Andover, Mass. William Alien, Newport, R. I. Joseph Andrews, Marblehead. Howel Baysta, Boston, Mass. Moses Blackman, Boston, do. James Butler, unknown. William Butler, Baltimore, Md. John Adams, New- York. Ely Bactman, Wocester county, Mass. Thomas Billings, New- York. Christopher Balbadge, Salem, Mass. Edward Brown, Marblehead, do Nicholas Bunker, Scituate, do Jesse Brown, Belfast, Maine. Thomas Carter, Norfolk, Vir. Thomas Copland, Charleston, S. C. Isaac Clough, Marblehead, Mass. Christy, Baltimore, U. S. gun-boat. James Davis, Somerset. John H. Downie, Salem, Mass. James Diverause, do do Benjamin Elvell, Gloucester, Mass. William Elingwood, Marblehead, Mass. William Poller, Marblehead, Ma'^s. Anthony Fundy, New-York. William Forman, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Amos Graindy, Marblehead, Mass. James B. Green, Alexandria, Vir. Thomas Hutchinson, unknown. George Hubbard, do William Hart, do Jacob Holt, Salem, Mass. Christopher Hubbard, Baltimore, Md. Samuel Head, New- York. Samuel Jones, New-York, Tyger. John Johnson, Long-Island, N. Y. William Light, unknown. Reuben Ludlow, New-York, Tyger. James Lewis, Norfolk, Vir. James Ludlow, Greenfield, Con. Ezekiel Miller, New-York. Samuel Miller, New-York. April 1 , do Mar. 16, do June 10, do Mar. 29, 1813 Jan. 6, 1814 April 3, do do 20, do do 21, do May 24, do June 6, do Jan. 4, do Mar. 25, do do 19, do do 24, do 144 THE prisoners' memoirs, Fisher Mansfield, New-London, Con. Aaron Mackley, drowned escaping. Captain Morgan, Salem, Mass. Enterprize. James Mills, Alexandria, Vir. Samuel Nelson, New- York. Hugh Nichols, Newbern, N. C. William Pousland, Marblehead, Mass. Clement Pair, Portland, Maine. Edw^ard Patten, Baltimore. William Potter, Beverly, Mass. David Pinkham, Nantucket, do. Jared Ray, New York. John Roaply, New York. Charles Saunders, near Alexandria, Vir. Proctor Simonds, unknown. Ebenezer Skinner, Nantucket, Mass. Henry Scott, Baltimore. Jonathan Sawyer, Portland, Maine. Nov. 25, 1813 Reuben Moslaird, Nantucket, Mass., Tyger, N. Y. Feb. 16, do Daniel Roaps, Salem, Mass. May 9, do John Rotter, Md. Apr. 24, 1814 James Smith, Marblehead, Mass. Growler, Salem, do May 28, do Jonathan Trueman, Portland, Maine. Mar. 6, do Edward Williams, Philadelphia. Apr. 14, do James Weeks, Marblehead, Mass. do 29, 1813 Samuel Warren, unknown. Mar. 4, do Richard Winchester, Gloucester, Mass. Webber, Kennebeck, Maine. Aug. 16, do Francis Williams, Salem, Mass. Mar. 26, do Stephen Thatson, Brook field, do. Thirty-nine names unknown —chiefly United States Infantry. Tfie following contains a list of the persons who died at Dartmoor from April 1813, until the 18th February, 1815 ; copied from the reports of the Doctor. Dec. 23, 1813 Henry AUigo, New York, U. S. brig Argus. Oct. 24, do Ambrose Alamond, Carthagenia, President. Nov. 6, do John Adams, Washington, S. C, Greyhound. do 21, do John B. Allen, N. Y., Herald. Dec. 25, 1814 Isaac Anderson, Portsmouth, N. H., Huzzar. do 23, do Joshua Andrews, Ipswich, Mass., David Porter. do 3, do John Adams, N. C , America. do 27, do Alexander Anderson, N. Y., Criterion. Jan. 7, do Jacob Anderson, Portsmouth, N. H. do 26, do Daniel Archer, Salem, Mass., Grand Turk. do 4, 1815 Daniel Appleton, Portsmouth, N. H., U. S. Frolic. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 145 Feb. 5, 1815 do 18, do Nov. 14, do May 5, 1814 Nov. 20, 1813. do 23. do do 5, 1814. do 27, do do 28, do do 28, do do 3, 1813. Dec. 2, do do 5, do do 8, do :do 25, 1814. Jan. 30, do do 27, do do 20, do do 14, do Jan. 17, 1815. Feb. 11, do do 17, do do 17, do Nov.21, 1814 Jan. 23, do Dec. 29, 1814 Nov. 1 8, do July 4, do Oct. 20, 1813 Jan. 16, do Mar. 5, do do. 20, do April 6, do Oct. 3, do do 7, do do 16, do do 25, do Nov. 8, do do 11, do do 26. do Dec. 4, do Jan. 17, do do 24, do Nov. 5 , 1814. May 10, do Nov. 14, do Robert Adams, Marblehead, Mass., Herald. Peter Amos, Martha's Vineyard, Mass., Invincible Napoleon. Asa Allen, Boston, Herald. Nick Blanchard. Hezekiah Bray, Boston, India. Jolin Boatman, Baltimore, Chasseur. Lewis Bryen, Carolina, Hawke. Peter Berry, died suddenly. Peter Barker, Boston, Derby. Peter Bin, Petersburg, Va., Independence. Thomas Barren, Va., United States brig Argus. Henry Burly, New-York. John Baldwin, Boston, Fox. James Barret, Pennsylvania, Bury. Henry Burbage, Va., Greyhound. Charles Barker. Benjamin Bale, Dover, N. H., Victory. Phihp Blagdell, N. H., Erie. James Beck, Portsmouth, N. H,, impressed. Daniel Bourge, Portsmouth, N. H., Harlequin. George Brown, Westchester, N. Y., impressed. Charles Brown, Boston, Paul Jones. Moses Bailey, Philadelphia, Scorpion. John Bablista, New-York, Herald. John Bryson, Va., Alicant, James Booth, New-York, Mary, Y. S. Bates, unknown. William Clarke, Va., Frolic. William Clark, South Kingston, R. I., Star of N. Y. Charles Cornish, Baltimore, Md., Chesapeake. James Combs, Bristol, D. Maine, U. S. brig Argus. John Cole, Wiscasset, impressed. Benjamin Cook, Baltimore, Md., Chesapeake. Deal Carter, New- York, Zebra, N. Y. John Collins, Philadelphia, Mammoth, Baltimo'o. John Carney or Carson, Virginia, Flash, Simeon Chandler, Duxbury, Essex Thomas Cooper, Washington, N. C, Union. James Congdon, Cambridge, Mass,, Mary. John Cole, Baltimore, Md , Adeline, Richard Coffee, Long Island, N. Y., America. Samuel Campeach, Carthagena, President. Simeon Clark, Weathersfield, Snapdragon. William Coleman, N. C. Hawke. William Dilton. Georgetown, Argus. Silas Durham, Boston, Mass., India. 13 146 THE PRISONERS* MEMOIRS, Nov. 18, 1814, Amasa Dilano, New-Bedford, India. Jan. 10, do William Dimamond, R. T., brig Mary. Oct. 25, 1814. David Dunham, unknown, Fame, Baltimore. Jan. 26, do William Edgar, N. J., Hepsie. do 6, 1815. Edward Evans, Kennebunk, brig Star, N. Y. Feb. 25, 1814. William Ferza, Granville, Mermaid. Jan. 27, do James Fulford, N. C. Snapdragon. Wm. Fletcher, Marblehead,Mass., Spitfire, Boston. Dec. 23, 1813 Henry Frelitch, Liverpool, Penn. Liverpool. Nov. 12, do Jesse Field, Townsend, Maine, Siron. do 30, do Joshua Fowler, Boston, impressed, Jan, 23, do William Fennel, Portsmouth, N. H., Harper. Mar. 18, 1814. Thomas Foquet, Granville, brig Argus. May — 1813. Reuben Glass, Duxbury, Mars, of Baltimore. April 19. 1814. Thomas Gasgiline, Martinico, W. L, Augustine. Oct. 22, do William Gibson, N. York, Rattlesnake. Nov. 4, do Francis Gardner, , R. L, Rambler. Dec. 3, do John Gaylor, , North Carolina, America. Feb. 17, 1815. James Gedman, Partsmouth, N. H., Bunker Hill. Jan. 29, 1815. Richard Hughs, New- York, Amiable, Philadelphia. Mar. 5, do Simeon Harress, New- York, Magdalen. July 3, 1814. James Henry, New-York, U. S. brig Argus. do 8, do James Hart. do Courier of Baltimore. Nov. 9, do Isaac Herm'ain, Portland, Maine, Elbridge Gerry. do 11, do James Hetrope, Cambridge, Mass., Mary. ^ do 24, do William Harress, Portsmouth, N. H., Portsmouth. Dec. 24, do Dempey Hydra, , North Carolina, Paul Jones. do 4, do Silas Hardison, , North Carolina. Jan. 6, 1815. Elijah Hartford, St. Thomas, U. S. infantry. Feb. 5, do Jacob Hanley, Milford, impressed. Dec. 29, 1814. Alexander Henderson, New-York, Criterion. Nov. 4, do William Jones, Cambridge, Mass., Hawke. April 30, do George Jones, , Connecticut, Viper of Bait. June 25, do Lambert Johnson, Middletown. N. J., Paul Jones. do 6, do Thomas Jackson, New-York, impressed. Nov. 2, do Alexander Johnson, Charleston, S. C, William. do 25, do Manuel Joseph, Oporto, impressed. Jan. 24, do Thomas Jarvis, Marblehead, Mass., Industry. do 8, 1815. John Johannas, Salem, Mass., President. Feb. 1, do John Johnson, New York, born in Rhode Island, Criterion. Nov. 11, 1814. James Ketrope, Cambridge, Mary. Feb. 3, 1815. Uriah King, Scituate, Mass., Dominick. Nov. 3, 1814. Jesse Lasol, Martinico, President. Aug. 5, do John Lewis, R. I., True-blooded Yankee. Jan. 1, do James Lestar, unknown, do Jan. 15, do Charles Lamson, Bait. Md. Mars, Bait. OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 147 Sept. 30, 1814. Lewis Larkins, Durham, Mass. Rolla. Nov. 1, do Placid Lorly, Washington, Hawke. Nov. 22, do Anthony Lamb, Conn. Grand Turk. Dec. 30, do Richard Lee, Mass , brig Argus. Jan. 27, do Amos Larkins, Beverly, Mass,, impressed. Feb. 4, 1815. James Laskey, Marblehead, Mass., Enterprise. Nov. 20, 1814. Sola, Marshall, Mass., Alexandria. Oct. 1, 1813. Thomas Morrison, Bait. Md., Messenger. Jan. 14, 1814. Henry Moore, New York, Marmion, N. Y. Feb. 24, do John Montgomery, New Bedford, im^iressed. Sept. 22, do Manuel Martin, New Orleans, Paul Jones, N. Y. Oct. 27, do Calasso Madosa, Carthagena, President. Oct. 25, do Albert Mingo, New Orleans, Weezer. Nov. 18, do Rollen M'Donovan, Mass., Siro. do 18, do John Macky, Bait. Md., Rattlesnake, do 20, do Richard Miller, Penn., Snap Dragon. Jan. 30, do Joseph Midge, unknown. Dec. 12, do Ezekiel Mitchell, Portland, D. Maine, Charlotte. Feb. 5,1815. Jesse March, Kennebunk, do M'Donough. Feb. 14, do Wm. Misten, Bait. Md., impressed. Feb. 17, do John Martin, Carthagena, President. Sol Marshall, Deer Island, Mass., Mammoth. Jan. 22, 1815. Peter Mitchell, New York, Formidable. Nov. 15, 1813. Benj. Newbern, New York, U. S. brig