Conceiving it my duty to make known the treatment exhibited by the
British officers and men, to those who are so unfortunate as to fall
into their power, I am induced to acquaint 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, &c., with them,--so
that the prize-crew had a fair opportunity of plundering such
articles as they thought proper; which opportunity they took care to
profit by, as many of our men were pillaged of all they possessed,
excepting what they had on at the time; and the officers in like
manner were plundered on board the _Medway_. The midshipmen, some of
them, were completely stripped; others lost their watches, &c. For
my own part, I came off with the loss of about half my clothing, and
thought myself well off when compared with the losses of my shipmates.
The morning after our capture, we were mustered on the quarter-deck,
to undergo a search; the men were then stripped to the skin, and
their clothing not returned; so that many of them were left without
any thing more then a shirt and trowsers. The next day, Mr. Barton
(the first lieutenant of the _Medway_) distributed the clothing he
had taken from our men, to his quarter-masters and quarter-gunners,
in my presence.
After being on board the _Medway_ five weeks, we were landed at
Simon-Town, twenty-five miles to the eastward of the Cape of Good
Hope; myself and brother officers paroled, and the men marched to
Cape-Town under an escort of dragoons; being obliged to ford a lake
on the march, where the boys were compelled to go over on the backs
of the tall men; this march of twenty-five miles was performed in
one day, and without shoes or food; the latter article they were
kept without four and twenty hours; their shoes were stolen by the
crew of the _Medway_ while they were asleep. After remaining in this
situation nearly eight months, without bed or bedding, (they were not
even furnished with straw, and their hammocks were taken on a plea
of their being public property,) we were all embarked in different
men-of-war and Indiamen for England; myself, and about sixty officers
and men, in the Cumberland, seventy-four, Captain Baker, were all put
on the lower gun-deck without distinction, among their own crew, and
fed on prisoners’ allowance; and on my remonstrating with the captain
for receiving such treatment, he ordered me off the quarter-deck,
with a threat, at the same time, to put me in irons.
We remained in this situation eighteen days, after which Lieut.
German, Gordon, and myself, were removed to the Grampus, thirty, at
St. Helena, admitted to the ward-room mess, and treated with civility.
With respect, I have the honor, &c.,
N. D. NICHOLSON.