THE CASE OF JABEZ FITCH
In presenting our gleanings from the books, papers, letters, pamphlets,
and other documents that have been written on the subject of our
prisoners during the Revolution, we will endeavor to follow some
chronological order, so that we may carry the story on month by month
and year by year until that last day of the British possession of New
York when Sergeant O’Keefe threw down upon the pavement of the Provost
the keys of that prison, and made his escape on board a British
man-of-war.
One of the prisoners taken on Long Island in the summer of 1776 was
Captain Jabez Fitch, who was captured on the 27th of August, of that
year. While a prisoner he contracted a scorbutic affection which
rendered miserable thirty years of his life.
On the 29th of August he was taken to the transport Pacific. It was a
very rainy day. The officers, of whom there were about twenty-five,
were in one boat, and the men “being between three and four hundred
in several other Boats, and had their hands tied behind them. In this
Situation we were carried by several Ships, where there appeared great
numbers of Women on Deck, who were very liberal of their Curses and
Execrations: they were also not a little Noisy in their Insults, but
clap’d their hands and used other peculiar gestures in so Extraordinary
a Manner yet they were in some Danger of leaping overboard in this
surprising Extacy.” On arriving at the Pacific, a very large transport
ship, they were told that all officers and men together were to be
shut down below deck. The master of the ship was a brute named Dunn. At
sundown all were driven down the hatches, with curses and execrations.
“Both ye lower Decks were very full of Durt,” and the rains had leaked
in and made a dreadful sloppy mess of the floor, so that the mud was
half over their shoes. At the same time they were so crowded that only
half their number could lie down at a time.
“Some time in the Evening a number of the Infernal Savages came down
with a lanthorn and loaded two small pieces or Cannon with Grape shot,
which were pointed through two Ports in such a manner as to Rake ye deck
where our people lay, telling us at ye same time with many Curses yt in
Case of any Disturbance or the least noise in ye Night, they were to be
Imediately fired on ye Damned Rebels.” When allowed to come on deck
“we were insulted by those Blackguard Villians in the most vulgar
manner....We were allowed no water that was fit for a Beast to Drink,
although they had plenty of good Water on board, which was used
plentifully by the Seamen, etc.
“Lieutenant Dowdswell, with a party of Marines sent on board for our
Guard; this Mr. Dowdswell treated us with considerable humanity, and
appeared to be a Gentleman, nor were the Marines in General so Insolent
as the Ships Crew....On the 31st the Commissary of Prisoners came on
Board and took down the names, etc, of the prisoners....he told us
Colonel Clark and many other Officers were confined at Flatbush. On
Sunday, September 1st, we were removed to the ship Lord Rochford,
commanded by one Lambert. This ship was much crowded. Most of
the Officers were lodged on the quarter deck. Some nights we were
considerably wet with rain.”
The Lord Rochford lay off New Utrecht. On the third of September the
officers that had been confined at Flatbush were brought on board the
snow called the Mentor. “On the fifth,” says Fitch, in his written
account, of which this is an abstract, “we were removed on board this
Snow, which was our prison for a long time. * * * We were about 90 in
number, and ye Field Officers had Liberty of ye Cabbin, etc. * * * This
Snow was commanded by one Davis, a very worthless, low-lived fellow. * *
* When we first met on board the Mentor we spent a considerable time in
Relating to each other ye particular Circumstances of our first being
Taken, and also ye various Treatment with which we met on yt occasion,
nor was this a disagreeable Entertainment in our Melancholy Situation.
* * * Many of the officers and men were almost Destitute of Clothes,
several having neither Britches, Stockings or Shoes, many of them when
first taken were stripped entirely naked. Corporal Raymond of the 17th
Regiment after being taken and Stripped was shamefully insulted and
Abused by Gen’l Dehightler, seized by ye Hair of his head, thrown on
the ground, etc. Some present, who had some small degree of humanity in
their Composition, were so good as to favor them (the prisoners) with
some old durty worn Garments, just sufficient to cover their nakedness,
and in this Situation (they) were made Objects of Ridicule for ye
Diversion of those Foreign Butchers.
“One Sam Talman (an Indian fellow belonging to the 17th Regiment) was
Stripped and set up as a mark for them to Shoot at for Diversion or
Practice, by which he Received two severe wounds, in the neck and arm
* * * afterwards they destroyed him with many hundreds others by
starvation in the prisons of New York.
“On October first orders came to land the prisoners in New York. This
was not done until the seventh. On Monday about four o’clock Mr. Loring
conducted us to a very large house on the West side of Broadway in the
corner south of Warren Street near Bridewell, where we were assigned a
small yard back of the house, and a Stoop in ye Front for our Walk. We
were also Indulged with Liberty to pass and Repass to an adjacent pump
in Ye Street.”
