Part 1

THE PRISONERS’ MEMOIRS,

OR

DARTMOOR PRISON;

CONTAINING A COMPLETE AND IMPARTIAL HISTORY OF

The Entire Captivity of the Americans in England,

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

Also, a particular detail of all occurrences relative to the

HORRID MASSACRE AT DARTMOOR,

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

THE WHOLE CAREFULLY

COMPILED BY A PRISONER IN ENGLAND,

Who was a Captive during the whole War.

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

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

NEW YORK: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR.

1852.

PREFACE.

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

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

COPYRIGHT SECURED.

CERTIFICATE.

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

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

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

THE PRISONERS’ MEMOIRS,

OR

DARTMOOR PRISON.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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