Argus. Sept. 29, 1814. Edw,d Norton, Plymouth, Mass., U. S. ship Argus. Feb. 24, 1815. Daniel Nash, Maryland, impressed. Oct. 7,1814. Josiah Pettengell, Salem, Mass., Enterprise. Nov. 4, do Joel Perigo, Boston, Mass., India. March 12, do Samuel Pierce, Greenwich, R. I., Dart, of N. Y. Dec. 4, do Samuel Peterson, Phil., Nonsuch. Nov. 5, do Thomas Parker, Bait. Md., Dominique. Nov. 26, do Wm. Parker, New York, Derby. Jan. 30, do Charles Parker, unknown. Nov. 3, do John Perkins, Pittsfield, Mass., Siro. Nov. 7, do James Palmer, Portsmouth, N. H. Frolic. do 23, do John Pollard, Pernambuco, S. A. Ida. Jan. 14, do Aaron Peterson, Stonington, Conn , Joel Barlow. Oct. 5, do John Potter, Phil., Penn., impressed. Sept. 26, do Ephraim Pinkham, Wiscasset, Maine, Mammoth. May, 1813 Horace Risley, Long-Island, N. Y., Star of N. Y. Nov. 16, 1814 Benjamin Rinevon, Guadaloupe, West Indies, Fox. do 12, do Luke Rodgers, , North Carolina, Fairy. do 14, do David Reed, Townsend, District of Maine, America. Dec. 29, do James Rooth, Norwich, Conn., Mary. Jan. 9, do Silas Hardison, , North Carolina, Hawke. do 22, do Thomas Rix, Suffolk, Vir , Labrador. Feb. 7, 1815 Francis Roberts, St. Sebastian, Spain, Chesapeake. Dec. 9, 1814 Jan. 16, do Oct. 17, do do 20, do do 25, do Nov . 3, do do 20, do do 21, do Dec. 7, do do 8, do do 15, do Jan. 24 do do 14, do do 5, 1815 do 20, do 148 THE prisoners' memoirs, Feb. 14, 1815 John Risdon, Baltimore, Pike, do 15, do Samuel Robenson, Boston, Ducanavia. Samuel Robenson, Phil., Nonsuch. William Saunders, Kennebunk, Maine, Mars of Baltimore. William Shans, U. S. brig Argus. Francis Saul, Wiscasset, Maine, Mercury. Jacob Sawyer, Providence, R. I , impressed. Richard Sperdy, , Virginia, Amelia. Isaac Simerson, New York, Invincible. Lewis Stow, Middletown, Conn. Tickler. Jacob C. Secusa, New York, Volunteer. Nicholas Smith, Richmond, Virginia, Herald. John Stiles, Baltimore, Md., William Bayard. Henry Schelding, unknown. Smith Schelding, New York, Fort Erie. John Stow, Harlequin. John Straul, Portland, Maine^ Siro. March 15, 1814 William Sternis, Norwich, Conn., Viper of Bait. Dec. 5. do William Smart, , Virginia, Gothland. Jan. 28^ 1815 Daniel Simons, Marblehead, Mass., Enterprise. do 12, do Ebenezer Simons, unknown. Feb. 7, do John Seapach, Portland, Maine, Alicant. March 9, 1814 Ekazer Tobie, New York, True-blooded Yankee. Feb. 25, do William Tyre, Springfield, Viper of Baltimore. Thomas Tagatt, Granville, Argus. Abraham Thomas, , Conn. P. Jones. Matthew Tineman, New York, Tom Thumb. John Thomas, New York, Elbridge Gerry. Abraham Tompkins. New York, Governor Shelby Francis Tuttle, Pernell, Maine, Leo. John B. Taylor, New York, Fair American. James Fulford, , North Carolina, Snap-Dra- gon. Samuel Tophown, Montgomery, soldier of the U. S. A. James Vassa, unknown, Growler. Daniel Very, Salem, Mass , Frolic. Nathaniel Vaughrs, Newport, R. I., Ducanavia Thomas Williams, , Connecticut, Viper of Baltimore. William Williams, Georgetown, Maria, Theresa. William Wescott, , Virginia, Gothland. James