On the 14th day of January,
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 passage sufficient for wagons to pass. For should the
weather continue as cold as it then was, all communication between
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 moderate and the
snow began to dissolve.
The eighth man, who made his escape, had wandered 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 from prison. They brought him back,
and he received 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 being 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 I fear the repetition of our distress
may tire the reader, to appeal to the feeling of my fellow-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 snow, upon the top of an uninhabited and
uncultivated mountain, the camp distemper among them, and overrun with
vermin; great numbers dying, and death grimly threatening every man?
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.
_February, 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, 1813. This is the
first scrap in writing any prisoner in England had ever received from
him. It reads as follows:--“Fellow-citizens, I am authorized by the
government of the United States to allow you one penny halfpenny per
day, for the purpose of procuring you tobacco and soap, which will
commence being paid from the first day of January, and I earnestly hope
it will tend towards a great relief in your present circumstances. I
likewise would advise you to appoint a committee, by which means you
can convey to me any intelligence 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 allowance 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
letter, 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 their
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.
We stated to him that it could not be possible that the Congress of the
United States had allowed that small sum for those few articles, 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 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 service 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 relieved, 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 many Americans, 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 likewise 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 already 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 during the winter, had received
their wages and prize money; which, as is usual with a generous-hearted
sailor, they distributed for the good of the whole. At the depot at
Stapleton, the 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. Beasley 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 allowed 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 they 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 boasting 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 coffee at a penny a pint; but you cannot think
it very delicious when I 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 some of the prisoners received money from home, and
all established themselves in some kind of business. Some established
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 altogether. 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 ships, 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 informed Capt. Shortland of the fraud, who
examined into the fact, and had the cheating stopped, but gave the
conduct of the contractor a very easy term, by saying it was a mistake.
Towards the 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 officers as waiters. Many of these little
victims of war were under thirteen--and there were many old men above
the age of sixty imprisoned: both 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 humanity and generosity
of that nation, but by woeful experience I found I had been deceived.
Many of my readers may, perhaps, 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 themselves 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 I hope the committee will find means
to ensure its being applied to the purpose intended.
Yours, &c.,
R. G. BEASLEY.
With the letter was accompanied an additional allowance, 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, trowsers, &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 their situation, when we compare it to
the distress of that cold winter 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 London papers
containing an official account of the allies entering Paris, and
the complete defeat and downfall of Bonaparte. This news was a sore
affliction 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 the feelings of
the prisoners of both nations: “For,” said they, “we have conquered
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 mendicant vagabond.” This insolence was too much for
flesh and blood to bear. They declared they could have peace on any
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 choice of their enemies,
Louis XVIII.
Many gentlemen visited the prison to congratulate those unfortunate 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 national 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 their 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 numbers of prisoners there, and that
many were almost persuaded in their own minds to enter the enemy’s
service; that they had received 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 allowing 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 it
a great number of shops for 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 native land, their homes, and
their wives, was too nicely interwoven 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 endearments 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 forbear 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 purchased, and every man turned all his
ingenuity to some branch or other.
The weather being pleasant, and the prisoners healthy, they bore their
confinement with as much patience as could be expected. 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 situation; 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 which 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 the insignia
of Louis XVIII.; but they rejected it, and would not listen to any
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 flag and wear
the insignia, or remain in prison till the last draft of prisoners
in England, they then immediately, but rather reluctantly, hoisted
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 danger and war for the support 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 sufficient 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 wearing.
Mr. Williams then told us that we were to be clothed altogether by the
United States, and these we had now received were to last us eighteen
months. These were the first we had ever received from the agent; and
it is impossible to describe the great change and life it gave the
prisoners: 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 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 furnished 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
released 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 released 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
privilege 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 unprovided for by either
government. But we could not see them perish as long as we had any
thing which could be divided; they therefore lived upon our charity the
whole time.
On the twenty-fifth, another draft took place as before, and 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 discharge of all the French prisoners we
should have them allowed us.
When the 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 Americans 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 merchant 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 generally 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 bedding 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 bring forward the articles of bedding: he was refused 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, 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 sufferings,
by cutting his own throat, in presence of his countrymen 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 struggling 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 business 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, 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 desired; the climate was much more pleasant
and healthy, and the contiguity to the city of Bristol, where every
article manufactured 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 the prison, and a number
of laborers to repair the roads; also blacksmiths, coopers, painters,
lamp-lighters, and nurses in the hospital, &c. The number, 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 prisoner attempted to make his escape, that no
more Americans would be employed, and to prevent this, the following
rule was adopted; 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, for 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 the 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 prisoners had friends in England, and received
from them considerable 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 prisoners 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 committed
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 distance 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
afterwards said he had learned.