Although paroled the officers were closely confined in this place for
six weeks. Their provisions, he says: “were insufficient to preserve ye
Connection between Soul and Body, yet ye Charitable People of this City
were so good as to afford us very considerable Relief on this account,
but it was ye poor and those who were in low circumstances only who were
thoughtful of our Necessities, and provisions were now grown scarce and
Excessive dear. * * * Their unparalleled generosity was undoubtedly ye
happy means of saving many Lives, notwithstanding such great numbers
perished with hunger.
“Here we found a number of Officers made prisoners since we were,
Colonel Selden, Colonel Moulton, etc. They were first confined in Ye
City Hall. Colonel Selden died the Fryday after we arrived. He was
Buried in the New Brick Churchyard, and most of the Officers were
allowed to attend his Funeral. Dr. Thatcher of the British army attended
him, a man of great humanity.”
Captain Fitch declares that there were two thousand wounded British
and Hessians in the hospitals in New York after the battle of Fort
Washington, which is a much larger estimate than we have found in other
accounts. He says that the day of the battle was Saturday, November
16th, and that the prisoners were not brought to New York until the
Monday following. They were then confined in the Bridewell, as the City
Jail was then called, and in several churches. Some of them were soon
afterwards sent on board a prison ship, which was probably the Whitby.
“A number of the officers were sent to our place of confinement; Colonel
Rawlings, Colonel Hobby, Major (Otho) Williams, etc. Rawlings and
Williams were wounded, others were also wounded, among them Lieutenant
Hanson (a young Gent’n from Va.) who was Shot through ye Shoulder with a
Musq’t Ball of which wound he Died ye end of Dec’r.
“Many of ye charitable Inhabitants were denied admittance when they came
to Visit us.”
On the twentieth of November most of the officers were set at liberty on
parole. “Ye first Objects of our attention were ye poor men who had been
unhappily Captivated with us. They had been landed about ye same time yt
we were, and confined in several Churches and other large Buildings
and although we had often Received Intelligence from them with ye most
Deplorable Representation of their Miserable Situation, yet when we came
to visit them we found their sufferings vastly superior to what we had
been able to conceive. Nor are words sufficient to convey an Adequate
Idea of their Unparalled Calamity. Well might ye Prophet say, ‘They yt
be slain with ye sword are better than they yt be slain with hunger, for
these pine away, etc.’
“Their appearance in general Rather Resembled dead Corpses than living
men. Indeed great numbers had already arrived at their long home, and ye
Remainder appeared far advanced on ye same Journey: their accommodations
were in all respects vastly Inferior to what a New England Farmer would
have provided for his Cattle, and although ye Commissary pretended to
furnish them with two thirds of ye allowance of ye King’s Troops, yet
they were cheated out of one half of that. They were many times entirely
neglected from Day to Day, and received no Provision at all; they were
also frequently Imposed upon in Regard to ye Quality as well as Quantity
of their provision. Especially in the Necessary article of Bread of
which they often received such Rotten and mouldy stuff, as was entirely
unfit for use.
“* * * A large number of ye most feeble were Removed down to ye Quaker
Meeting House on Queen Street, where many hundreds of them perished in
a much more miserable Situation than ye dumb Beasts, while those whose
particular business it was to provide them relief, paid very little or
no attention to their unparalleled sufferings. This house I understand
was under ye Superintendence of one Dr. Dibuke * * * who had been
at least once convicted of stealing (in Europe) and had fled to this
country for protection: It was said he often made application of his
Cane among ye Sick instead of other medicines. * * * I have often been
in danger of being stabbed for attempting to speak to a prisoner in ye
yard. * * *
“About the 24th December a large number of prisoners were embarked on
a ship to be sent to New England. What privates of the 17th Regiment
remained living were Included in this number, but about one half had
already perished in Prison. I was afterwards informed that the Winds
being unfavourable and their accommodations and provisions on board ye
Ship being very similar to what they had been provided with before, a
large proportion of them perished before they could reach New England,
so that it is to be feared very few of them lived to see their native
homes.
“Soon after there was large numbers of the prisoners sent off by land
both to the Southward and Eastward so yt when ye Officers were Removed
over into Long Island in the latter part of January there remained but
very few of the privates in that City except those released by Death
which number was supposed to be about 1800.
“General Robertson, so famous for Politeness and Humanity was commanding
Officer at New York during the aforesaid treatment of the prisoners.
Governor Scheene was said to have visited the prisoners at the Churches
and manifested great dissatisfaction at their ill Usage, yet I was never
able to learn that ye poor Sufferers Rec’d any Advantage thereby.”
Captain Jabez Fitch was a prisoner eighteen months. After the Revolution
he lived in Vermont, where he died in 1812.