Williams, Weathersfield, Conn., Caroline.. Seth Williams, Portsmouth, N. H., Harlequin. George Overt, — - — , N. H., impressed. Joseph Wedger, Marblehead, Mass., Growler. March 18 , do July 23, do Sept. 26, do Oct. '25, do Nov. 3, do do 24, do Dec. 2, do Jan. 27, do Feb. 12, 1815 Jan. 8, do Jan. 19, do Aug. 31, 1814 Mar. 20, do Oct. 27, do Dec. 5, do Jan. 14, do do 17, do Jan. 28, 1815 do 8, do OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 149 Feb. 1, 1815 Joseph Williams, Gay-Head, Enterprise. Jan. 24, 1814 Thomas Zervice, Marblehead, Mass., Industry. do 21, do William Young, North Carolina, Levant. Oct 1814 1814 Nov do Dec 1814 do do Sept do Jan 1815 do do Feb do Feb 6, do 12, do March 12 do do do do 18 do The following is a list of persons who escaped from Dartmoor prison from September, 1814, the first escape, until March 13, 1815. Sept 20, 1814 Shapley Smith, Baltimore, Leo. do 20, do Henry Cottrill, Narraganset, R. L, unknown. Capt. Swain, New Bedford, Mass. Gascoigne, unknown. Henry Allen, Salem, Mass., Polly. John Windham, unknown. Russell, New Bedford, Mass. Howard, unknown. Benjamin Prince, Portland, Maine, Magdalen. Rodgers, New York, True-blooded Yankee. Caleb Holmes, do., unknown. Joseph Langford, Baltimore, True-blooded Yankee. George Denison, Portland, Maine, Siro of Bait. John W, Fletcher, Alexandria, Vir., Rattlesnake. David Flood, Portland, Maine, Impressed. Isaiah Bunker, Philadelphia, True-blooded Yankee. William Webster, unknown. Escaped from the last date until April, six men, names unknown. The following is a correct list of names of prisoners who died at Dart- moor prison, from February 18, 1815, until April 20, 1815. Mar. 4, 1815 Archibald Allen, , New Jersey, impressed. do 15, do William Adams, , Connecticut, impressed. Capt. Allen, of the United States brig Argus, of wounds. Feb 22, do John Butler, , Delaware, Semiramus. Mar. 1 3, do Peter Burch, Philadelphia, Prosperity. do 29, do Wm. Brady, Baltimore, Flash, N. Y. do 22, do Henry Campbell, Philadelphia, Penn , Columbia. April 5, do James Campbell, New York, impressed. [Yankee March 11, do Jonathan Dyer, Portsmouth, N. H., True-blooded Feb 25, 1815 Jon. Davis, Middle-river, Mass,, ship Yorktown, Mar. 30, do Benjamin Delano, Ducksbury. Apr. 12, do John Devinas, , Ohio. Mar. 14, do William Evin, , Rhode Island, brig Star. Mar. 18, do Archibald Fogerty, Massachusetts, Horatio. Apr. 16, do John Francis, Norfolk, Vir. impressed. Mar. 4, do Jeremiah Gardner, Newort, R. I. impressed. Feb. 23, do Josiah Gun, Salem, Mass. Mar. 24, do Thomas Groves, Boston, Mass. Port Mahon. 150 THE PRISONERS MEMOIRS, Jonathan Gladding, Bristol, R. I. Rattlesnake. Francis Hobden, Gloucester, Vir. Abijah Holbrook, Weymouth, Derby. John Hobson, Bedford, N. C. Snapdragon. Joseph Haycock, Portland, Maine. Henry Holden, boston. Sultan. John Haywood, , Vir. impressed. Thomas Hall, , Surprise. John Jennings, Gay Head, M. V. Hawke. James Jones, , Md. impressed. Peter Joseph, West Indies, President. Edw. Jenkins, Cambridge, Mass. Tom of Bait. Wm. Johnson, Salem. Mas. impressed. John Jackson, Baltimore. do Thomas Jackson, New-York, Orbit. Joseph Johnson, , Connecticut, Paul Jones. James Knapps, Baltimore, impressed. John Kelly, Marblehead, Mass. Alfred. Jacob Kemble, Jenet. William Leverett, IN ew- York, Saratoga. Capt. Lepiate, , N. Y. Paul Jones. Edward Miller, Newark, N. J. Mammoth. Charles Moutle, Stonington, Con. impressed. James Morris, Baltimore, President. William Mills, city of Jersey, N. J. Zebra. Benjamin Marshall, — — , Massachusetts, Mindor. George Moore, Boston, Mass. Chasseur. John Monroe, Albany, N. Y. Rattlesnake. Jabez Mann, Boston, Siro. Jonathan Paul, Charleston, S. C. imp. Thomas Peckham, Windham, Conn. Paul Jones. Gideon Porter, , Rhode Island, impressed. Samuel Parish, Norfolk, Vir. Grand Napoleon. Joseph Q,uion, Salem, Mass. Herald. Joseph Rasom, Wiscasset, Maine, Ned of Bait. Joseph Robenson, do do do. James Robenson, , Mass. Price of Baltimore. William Robenson, Jeremiah Stanwood, Newbury port, Mass. imp. Silas Squibs, New-London, Conn. Hope-packet. Martin Sutten, New Bedford, Mass. Lion. David Shute, Salem, Mass. impressed. Andrew Smith, Indian River, Tom. Joseph Salesbury, , Mass. Zenith. Theodore Snell, Rhode Island, a soldier. Stephen Stacy, Marblehead, Mass. Ohio. Henry Thomas, Cambridge, Mass. Derby. Mar. 14, 1815. Feb. 24, do Mar. 10, do Mar. 14, do Mar. 20, do Apr. Apr. Apr. Feb. 6, 6, 18, 22, do do do do Feb. 23, do Feb. 26, do Feb. 24, do Mar. 10, do Mar. 14, do Apr. 6, do Apr. Feb. 6, 26, do do Apr. Apr Mar. 16, 6, 10, do do do Feb. 21, do Feb. 21, do Mar. 26, do Mar. 24, do Mar. 27, do Mar. 30, do Jan. 2, do Apr. Mar. 6, 10, do do Mar. 15, do Mar. 22, do Apr. Feb. 1, 23, do do Mar. 2, do Mar. 2, do Apr. Apr. Mar. 1, 18, 20, do do do Mar. 17, do Feb. 22, do Mar. 4, do Mar. ^) do Mar. 14, do Mar. 16, do Mar. 16, do Feb. 21, do OR DARTMOOR PRISON. 151 April 14, 1815 Richard Smith, Grand Turk. Feb. 21, do David Turner, Boston, Derby. April 6, do John Turner, , Mass. Rattlesnake. April 18, do William Thompson, Siro. Feb. 25, do Darius Villius, Providence, R. I. Frolic. Mar. 10, do Charles Williams, New-London, Connecticut. Mar. 17, do Samuel Williams, , Mass. Scorpion.. Mar. 26, do Edward Williams, , Va. impressed. April 6, do John Washington, Cooperstown, Md. Rolla. Died at Ashberton during the war, Mar. 10, 1815 B. Elvel, Gloucester, Mass. Firefly. Mar. 25, do. Abraham Burnham, , Mass. Price. SUPPLEMENT OF SOME MATTERS OBTAINED SINCE THE PRECEDING PAGES WERE WRITTEN. Copy of a letter from Lieut, N. D. Nicholson, of the late United States brig Syren, to Capt. Samuel Evans, com- manding naval officer at New-York. New- York, August 24, 1815. Sir: Conceiving it my duty to make known the treatment ex- hibited by the British officers and men, to those who are so unfortunate as to fallinto their power, I am induced to ac- quaint you with the following circumstances: After the surrender of the Syren to the Medway, the officers and crew of the former were removed to the latter ; the crew not being allowed the privilege of taking their clothing,