On the twentieth of June we were informed, by Capt. Shortland, 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 received
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. Hillyar
would have agreed with him. The garrison was again renewed with a
new regiment, and the old one removed. This regiment was very much
embittered against the government; their term of five years, for which
they had enlisted, having expired, the government refused to discharge
them.
At this time the government was giving great encouragement to soldiers
to enlist to fight against the United States; 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 soldiers. I found they
were very ignorant in these things, and easily deterred from their
enlisting. I composed a song, and distributed it among them, after
which not a man ever enlisted or offered to. This very much 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 soldiers were equally desirous as the
prisoners to converse.
The fourth of July was not far 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 invited 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 themselves 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 prisoners generally
healthy; we had rain, and many showers.
On the first of July we received letters from Chatham, informing 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
with the best pieces; the farmer getting information where the sheep
had gone, came and demanded reparation for his sheep; the commander,
to screen the boats’ crew, paid the farmer the price of the sheep.
The story of the sheep 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
agreed to cry _blar_; he understood the meaning 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 Dartmoor, which ended
in a very serious manner. A dispute arose between two of the prisoners
late belonging to the United States’ brig Argus, by 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 morning 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 Canada or Dartmoor prison
for life_.” This pleased the soldiers, but irritated the officers, who,
discovering our firm resolution to defend the flag, and not having
but part of a regiment in the garrison, and they friendly toward us,
thought best to be quite silent, and let us proceed our own way; for
if they attempted to deprive 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 make the attempt, for they knew a reinforcement could easily 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 officers belonging to the garrison,
colonels, majors, captains, clerks, turnkeys, and a great number of
soldiers, assembled on the walls to hear an oration composed by a
Yankee 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.
_Countrymen 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 themselves 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, remained in the
most perfect state of peace and tranquility, and reaped every blessing
that grows on the soil of liberty; England, 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 suffering every degradation, from the terror of the
lash, she has sent you to the most horrid prison in compensation for
your long and faithful services. England, envying the happiness our
countrymen enjoyed under so mild a government, the reverse of her
own tyrannical laws, exerted every art to destroy their tranquility,
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 insult, by issuing orders to make prizes of all American
vessels not bound to her own ports or those of her allies.
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 depredations 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 Majesty’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 Americans, and sent the Java to the bottom. The tidings had
scarcely reached the American shore, when another laurel was added to
our infant navy; the United States ship Hornet engaged His Majesty’s
ship Peacock, of equal force; and Capt. Lawrence, unwilling to make
any distinction between her and the Java, sent her to the bottom, 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 exploits of our
undaunted seamen, fitted out the Boxer, with the fullest assurance
of recovering her lost honor, and were confident of taking our brig
Enterprise, of much inferior force. But Divine Providence, ever
extending the hand of assistance 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 of the line. She has likewise 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
sufferings, 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.
England may get momentary possession of one small city, or perhaps
ten, 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 were, heard of another brilliant achievement upon the ocean? The
United States ship Peacock, 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 Thermopylæ.
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 revisit 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 surprise 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 short time by a
peace, which would be brought about by their conquering the United
States, and reducing them to colonies again; and such a change, which
must shortly take place, they said must be imputed entirely to the
bad management of our President and Congress: we have now conquered
France, and America must be conquered next. We found them ignorant
of the strength and resources 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 superiority
of gunnery which the American seamen possessed over 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 chagrined at these facts, which they could not
deny; and remarking that they were surprised to find sailors so well
acquainted with the politics of both countries, but that they believed
they must be most of them Englishmen born, and that it was a very great
pity His Majesty should be deprived of so many valuable seamen.
At two o’clock we sat down to our fourth of July dinner, which was
composed of soup and beef, the best we could prepare. We gathered in
parties, with the greatest animation, conversing of our President
and Congress, for whom we sailors have the greatest respect; and Mr.
Madison, particularly, is a great favorite of sailors. After dinner we
had a song, which was composed for the occasion.
The day was passed in the greatest harmony; no quarrel or strife
occurred to mar its pleasure. The next day every man resumed his
occupation, and seemed to enjoy a negative happiness, which arose from
a freedom from absolute pain.
On the eighth of this month, a friend of mine, for whom I had much
respect, died; and at his burial I took occasion to survey the vast
tenements of the dead, and consider, within myself, what innumerable
multitudes of people lay confused together on this moor; how friends
and enemies, officers and soldiers, the brave and the coward, collected
from all quarters of the globe, of all nations, and of all colors, lay
undistinguished in one common mass of matter; and not a stone to name
one tenant of the tomb.
After having surveyed this great magazine of mortality as it were, in
the lump, out of respect to my friend, I searched about and obtained a
very slaty stone, on which I inscribed the following words: