AMERICAN PRISONERS OF THEREVOLUTIONBYDANSKE DANDRIDGEDedicationTO THE MEMORY OF MYGRANDFATHERLieutenant Daniel Bedinger, ofBedford, Virginia"A BOY IN PRISON"AS REPRESENTATIVE OF ALLTHAT WAS BRAVEST AND MOSTHONORABLE IN THE LIFE ANDCHARACTER OF THE PATRIOTSOF 1776PREFACEThe writer ofthis book has beeninterested for many years in the subjectofthe sufferings ofthe Americanprisoners ofthe Revolution. Findingthe information she sought widelyscattered, she has, for her own use, andfor that ofall students ofthe subject,gathered all the facts she could obtainwithin the covers ofthis volume. Thereis little that is original in thecompilation. The reader will find thatextensive use has been made ofsuchnarratives as that Captain Dring has leftus. The accounts could have been givenin the compiler's own words, but theywould only, thereby, have lost instrength. The original narratives are allout ofprint, very scarce and hard toobtain, and the writer feels justified inreprinting them in this collection, forthe sake ofthe general reader interestedin the subject, and not able to searchfor himselfthrough the mass oforiginal material, some ofwhich shehas only discovered after months ofresearch. Her work has mainlyconsisted in abridging these records,collected from so many differentsources.The writer desires to express her thanksto the courteous librarians oftheLibrary ofCongress and ofthe Warand Navy Departments; to Dr.Langworthy for permission to publishhis able and interesting paper on thesubject ofthe prisons in New York,and to many others who have helpedher in her task.DANSKE DANDRIDGE.December 6th, 1910.CONTENTS.CHAPTERPREFACEI. INTRODUCTORYII. THE RIFLEMEN OF THEREVOLUTIONIII. NAMES OF SOME OF THEPRISONERS OF 1776IV. THE PRISONERS OF NEWYORK JONATHAN GILLETTV. WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM, THEPROVOST MARSHALVI. THE CASE OF JABEZ FITCHVII. THE HOSPITAL DOCTOR ATORY'S ACCOUNT OF NEW YORKIN 1777 ETHAN ALLEN'SACCOUNT OF THE PRISONERSVIII. THE ACCOUNT OFALEXANDER GRAYDONIX. A FOUL PAGE OF ENGLISHHISTORYX. A BOY IN PRISONXI. THE NEWSPAPERS OF THEREVOLUTIONXII. THE TRUMBULL PAPERSAND OTHER SOURCES OFINFORMATIONXIII. A JOURNAL KEPT IN THEPROVOSTXIV. FURTHER TESTIMONY OFCRUELTIES ENDURED BYAMERICAN PRISONERSXV. THE OLD SUGAR HOUSETRINITY CHURCHYARDXVI. CASE OF JOHNBLATCHFORDXVII. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ANDOTHERS ON THE SUBJECT OFAMERICAN PRISONERSXVIII. THE ADVENTURES OFANDREW SHERBURNEXIX. MORE ABOUT THEENGLISH PRISONS MEMOIR OFELI BICKFORD CAPTAINFANNINGXX. SOME SOUTHERN NAVALPRISONERSXXI. EXTRACTS FROMNEWSPAPERS SOME OF THEPRISON SHIPS CASE OF CAPTAINBIRDSALLXXII. THE JOURNAL OF DR.ELIAS CORNELIUS BRITISHPRISONS IN THE SOUTHXXIII. A POET ON A PRISON SHIPXXIV. "THERE WAS A SHIP!"XXV. A DESCRIPTION OF THEJERSEYXXVI. THE EXPERIENCE OFEBENEZER FOXXXVII. THE EXPERIENCE OFEBENEZER FOX (CONTINUED)XXVIII. THE CASE OFCHRISTOPHER HAWKINSXXIX. TESTIMONY OFPRISONERS ON BOARD THEJERSEYXXX. RECOLLECTIONS OFANDREW SHERBURNEXXXI. CAPTAIN ROSWELLPALMERXXXII. THE NARRATIVE OFCAPTAIN ALEXANDER COFFINXXXIII. A WONDERFULDELIVERANCEXXXIV. THE NARRATIVE OFCAPTAIN DRINGXXXV. THE NARRATIVE OFCAPTAIN DRING (CONTINUED)XXXVI. THE INTERMENT OFTHE DEADXXXVII. DAME GRANT AND HERBOATXXXVIII. THE SUPPLIES FOR THEPRISONERSXXXIX. FOURTH OF JULY ONTHE JERSEYXL. AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPEXLI. THE MEMORIAL TOGENERAL WASHINGTONXLII. THE EXCHANGEXLIII. THE CARTEL CAPTAINDRING'S NARRATIVE(CONTINUED)XLIV. CORRESPONDENCE OFWASHINGTON AND OTHERSXLV. GENERAL WASHINGTONAND REAR ADMIRAL DIGBYCOMMISSARIES SPROAT ANDSKINNERXLVI. SOME OF THE PRISONERSON BOARD THE JERSEYCONCLUSIONAPPENDIX A. LIST OF 8000 MENWHO WERE PRISONERS ONBOARD THE OLD JERSEYAPPENDIX B. THE PRISON SHIPMARTYRS OF THE REVOLUTION,AND AN UNPUBLISHED DIARYOF ONE OF THEM, WILLIAMSLADE, NEW CANAAN, CONN.,LATER OF CORNWALL, VT.APPENDIX C. BIBLIOGRAPHYCHAPTER IINTRODUCTORYIt is with no desire to excite animosityagainst a people whose blood is in ourveins that we publish this volume offacts about some ofthe Americans,seamen and soldiers, who were sounfortunate as to fall into the hands ofthe enemy during the period oftheRevolution. We have concealed nothingofthe truth, but we have set nothingdown in malice, or with unduerecrimination.It is for the sake ofthe martyrs oftheprisons themselves that this work hasbeen executed. It is because we, as apeople, ought to know what wasendured; what wretchedness, whatrelentless torture, even unto death, wasnobly borne by the men who perishedby thousands in British prisons andprison ships ofthe Revolution; it isbecause we are in danger offorgettingthe sacrifice they made oftheir freshyoung lives in the service oftheircountry; because the story has neverbeen adequately told, that we, howeverunfit we may feel ourselves for the task,have made an effort to give the peopleofAmerica some account ofthemanner in which these young heroes,the flower ofthe land, in the prime oftheir vigorous manhood, met theirterrible fate.Too long have they lain in the ditcheswhere they were thrown, a cart-full at atime, like dead dogs, by their heartlessmurderers, unknown, unwept,unhonored, and unremembered. Whocan tell us their names? Whatmonument has been raised to theirmemories?It is true that a beautiful shaft has latelybeen erected to the martyrs oftheJersey prison ship, about whom we willhave very much to say. But it isimprobable that even the place ofinterment ofthe hundreds ofprisoners who perished in the churches,sugar houses, and other places used asprisons in New York in the early yearsofthe Revolution, can now bediscovered. We know that they were,for the most part, dumped into ditchesdug on the outskirts ofthe little city,the New York of1776. These ditcheswere dug by American soldiers, as partofthe entrenchments, duringWashington's occupation ofManhattanin the spring of1776. Little did theseyoung men think that they were, insome cases, literally digging a grave forthemselves.More than a hundred and thirty yearshave passed since the victims ofCunningham's cruelty and rapacity werestarved to death in churchesconsecrated to the praise and worshipofa God oflove. It is a tardyrecognition that we are giving them,and one that is most imperfect, yet it isall that we can now do. The ditcheswhere they were interred have long agobeen filled up, built over, andintersected by streets. Who ofthemultitude that daily pass to and froover the ground that should be sacredever give a thought to the remains ofthe brave men beneath their feet, whoperished that they might enjoy theblessings ofliberty?Republics are ungrateful; they haveshort memories; but it is due to themartyrs ofthe Revolution that someattempt should be made to tell to thegenerations that succeed them who theywere, what they did, and why theysuffered so terribly and died so grimly,without weakening, and withoutbetraying the cause ofthat countrywhich was dearer to them than theirlives.We have, for the most part, limitedourselves to the prisons and prisonships in the city and on the waters ofNew York. This is because suchinformation as we have been able toobtain concerning the treatment ofAmerican prisoners by the Britishrelates, almost entirely, to that locality.It is a terrible story that we are about tonarrate, and we warn the lover ofpleasant books to lay down our volumeat the first page. We shall seeCunningham, that burly, red-facedruffian, the Provost Marshal, wreakinghis vengeance upon the defencelessprisoners in his keeping, for the assaultmade upon him at the outbreak ofthewar, when he and a companion whohad made themselves obnoxious to therepublicans were mobbed and beatenin the streets ofNew York. He wasrescued by some friends oflaw andorder, and locked up in one ofthe jailswhich was soon to be the theatre ofhisrevenge. We shall narrate the sufferingsofthe American prisoners taken at thetime ofthe battle ofLong Island, andafter the surrender ofFort Washington,which events occurred, the first inAugust, the second in November ofthe year 1776.What we have been able to glean frommany sources, none ofwhichcontradict each other in any importantpoint, about the prisons and prisonships in New York, with a fewnarratives written by those who wereimprisoned in other places, shall fill thisvolume. Perhaps others, far better fittedfor the task, will make the necessaryresearches, in order to lay before theAmerican people a statement ofwhattook place in the British prisons atHalifax, Charleston, Philadelphia, thewaters offthe coast ofFlorida, andother places, during the eight years ofthe war. It is a solemn and affectingduty that we owe to the dead, and it isin no light spirit that we, for our part,begin our portion ofthe task.CHAPTER IITHE RIFLEMEN OF THEREVOLUTIONWe will first endeavor to give the readersome idea ofthe men who wereimprisoned in New York in the fall andwinter of1776, It was in the summerofthat year that Congress ordered aregiment ofriflemen to be raised inMaryland and Virginia. These, with theso-called "Flying Camp" ofPennsylvania, made the bulk ofthesoldiers taken prisoners at FortWashington on the fatal 16th ofNovember. Washington had alreadyproved to his own satisfaction the valueofsuch soldiers; not only by hisexperience with them in the French andIndian wars, but also during the siegeofBoston in 1775-6.These hardy young riflemen were atfirst called by the British "regulars," "arabble in calico petticoats," as a term ofcontempt. Their uniform consisted oftow linen or homespun hunting shirts,buckskin breeches, leggings andmoccasins. They wore round felt hats,looped on one side and ornamentedwith a buck tail. They carried longrifles, shot pouches, tomahawks, andscalping knives.They soon proved themselves ofgreatvalue for their superior marksmanship,and the British, who began by scoffingat them, ended by fearing and hatingthem as they feared and hated no othertroops. The many accounts ofthe skillofthese riflemen are interesting, andsome ofthem shall be given here.One ofthe first companies thatmarched to the aid ofWashingtonwhen he was at Cambridge in 1775 wasthat ofCaptain Michael Cresap, whichwas raised partly in Maryland andpartly in the western part ofVirginia.This gallant young officer died in NewYork in the fall of1775, a year beforethe surrender ofFort Washington, yethis company may be taken as a fairsample ofwhat the riflemen ofthefrontiers ofour country were, and ofwhat they could do. We will thereforegive the words ofan eyewitness oftheir performances. This account istaken from the Pennsylvania Journal ofAugust 23rd, 1775."On Friday evening last arrived atLancaster, Pa., on their way to theAmerican camp, Captain Cresap'sCompany ofRiflemen, consisting ofone hundred and thirty active, braveyoung fellows, many ofwhom havebeen in the late expedition under LordDunmore against the Indians. Theybear in their bodies visible marks oftheir prowess, and show scars andwounds which would do honour toHomer's Iliad. They show you, to usethe poet's words:"'Where the gor'd battle bled at ev'ryvein!'"One ofthese warriors in particularshows the cicatrices offour bulletholes through his body."These men have been bred in thewoods to hardships and dangers sincetheir infancy. They appear as iftheywere entirely unacquainted with, andhad never felt the passion offear. Withtheir rifles in their hands, they assume akind ofomnipotence over theirenemies. One cannot much wonder atthis when we mention a fact which canbe fully attested by several ofthereputable persons who were eye-witnesses ofit. Two brothers in thecompany took a piece ofboard fiveinches broad, and seven inches long,with a bit ofwhite paper, the size ofadollar, nailed in the centre, and whileone ofthem supported this boardperpendicularly between his knees, theother at the distance ofupwards ofsixty yards, and without any kind ofrest, shot eight bullets through itsuccessively, and spared a brother'sthigh!"Another ofthe company held a barrelstave perpendicularly in his hands, withone edge close to his side, while one ofhis comrades, at the same distance, andin the manner before mentioned, shotseveral bullets through it, without anyapprehension ofdanger on either side."The spectators appearing to be amazedat these feats, were told that there wereupwards offifty persons in the samecompany who could do the same thing;that there was not one who could not'plug nineteen bullets out oftwenty,' asthey termed it, within an inch ofthehead ofa ten-penny nail."In short, to evince the confidence theypossessed in these kind ofarms, someofthem proposed to stand with appleson their heads, while others at the samedistance undertook to shoot them off,but the people who saw the otherexperiments declined to be witnessesofthis."At night a great fire was kindledaround a pole planted in the CourtHouse Square, where the company withthe Captain at their head, all naked tothe waist and painted like savages(except the Captain, who was in anIndian shirt), indulged a vast concourseofpeople with a perfect exhibition ofawar-dance and all the manoeuvres ofIndians; holding council, going to war;circumventing their enemies by defiles;ambuscades; attacking; scalping, etc. Itis said by those who are judges that norepresentation could possibly comenearer the original. The Captain'sexpertness and agility, in particular, inthese experiments, astonished everybeholder. This morning they will setout on their march for Cambridge."From the Virginia Gazette ofJuly 22nd,1775, we make the following extract:"A correspondent informs us that oneofthe gentlemen appointed tocommand a company ofriflemen to beraised in one ofthe frontier countiesofPennsylvania had so manyapplications from the people in hisneighborhood, to be enrolled in theservice, that a greater number presentedthemselves than his instructionspermitted him to engage, and beingunwilling to give offence to any hethought ofthe following expedient:He, with a piece ofchalk, drew on aboard the figure ofa nose ofthecommon size, which he placed at thedistance of150 yards, declaring thatthose who came nearest the markshould be enlisted. Sixty odd hit theobject. General Gage, take care ofyournose!"From the Pennsylvania Journal, July 25th,1775: "Captain Dowdle with hiscompany ofriflemen from Yorktown,Pa., arrived at Cambridge about oneo'clock today, and since has madeproposals to General Washington toattack the transport stationed at CharlesRiver. He will engage to take her withthirty men. The General thinks it bestto decline at present, but at the sametime commends the spirit ofCaptainDowdle and his brave men, who,though they just came a very longmarch, offered to execute the planimmediately."In the third volume ofAmericanArchives, is an extract from a letter to agentleman in Philadelphia, datedFrederick Town, Maryland, August 1st,1775, which speaks ofthe samecompany ofriflemen whose wonderfulmarksmanship we have already noted.The writer says:"Notwithstanding the urgency ofmybusiness I have been detained herethree days by a circumstance trulyagreeable. I have had the happiness ofseeing Captain Michael Cresapmarching at the head ofa formidablecompany ofupwards ofone hundredand thirty men from the mountains andbackwoods; painted like Indians; armedwith tomahawks and rifles; dressed inhunting shirts and moccasins; and, tho'some ofthem had travelled hundredsofmiles from the banks ofthe Ohio,they seemed to walk light and easy, andnot with less spirit than at the first houroftheir march."I was favored by being constantly inCaptain Cresap's company, andwatched the behavior ofhis men andthe manner in which he treated them,for is seems that all who go out to warunder him do not only pay the mostwilling obedience to him as theircommander, but in every instance ofdistress look up to him as their friendand father. A great part ofhis time wasspent in listening to and relieving theirwants, without any apparent sense offatigue and trouble. When complaintswere before him he determined withkindness and spirit, and on everyoccasion condescended to pleasewithout losing dignity."Yesterday, July 31st, the company weresupplied with a small quantity ofpowder, from the magazine, whichwanted airing, and was not in goodorder for rifles: in the evening, however,they were drawn out to show thegentlemen ofthe town their dexterityin shooting. A clap board with a markthe size ofa dollar was put up; theybegan to fire offhand, and thebystanders were surprised. Few shotswere made that were not close to, orinto, the paper. When they had shotsome time in this way, some lay on theirbacks, some on their breasts or sides,others ran twenty or thirty steps, and,firing as they ran, appeared to beequally certain ofthe mark. With thisperformance the company were morethan satisfied, when a young man tookup the board in his hand, and not bythe end, but by the side, and, holding itup, his brother walked to the distance,and coolly shot into the white. Layingdown his rifle he took the board, andholding it as it was held before, thesecond brother shot as the former haddone."By this exhibition I was moreastonished than pleased, but will youbelieve me when I tell you that one ofthe men took the board, and placing itbetween his legs, stood with his back toa tree, while another drove the centre?"What would a regular army ofconsiderable strength in the forests ofAmerica do with one thousand ofthese men, who want nothing topreserve their health but water from thespring; with a little parched corn (withwhat they can easily procure byhunting); and who, wrapped in theirblankets in the dead ofnight, wouldchoose the shade ofa tree for theircovering, and the earth for their bed?"The descriptions we have quoted applyto the rifle companies of1775, butthey are a good general description ofthe abilities ofthe riflemen raised inthe succeeding years ofthe war, manyindeed being the same men who firstvolunteered in 1775. In the possessionofone ofhis descendants is a letterfrom one ofthese men written manyyears after the Revolution to the son ofan old comrade in arms, giving anaccount ofthat comrade's experiencesduring a part ofthe war. The letter waswritten by Major Henry Bedinger ofBerkeley County, Virginia, to a son ofGeneral Samuel Finley.Henry Bedinger was descended froman old German family. His grandfatherhad emigrated to America from Alsacein 1737 to escape persecution for hisreligious beliefs. The highest rank thatBedinger attained in the War oftheRevolution was that ofcaptain. He wasa Knight ofthe Order oftheCincinnati, and he was, after the war, amajor ofthe militia ofBerkeleyCounty. The document in possessionofone ofhis descendants is undated,and appears to have been a rough copyor draught ofthe original, which maynow be in the keeping ofsome one ofthe descendants ofGeneral Finley. Wewill give it almost entire. Such familyletters are, we need scarcely say, ofgreatvalue to all who are interested inhistorical research, supplying, as theydo, the necessary details which fill outand amplify the bare facts ofhistory,giving us a living picture ofthe timesand events that they describe.PART OF A LETTER FROM MAJORHENRY BEDINGER TO A SON OFGENERAL SAMUEL FINLEY"Some time in 1774 the late Gen'l Sam'lFinley Came to Martinsburg, BerkeleyCounty, Virginia, and engaged with thelate Col'o John Morrow to assist hisbrother, Charles Morrow, in thebusiness ofa retail store."Mr. Finley continued in thatemployment until the spring of1775,when Congress called on the State ofVirginia for two Complete IndependentVolunteer Companies ofRiflemen ofl00 Men each, to assist Gen'lWashington in the Siege ofBoston &to serve one year. Captains HughStephenson ofBerkeley, & DanielMorgan ofFrederick were selected toraise and command those companies,they being the first Regular troopsrequired to be raised in the State ofVirginia for Continental service."Captain Hugh Stephenson'srendezvous was Shepherd's Town (notMartinsburg) and Captain Morgan'swas Winchester. Great exertions weremade by each Captain to complete hiscompany first, that merit might beclaimed on that account. Volunteerspresented themselves in every directionin the Vicinity ofthese Towns, nonewere received but young men ofCharacter, and ofsufficient property toClothe themselves completely, find theirown arms, and accoutrements, that is,an approved Rifle, handsome shotpouch, and powder horn, blanket,knapsack, with such decent clothing asshould be prescribed, but which was atfirst ordered to be only a Hunting shirtand pantaloons, fringed on every edgeand in Various ways."Our Company was raised in less than aweek. Morgan had equal success. It wasnever decided which Company was firstfilled "These Companies being thusunexpectedly called for it was a difficulttask to obtain rifles ofthe qualityrequired & we were detained atShepherds Town nearly six weeksbefore we could obtain such. YourFather and some ofhis BosomCompanions were among the firstenrolled. My Brother, G. M. B., andmyself, with many ofour Companions,soon joined to the amount of100 nomore could be received. TheCommittee ofSafety had appointedWm Henshaw as 1st Lieut., GeorgeScott 2nd, and Thomas Hite as 3rdLieut to this Company, this latterhowever, declined accepting, andAbraham Shepherd succeeded as 3dLieut all the rest Stood on an equalfooting as Volunteers We remained atShepherds Town untill the 16th Julybefore we could be Completely armed,notwithstanding the utmost exertions.In the mean time your Father obtainedfrom the gunsmith a remarkable neatlight rifle, the stock inlaid andornamented with silver, which he held,untill Compelled, as were all ofus toground our arms and surrender to theenemy on the evening ofthe 16th dayofNovember 1776."In our Company were many youngmen ofConsiderable fortune, & whogenerally entered from patriotic motives... Our time ofservice being about toexpire Captain Hugh Stephenson wascommissioned a Colonel; MosesRawlings a Lieutenant Colonel, andOtho Williams Major, to raise a RifleRegiment for three years: fourcompanies to be raised in Virginia andfour in Maryland."Henshaw and Scott chose to returnhome. Abraham Shepherd wascommissioned Captain, Sam'l FinleyFirst Lieutenant, William Kelly SecondLieutenant, and myself3rd Lieutenant.The Commissions ofthe Field Officerswere dated the 8th July, 1776, & thoseofour Company the 9th ofthe samemonth. Shepherd, Finley and myselfwere dispatched to Berkeley to recruitand refill the old Company, which weperformed in about five weeks. Col'oStephenson also returned to Virginia tofacilitate the raising the additionalCompanies. While actively employed inAugust, 1776, he was taken sick, and infour days died. The command oftheRegiment devolved on LieutenantColonel Moses Rawlings, a Very worthyand brave officer."Our Company being filled weMarched early in September to ourRendezvous at Bergen. So soon as theRegiment was formed it was orderedup the North River to the EnglishNeighborhood, & in a short timeordered to cross the River and assist inthe defence ofFort Washington, wherewere about three thousand men underthe command ofCol'o Magaw, on NewYork Island. The enemy in the meantime possessed New York, and hadfollowed General Washington to theWhite Plains, from whence, after severalpartial actions, he returned, andapproached us by the way ofKing'sbridge, with a force offrom 8 to 12000Men. Several frigates ran up theHudson from New York to cut offourintercourse with Fort Lee, a fort on theopposite bank ofthe North River: andby regular approaches invested us on allsides."On the 15th November, 1776, theBritish General Pattison appeared witha flag near our Guards, demanding asurrender ofFort Washington and theGarrison. Col'o Magaw replied heshould defend it to the last extremity.Pattison declared all was ready to stormthe lines and fort, we ofcourseprepared for the Pending contest."At break ofday the next morning, theenemy commenced a tremendousCannonade on every side, while theirtroops advanced. Our Regt. tho weak,was most advantageously posted byRawlings and Williams, on a SmallRidge, about halfa mile above FortWashington. The Ridge ran from theNorth River, in which lay three frigates,towards the East River. A deep Valleydivided us from the enemy, theirfrigates enfiladed, & their Cannon onthe heights behind the advancingtroops played incessantly on our party(consisting ofRawling's Regiment, say250 men, and one other company fromMaryland, and four companies ofPennsylvania Flying Camp, also for thepresent commanded by Rawlings andWilliams)."The Artillery were endeavoring toclear the hill while their troops crossingthe Valley were ascending it, butwithout much effect. A few ofour menwere killed with Cannon and GrapeShott. Not a Shott was fired on ourside untill the Enemy had nearly gainedthe Sumit. Though at least five timesour numbers our rifles brought downso many that they gave way severaltimes, but by their overwhelmingnumbers they at last succeeded inpossessing the summit. Here, however,was great carnage, each making everyeffort to possess and hold soadvantageous a position. This obstinacycontinued for more than an hour, whenthe enemy brought up some fieldpieces, as well as reinforcements.Finding all resistance useless, ourRegiment gradually gave way, tho' notbefore Col'o Rawlings, Major Williams,Peter Hanson, Nin Tannehill, andmyselfwere wounded. Lt. Harrison[Footnote: Lieutenant BattailleHarrison ofBerkeley County, Va.] wasthe only officer ofour RegimentKilled. Hanson and Tannehill weremortally wounded. The latter died thesame night in the Fort, & Hanson diedin New York a short time after. Capt. A.Shepherd, Lieut. Daniel Cresap andmyself, with fifty men, were detailed theday before the action and placed in thevan to receive the enemy as they cameup the hill."The Regiment was paraded in lineabout fifty yards in our rear, ready tosupport us. Your Father ofcourse onthat day, and in the whole ofthe actioncommanded Shepherd's Company,which performed its duty admirably.About two o'clock P. M. the Enemyobtained complete possession ofthehill, and former battle-ground. Ourtroops retreated gradually from redoubtto redoubt, contesting every inch ofground, still making dreadful Havoc inthe ranks ofthe enemy. We labouredtoo under disadvantages, the wind blewthe smoke full in our faces. About twoo'clock A. Shepherd, being the seniorCaptain, took command oftheRegiment, [Footnote: After Rawlingsand Williams were disabled.] and by theadvice ofCol'o Rawlings & MajorWilliams, gradually retreated fromredoubt to redoubt, to & into the fortwith the surviving part oftheRegiment. Col'o Rawlings, MajorWilliams, and Lt Hanson and myselfquitted the field together, and retreatedto the fort. I was slightly wounded, thomy right hand was rendered entirelyuseless. Your Father continued with theregiment until all had arrived in thefort. It was admitted by all thesurviving officers that he hadconducted himselfwith great gallantryand the utmost propriety."While we were thus engaged theenemy succeeded much better in everyother quarter, & with little comparativeloss. All were driven into the fort andthe enemy began by sundown to breakground within 100 yards ofthe fort."Finding our situation desperate Col'oMagaw dispatched a flag to Gen. Howewho Commanded in person, proposingto surrender on certain conditions,which not being agreed to, other termswere proposed and accepted. Thegarrison, consisting of2673 privates, &210 officers, marched out, groundedarms, and were guarded to the WhiteHouse that same night, but instead ofbeing treated as agreed on, and allowedto retain baggage, clothes, and SideArms, every valuable article was tornaway from both officers and soldiers:every sword, pistol, every good hat wasseized, even in presence ofBrittishofficers, & the prisoners wereconsidered and treated as Rebels, to theking and country. On the third day afterour surrender we were guarded to NewYork, fourteen miles from FortWashington, where in the evening wereceived some barrels ofraw pork andmusty spoiled biscuit, being the firstMorsel ofprovision we had seen formore than three days. The officers werethen separated from the soldiers, hadarticles ofparole presented to us whichwe signed, placed into deserted houseswithout Clothing, provisions, or fire.No officer was permitted to have aservant, but we acted in rotation,carried our Cole and Provisions abouthalfa mile on our backs, Cooked aswell as we could, and tried to keepfrom Starving."Our poor Soldiers fared mostwretchedly different. They werecrowded into sugar houses and Jailswithout blankets or covering; had Verylittle given to them to eat, and that littleofthe Very worst quality. So that in twomonths and four days about 1900 ofthe Fort Washington troops had died.The survivors were sent out andreceipted for by General Washington,and we the officers were sent to LongIsland on parole, and billetted, two in ahouse, on the families residing in thelittle townships ofFlatbush, NewUtrecht, Newlots, and Gravesend, whowere compelled to board and lodge usat the rate oftwo dollars per week, asmall compensation indeed in theexhausted state ofthat section ofcountry. The people were kind, beingmostly conquered Whigs, butsometimes hard run to providesustenance for their own families, withthe addition, generally, oftwo menwho must have a share ofwhat couldbe obtained. These people could nothave furnished us but for the advantageofthe fisheries, and access at all timesto the water. Fish, oysters, clams, Eels,and wild fowl could always be obtainedin their season."We were thus fixed on the inhabitants,but without money, or clothing.Sometimes a companion would receivea few hard dollars from a friendthrough a flag oftruce, which wasoften shared by others to purchase apair ofshoes or a shirt."While in New York Major Williamsreceived from a friend about forty silverdollars. He was still down with hiswound, but requested CaptainShepherd, your Father and myselftocome to his room, and there lent eachofus ten Dollars, which enabled eachofus to purchase a pair shoes, a shirt,and some other small matters: thisliberality however, gave some offence.Major Williams was a Marylander, andto assist a Virginian, in preference to aMarylander, was a Crime almostunpardonable. It however passed off, asit so happened there were somerefugees in New York from Marylandwho had generosity enough to relievethe pressing wants ofa few oftheirformer acquaintances."We thus lived in want and perfectidleness for years: tho sometimes ifBooks could be obtained we made outto read: ifpaper, pen, and ink could behad we wrote. Also to preventbecoming too feeble we exercised ourbodies by playing fives, throwing longbullets, wrestling, running, jumping,and other athletick exercises, in all ofwhich your Father fully participated.Being all nearly on the same footing asto Clothing and pocket money (that iswe seldom had any ofthe latter) welived on an equality."In the fall of1777 the BrittishCommander was informed a plan wasforming by a party ofAmericans topass over to Long Island and sweep usoff, release us from captivity. Therewere then on the Island about threehundred American officers prisoners.We were ofcourse ordered offimmediately, and placed on board oftwo large transports in the North River,as prison ships, where we remained butabout 18 days, but it being Very Cold,and we Confined between decks, theSteam and breath of150 men soongave us Coughs, then fevers, and hadwe not been removed back to ourbillets I believe One halfwould havedied in six weeks. This is all theimprisonment your "The rest ofthis valuable letter has been,most unfortunately lost, or possibly itwas never completed.We have given a great deal ofit becauseofits graphic description ofthe menwho were captured at Fort Washington,and ofthe battle itself. Major Bedingerwas a dignified, well-to-do, countrygentleman; honored and respected byall who knew him, and ofunimpeachable veracity.CHAPTER IIINAMES OF SOME OF THEPRISONERS OF 1776As we have seen, the officers fared wellin comparison with the wretchedprivates. Paroled and allowed thefreedom ofthe city, they had far betteropportunities to obtain the necessitiesoflife. "Our poor soldiers fared mostwretchedly different," says MajorBedinger.Before we begin, however, to speak ofthe treatment they received, we mustmake some attempt to tell the readerwho they were. We wish it werepossible to give the name ofeveryprivate who died, or rather who wasmurdered, in the prisons ofNew Yorkat this time. But that, we fear, is now animpossibility. As this account isdesigned as a memorial to thosemartyred privates, we have made manyefforts to obtain their names. But ifthemuster rolls ofthe different companieswho formed the Rifle Regiment, thePennsylvania Flying Camp, and theother troops captured by the British inthe summer and fall of1776 are inexistence, we have not been able to findthem.The records ofthe Revolution kept inthe War Department in England havebeen searched in vain by Americanhistorians. It is said that the ProvostMarshal, William Cunningham,destroyed his books, in order to leaveno written record ofhis crimes. Thenames of8,000 prisoners, mostlyseamen, who were confined on theprison ship Jersey, alone, have beenobtained by the Society ofOldBrooklynites, from the British Archives,and, by the kind permission ofthisSociety, we re-publish them in theAppendix to this volume.Here and there, also, we have obtaineda name ofone ofthe brave youngriflemen who died in torment ahundred times worse, because so muchless swift, than that endured on amemorable occasion in India, whenBritish soldiers were placed, during asingle night, into one oftheir own"Black Holes." But the names ofalmost all ofthese our torturedcountrymen are forgotten as completelyas their places ofinterment areneglected.In the hands ofthe writer, however, atthis time [Footnote: This muster rollwas lent to the writer by HenryBedinger Davenport, Esq, a descendantofMajor Bedinger] is the pay-roll ofone ofthese companies ofriflemen,that ofCaptain Abraham Shepherd ofShepherdstown, Virginia. It is in thehandwriting ofHenry Bedinger, one ofthe lieutenants ofthe company.We propose to take this list, or pay roll,as a sample, and to follow, as well as wecan, at this late day, the misfortunes ofthe men named therein. For thispurpose we will first give the list ofnames, and afterwards attempt toindicate how many ofthe men died inconfinement, and how many lived to beexchanged.MUSTER ROLLThe paper in question, falling to pieceswith age, and almost illegible in places,is headed, "An ABSTRACT ofthe Paydue the Officers and Privates oftheCompany ofRiflemen belonging toCaptain Abraham Shepherd, being partofa Battalion raised by Colonel HughStevenson, deceased, and afterwardscommanded by Lieut Colonel MosesRawlings, in the Continental Servicefrom July 1st, 1776, to October 1st,1778." The paper gives the dates ofenlistment; those who were killed;those who died; those who deserted;those who were discharged; drafted;made prisoners; "dates until when payis charged;" "pay per month;" "amountin Dollars," and "amount in lawfulMoney, Pounds, Shillings and pence."From this account much informationcan be gleaned concerning themembers ofthe company, but we will,for the present, content ourselves withgiving the muster roll ofthe company.MUSTER ROLL OF CAPTAINABRAHAM SHEPHERD'SCOMPANY OF RIFLEMENRAISED IN JULY, 1776Captain Abraham Shepherd. FirstLieutenant, Samuel Finley. SecondLieutenant, William Kelly. ThirdLieutenant, Henry Bedinger. FirstSergeant, John Crawford. SecondSergeant, John Kerney. Third Sergeant,Robert Howard. Fourth Sergeant,Dennis Bush. First Corporal, JohnSeaburn. Second Corporal, EvertHoglant. Third Corporal, ThomasKnox. Fourth Corporal, JonathanGibbons. Drummer, Stephen Vardine.Fifer, Thomas Cook. Armourer, JamesRoberts.Privates, William Anderson, JacobWine, Richard Neal, Peter Hill, WilliamWaller, Adam Sheetz, James Hamilton,George Taylor, Adam Rider, PatrickVaughan, Peter Hanes, John Malcher,Peter Snyder, Daniel Bedinger, JohnBarger, William Hickman, ThomasPollock, Bryan Timmons, ThomasMitchell, Conrad Rush, David Harman,James Aitken, William Wilson, JohnWilson, Moses McComesky, ThomasBeatty, John Gray, Valentine Fritz,Zechariah Bull, William Moredock,Charles Collins, Samuel Davis, ConradCabbage, John Cummins, GabrielStevens, Michael Wolf, John Lewis,William Donnelly, David Gilmore, JohnCassody, Samuel Blount, Peter Good,George Helm, William Bogle (or Boyle),John Nixon, Anthony Blackhead,Christian Peninger, Charles Jones,William Case, Casper Myre, GeorgeBrown, Benjamin McKnight, AnthonyLarkin, William Seaman, CharlesSnowden, John Boulden, John Blake,Nicholas Russell, Benjamin Hughes,James Brown, James Fox, WilliamHicks, Patrick Connell, John Holmes,John McSwaine, James Griffith, PatrickMurphy, James Aitken.Besides the names ofthis company wecan give a few privates ofthePennsylvania Flying Camp who arementioned by Saffel. He adds that, asfar as is known, all ofthese perished inprison, after inscribing their names highup upon the walls.SOME PRIVATES OF THEPENNSYLVANIA FLYING CAMPWHO PERISHED IN PRISON IN1776-7"Charles Fleming, John Wright, JamesMcKinney, Ebenezer Stille, JacobLeinhart, Abraham Van Gordon, PeterD'Aubert, William Carbury, JohnMcDowell, Wm. McKague, HenryParker, James Burns, Henry Yepler,Baltus Weigh, Charles Beason, LeonardHuber, John McCarroll, Jacob Guiger,John May, Daniel Adams, GeorgeMcCormick, Jacob Kettle, Jacob Miller,George Mason, James Kearney, DavidSutor, Adam Bridel, Christian Mull,Daniel McKnight, CorneliusWestbrook, Luke Murphy, JosephConklin, Adam Dennis, EdwardOgden, Wm. Scoonover, JamesRosencrants."The names ofthe officers who wereprisoners in New York after the battleofLong Island and the surrender ofFort Washington, can easily beobtained. But it is not with these, atpresent, that we have to do. We havealready seen how much better was theirtreatment than that accorded to thehapless privates. It is chiefly tocommemmorate the sufferings oftheprivate soldier and seaman in theBritish prisons that this account hasbeen written.CHAPTER IVTHE PRISONS OF NEW YORKJONATHAN GILLETTWe will now endeavor to describe theprincipal places ofconfinement usedby the British in New York during theearly years ofthe war. Lossing, in hisField Book ofthe Revolution, thusspeaks ofthese dens ofmisery: "At thefight around Fort Washington," he says,"only one hundred Americans werekilled, while the British loss was onethousand, chiefly Hessians, But theBritish took a most cruel revenge. Outofover 2600 prisoners taken on thatday, in two months & four days 1900were killed in the infamous sugarhouses and other prisons in the city."Association ofintense horror arelinked with the records ofthe prisonsand prison ships ofNew York.Thousands ofcaptives perishedmiserably ofhunger, cold, infection,and in some cases, actual poison."All the prisoners taken in the battlenear Brooklyn in August, 1776 and atFort Washington in November ofthesame year, were confined in New York,nearly 4000 in all. The New Jail and theNew Bridewell were the only prisons.The former is the present Hall ofRecords. Three sugar houses, somedissenting churches, Columbia College,and the Hospital were all used asprisons. The great fire in September; thescarcity ofprovisions; and the cruelconduct ofthe Provost Marshal allcombined to produce intense sufferingsamong the men, most ofwhomentered into captivity, strong, healthy,young, able-bodied, the flower oftheAmerican youth ofthe day."Van Cortlandt's Sugar House was afamous (or infamous) prison. It stoodon the northwest corner ofTrinitychurch-yard."Rhinelander's Sugar House was on thecorner ofWilliam and Duane Streets.Perhaps the worst ofall the New Yorkprisons was the third Sugar House,which occupied the space on LibertyStreet where two buildings, numbers 34and 36, now stand."The North Dutch Church on WilliamStreet contained 800 prisoners, andthere were perhaps as many in theMiddle Dutch Church. The Friends'Meeting House on Liberty and severalother buildings erected for the worshipofa God oflove were used as prisons."The New Jail was made a ProvostPrison, and here officers and men ofnote were confined. At one time theywere so crowded into this building, thatwhen they lay down upon the floor tosleep all in the row were obliged to turnover at the same time at the call, 'Turnover! Left! Right!'"The sufferings ofthese brave menwere largely due to the criminalindifference ofLoring, Sproat, Lennox,and other Commissaries oftheprisoners."Many ofthe captives were hanged inthe gloom ofnight without trial andwithout a semblance ofjustice."Liberty Street Sugar House was a tall,narrow building five stories in height,and with dismal undergrounddungeons. In this gloomy abode jailfever was ever present. In the hotweather ofJuly, 1777, companies oftwenty at a time would be sent out forhalfan hour's outing, in the court yard.Inside groups ofsix stood for tenminutes at a time at the windows for abreath ofair."There were no seats; the filthy strawbedding was never changed. Every dayat least a dozen corpses were draggedout and pitched like dead dogs into theditches and morasses beyond the city.Escapes, deaths, and exchange at lastthinned the ranks. Hundreds left namesand records on the walls.""In 1778 the hulks ofdecaying shipswere moored in the Wallabout. Theseprison ships were intended for sailorsand seaman taken on the ocean, mostlythe crews ofprivateersmen, but somesoldiers were also sent to languish intheir holds."The first vessels used were transportsin which cattle and other stores hadbeen brought over by the British in1776. These lay in Gravesend Bay andthere many ofthe prisoners taken inbattle near Brooklyn in August, 1776,were confined, until the British tookpossession ofNew York, when theywere moved to that city. In 1778 thehulks ofships were moored in theWallabout, a sheltered bay on the LongIsland shore, where the Navy Yard nowis."The sufferings ofthe prisoners can bebetter understood by giving individualinstances, and wherever this is possibleit shall be done. We will commence byan abstract ofTHE CASE OF JONATHANGILLETT OF WEST HARFORDThis man with seven others wascaptured on Long Island on the 27thofAugust, 1776, before they could taketo their boats. He was at first confinedin a prison ship, but a Masonic brothernamed John Archer procured him theliberty ofthe city on parole. His rank,we believe, was that ofa lieutenant. Hewas a prisoner two years, then wasallowed to go home to die. Heexhibited every symptom ofpoison aswell as starvation.When he was dying he said to his son,Jonathan Gillett, Junior, "Should youenlist and be taken prisoner as I was,inquire for Mr. John Archer, a man withwhom I boarded. He will assist you."In course oftime his son enlisted, wastaken prisoner, and confined in the OldSugar House on Liberty Street. Here hewas nearly starved to death. Theprisoners ate mice, rats, and insects. Heone day found in the prison yard thedry parings ofa turnip which seemedto him a delicious banquet. It isrecorded that Jonathan Gillett, Jr., wasfinally freed from captivity through theefforts ofthe same gentleman, Mr.John Archer, who had aided his father.In 1852 Jacob Barker offered to presentsurvivors who had been confined inthe Old Sugar House with canes madefrom the lumber used in itsconstruction. Four ofthese survivorswere found. Their names were WilliamClark, Samuel Moulton, Levi Hanford,and Jonathan Gillett, Jr. The latter'sfather during his confinement wrote aletter to his friends which has beenpreserved, and is as follows:My Friends,No doubt my misfortunes have reachedyour ears. Sad as it is, it is true as sad. Iwas made prisoner the 27th day ofAugust past by a people called heshens,and by a party called Yagers the mostInhuman ofall Mortals. I can't giveRoom to picture them here but thusmuch I at first Resolved not to betaken, but by the Impertunity oftheSeven taken with me, and beingsurrounded on all sides I unhapilysurendered; would to God I never hadthen I should never (have) known thereunmerciful cruelties; they first disarmedme, then plundered me ofall I had,watch, Buckles, money, and sumClothing, after which they abused meby bruising my flesh with the butts ofthere (guns). They knocked me down; Igot up and they (kept on) beating mealmost all the way to there (camp)where I got shot ofthem the next thingwas I was allmost starved to death bythem. I was keept here 8 days and thensent on board a ship, where I continued39 days and by (them was treated)much worse than when on shore after Iwas set on (shore) at New York (I was)confined (under) a strong guard till the20th day ofNovember, after which Ihave had my liberty to walk part overthe City between sun and sun,notwithstanding there generousallowance offood I must inevitablyhave perished with hunger had not sumfriends in this (city) Relieved myextreme necessity, but I cant expect theycan always do it what I shall do next Iknow not, being naked for clothes andvoid ofmoney, and winter present, andprovisions very skerce; fresh meat oneshilling per pound, Butter threeshillings per pound, Cheese twoshillings, Turnips and potatoes at ashilling a halfpeck, milk 15 Coppersper quart, bread equally as dear; and theGeneral says he cant find us fuel thro'the winter, tho' at present we receivesum cole. [Footnote: I have made nochanges in this letter except to fill upsome blanks and to add a few marks ofpunctuation.]"I was after put on board siezedviolently with the disentarry it followedme hard upwards ofsix weeks afterthat a slow fever, but now am vastlybetter * * * my sincere love to you andmy children. May God keep andpreserve you at all times from sin,sickness, and death * * * I willEndeavor to faintly lead you into thepoor cituation the soldiers are in,espechally those taken at Long Islandwhere I was; in fact these cases aredeplorable and they are Real objects ofpitty they are still confined and inhouses where there is no fire poormortals, with little or no clothesperishing with hunger, offering eightdollars in paper for one in silver toRelieve there distressing hunger;occasioned for want offood therenatures are broke and gone, somealmost loose there voices and somethere hearing they are crouded intochurches & there guarded night andday. I cant paint the horable appearancethey make it is shocking to humannature to behold them. Could I drawthe curtain from before you; thereexpose to your view a lean Jawd mortal,hunger laid his skinny hand (upon him)and whet to keenest Edge his stomachcravings, sorounded with tattredgarments, Rotten Rags, close beset withunwelcome vermin. Could I do this, Isay, possable I might in some (small)manner fix your idea with whatappearance sum hundreds ofthesepoor creatures make in houses whereonce people attempted to ImploreGod's Blessings, &c, but I must say nomore ofthere calamities. God bemerciful to them I cant afford them noRelief. IfI had money I soon would doit, but I have none for myself. I wroteto you by Mr. Wells to see ifsome onewould help me to hard money undermy present necessity I write no more, ifI had the General would not allow it togo out, & ifever you write to me writevery short or else I will never see itwhat the heshens robbed me ofthatday amounted to the value ofseventytwo dollars at least. * * * I will give youas near an exact account ofhow manyprisoners the enemy have taken as Ican. They took on Long Island oftheHuntingon Regiment 64, and ofofficers 40, ofother Regiments about60. On Moulogin Island 14, StrattonIsland (Staten) 7, at Fort Washington2200 officers and men. On the Jerseyside about 28 officers and men. In all3135 and how many killed I do notknow. Many died ofthere wounds. Ofthose that went out with me ofsickness occasioned by hunger eightand more lie at the point ofdeath."Roger Filer hath lost one ofhis legsand part ofa Thigh, it was his left.John Moody died here a prisoner."So now to conclude my little RaggedHistory * * * I as you know did everimpress on your mind to look to God,for so still I continue to do the samethink less ofme but more ofyourCreator, * * * So in this I wish you welland bid you farewell and subscribemyselfyour nearest friend and wellwisher for EverJohn'a GillettNew York, Dec. 2nd, 1776. To ElizaGillett at West HarfordThe figures given in this pathetic lettermay be inaccurate, but the descriptionofthe sufferings ofthe prisoners isunexaggerated. Ofall the places oftorment provided for these poor menthe churches seem to have been theworst, and they were probably thescenes ofthe most brutal cruelty thatwas inflicted upon these unfortunatebeings by the wicked and heartlessmen, in whose power they foundthemselves. Whether it was because theknowledge that they were thusdesecrating buildings dedicated to theworship ofGod and instruction in theChristian duties ofmercy and charity,had a peculiarly hardening effect uponthe jailers and guards employed by theBritish, or whether it was merelybecause oftheir unfitness for humanhabitation, the men confined in thesebuildings perished fast and miserably.We cannot assert that no prisoners shutup in the churches in New York livedto tell the awful tale oftheir sufferings,but we do assert that in all ourresearches we have never yet happenedupon any record ofa single instance ofa survivor living to reach his home. Allthe information we have gained on thissubject we shall lay before the reader,and then he may form his own opinionofthe justice ofthese remarks.CHAPTER VWILLIAM CUNNINGHAM, THEPROVOST MARSHALWe will condense all that we have to sayofthis man, whose cruelty andwickedness are almost inconceivable,into one chapter, and have done withthe dreadful subject. As far as we havebeen able to learn, the facts about hislife are the following.William Cunningham was an Irishman,born in Dublin Barracks in 1738. Hisfather was a trumpeter in the BlueDragoons. When he was sixteen hebecame an assistant to the riding-masterofthe troop. In 1761 he was made asergeant ofdragoons, but peace havingbeen proclaimed the following year, thecompany to which he belonged wasdisbanded. He afterwards commencedthe business ofa scaw-banker, whichmeans that he went about the countryenticing mechanics and rustics to shipto America, on promise ofhaving theirfortunes made in that country; andthen by artful practices, produced theirindentures as servants, in consequenceofwhich on their arrival in Americathey were sold, or at least obliged toserve a term ofyears to pay for theirpassage. This business, no doubt,proved a fit apprenticeship for thecareer ofvillainy before him.About the year 1774 he appears to haveembarked from Newry in the shipNeedham for New York, with someindentured servants he had kidnappedin Ireland. He is said to have treatedthese poor creatures so cruelly on thepassage that they were set free by theauthorities in New York upon theirarrival.When Cunningham first appeared inNew York he offered himselfas ahorse-breaker, and insinuated himselfinto the favor ofthe British officers byblatant toryism. He soon becameobnoxious to the Whigs ofthat city,was mobbed, and fled to the Asia man-of-war for protection. From thence hewent to Boston, where General Gageappointed him Provost Marshal. Whenthe British took possession ofNewYork he followed them to that city,burning with desire to be revengedupon the Whigs.He is said to have compassed the deathofthousands ofprisoners by sellingtheir provisions, exchanging good forspoiled food, and even by poisoningthem. Many also fell victims to hismurderous violence. About twohundred and fifty ofthese poorcreatures were taken out oftheir placesofconfinement at midnight and hung,without trial, simply to gratify hisbloodthirsty instincts. Private executionwas conducted in the followingmanner. A guard was first dispatchedfrom the Provost, about midnight, tothe upper barracks, to order the peopleon the line ofmarch to shut theirwindow shutters and put out theirlights, forbidding them at the same timeto presume to look out oftheirwindows on pain ofdeath. After thisthe prisoners were gagged, andconducted to the gallows just behindthe upper barracks and hung withoutceremony there. Afterwards they wereburied by his assistant, who was amulatto.This practice is said to have beenstopped by the women along the lineofmarch from the Provost to thebarracks. They appealed to GeneralHowe to prevent further executions, asthe noise made by the sufferers prayingfor mercy, and appealing to Heaven forjustice was dreadful to their ears.It would seem from this account that,although the wretched men weregagged as they were conveyed along thestreets, their ferocious murderer couldnot deny himselfthe pleasure ofhearing their shrieks ofagony at thegallows.Watson, in his "Annals ofNew York,"says that Cunningham glutted hisvengence by hanging five or six ofhisprisoners every night, until the womenwho lived in the neighborhoodpetitioned Howe to have the practicediscontinued.A pamphlet called "The Old Martyrs'Prison," says ofCunningham: "Hishatred ofthe Americans found vent intorture by searing irons and secretscourges to those who fell under theban ofhis displeasure. The prisonerswere crowded together so closely thatmany fell ill from partial asphyxiation,and starved to death for want ofthefood which he sold to enrich himself."They were given muddy and impurewater to drink, and that not insufficient quantities to sustain life.Their allowance was, nominally, twopounds ofhard tack and two ofporkper week, and this was often uncooked,while either the pork, or the biscuit, orboth, were usually spoiled and mostunwholesome.Cunningham's quarters were in theProvost Prison, and on the right handofthe main door ofentry. On the leftofthe hall was the guard room. Withinthe first barricade was the apartment ofhis assistant, Sergeant O'Keefe. Twosentinels guarded the entrance day andnight; two more were stationed at thefirst and second barricades, which weregrated, barred, and chained."When a prisoner was led into the hallthe whole guard was paraded, and hewas delivered over to CaptainCunningham or his deputy, andquestioned as to his name, age, size,rank, etc., all ofwhich was entered in arecord book. These records appear tohave been discreetly destroyed by theBritish authorities."At the bristling ofarms, unbolting oflocks and bars, clanking ofenormousiron chains in a vestibule dark asErebus, the unfortunate captive mightwell sink under this infernal sight andparade oftyrannical power, as hecrossed the threshold ofthat doorwhich probably closed on him for life."The north east chamber, turning to theleft on the second floor, wasappropriated to officers ofsuperiorrank, and was called Congress Hall. * ** In the day time the packs andblankets used by the prisoners to coverthem were suspended around the walls,and every precaution was taken to keepthe rooms clean and well ventilated."In this gloomy abode wereincarcerated at different periods manyAmerican officers and citizens ofdistinction, awaiting with sickeninghope the protracted period oftheirliberation. Could these dumb wallsspeak what scenes ofanguish mightthey not disclose!"Cunningham and his deputy wereenabled to fare sumptuously by dint ofcurtailing the prisoners' rations, sellinggood for bad provisions, etc., in orderto provide for the drunken orgies thatusually terminated his dinners.Cunningham would order the rebelprisoners to turn out and parade forthe amusement ofhis guests, pointingthem out with such characterizations as'This is the d d rebel, Ethan Allen. Thisis a rebel judge, etc.'"Cunningham destroyed Nathan Hale'slast letters containing messages to hisloved ones, in order, as he said, that"the rebels should not know that theyhad a man in their army who could diewith such firmness."From Elias Boudinot's "Journal ofEvents" during the Revolution weextract the following account ofhisinterview with Cunningham in NewYork. "In the spring of1777 GeneralWashington wrote me a letterrequesting me to accept ofaCommission as Commissary GeneralofPrisoners in the Army ofAmerica. Iwaited on him and politely declined thetask, urging the wants ofthe Prisonersand having nothing to supply them."Washington, however, urged him not torefuse, saying that ifno one in whomhe could trust would accept the office,the lot ofthe prisoners would bedoubly hard. At last Boudinotconsented to fill the position as best hecould, and Washington declared that heshould be supplied with funds by theSecret Committee ofCongress. "Iown," he says, "that after I had enteredon my department, the applications ofthe Prisoners were so numerous, andtheir distress so urgent, that I exertedevery nerve to obtain supplies, but invain Excepting L600 I had receivedfrom the Secret Committee in Bills ofexchange, at my first entrance into theOffice I could not by any means get afarthing more, except in ContinentalMoney, which was ofno avail in NewYork. I applied to the Generaldescribing my delicate Situation and thecontinual application ofthe Officers,painting their extreme distress andurging the assurance they had receivedthat on my appointment I was to befurnished with adequate means fortheir full relief. The General appearedgreatly distressed and assured me that itwas out ofhis power to afford me anysupplies. I proposed draining Clothingfrom the public stores, but to this heobjected as not having anything like asufficient supply for the Army. Heurged my considering and adopting thebest means in my power to satisfy thenecessities ofthe Prisoners, and hewould confirm them. I told him I knewofno means in my Power but to takewhat Monies I had ofmy own, and toborrow from my friends in New York,to accomplish the desirable purpose.He greatly encouraged me to theattempt, promising me that ifI finallymet with any loss, he would divide itwith me. On this I began to affordthem some supplies ofProvisions overand above what the Enemy affordedthem, which was very small and veryindifferent."The complaints ofthe very crueltreatment our Prisoners met with in theEnemy's lines rose to such a Heighththat in the Fall ofthis Year, 1777 theGeneral wrote to General Howe orClinton reciting their complaints andproposing to send an Officer into NewYork to examine into the truth ofthem. This was agreed to, and a regularpass-port returned accordingly. TheGeneral ordered me on this service. Iaccordingly went over on the 3rd ofFeb. 1778, in my own Sloop."The Commandant at this time wasGeneral Robertson, by whomBoudinot was very well treated, andallowed, in company with a Britishofficer, to visit the prisons. Hecontinues: "Accordingly I went to theProvost with the Officer, where wefound near thirty Officers fromColonels downwards, in closeconfinement in the Gaol in New York.After some conversation with the lateEthan Allen, I told him my errand, onwhich he was very free in his abuse ofthe British. *** We then proceededupstairs to the Room oftheirConfinement. I had the Officers drawnup in a Ring and informed them ofmymission, that I was determined to hearnothing in secret. That I thereforehoped they would each ofthem intheir turn report to me faithfully andcandidly the Treatment they severallyhad received, that my design was toobtain them the proper redress, but ifthey kept back anything from animproper fear oftheir keepers, theywould have themselves only to blamefor their want ofimmediate redress.That for the purpose oftheirdeliverance the British officer attended.That the British General should be alsowell informed ofthe Facts. On this,after some little hesitation from a dreadoftheir keeper, the Provost Martial,one ofthem began and informed usthat * * * some had been confined inthe Dungeon for a night to await theleisure ofthe General to examine themand forgot for months; for beingCommittee men, &c, &c. That they hadreceived the most cruel Treatment fromthe Provost Martial, being locked up inthe Dungeon on the most triflingpretences, such as asking for morewater to drink on a hot day than usualfor sitting up a little longer in theEvening than orders allowed forwriting a letter to the General makingtheir Complaints ofill-usage andthrowing (it) out ofthe Windows. Thatsome ofthem were kept ten, twelve,and fourteen weeks in the Dungeon onthese trifling Pretenses. A CaptainVandyke had been confined eighteenmonths for being concerned in settingfire to the City, When, on my calling forthe Provost Books, it appeared that hehad been made Prisoner and closelyconfined in the Provost four daysbefore the fire happened. A MajorPaine had been confined eleven monthsfor killing a Captain Campbell in theEngagement when he was takenPrisoner, when on examination itappeared that the Captain had beenkilled in another part ofthe Action.The charge was that Major Paine whentaken had no commission, thoughacknowledged by us as a Major."Most ofthe cases examined intoturned out wholly false or too triflingto be regarded. It also appeared by theDeclaration ofsome ofthe Gentlementhat their water would be sometimes, asthe Caprice ofthe Provost Martial ledhim, brought up to them in the tubsthey used in their Rooms, and when theweather was so hot that they mustdrink or perish. On hearing a numberofthese instances ofCruelty, I askedwho was the Author ofthem theyanswered the provost keeper I desiredthe Officer to call him up that we mighthave him face to face. He accordinglycame in, and on being informed ofwhat had passed, he was asked ifthecomplaints were true. He, with greatInsolence answered that every wordwas true on which the British Officer,abusing him very much, asked him howhe dared to treat Gentlemen in thatcruel Manner. He, insolently putting hishands to his side, swore that he was asabsolute there as General Howe was atthe head ofhis Army. I observed to theOfficer that now there could be nodispute about Facts, as the fellow hadacknowledged every word to be true. Istated all the Facts in substance andwaited again on General Robertson,who hoped I was quite satisfied withthe falsity ofthe reports I had heard. Ithen stated to him the Facts andassured him that they turned out worsethan anything we had heard. On hishesitating as to the truth ofthisassertion I observed to him thepropriety ofhaving an Officer with me,to whom I now appealed for the truthofthe Facts. He being presentconfirmed them on which the Generalexpressed great dissatisfaction, andpromised that the Author ofthemshould be punished. I insisted that theOfficers should be discharged from hisPower on Parole on Long Island, asother Officers were To this afterreceiving from me a copy ofthe Facts Ihad taken down, he assented, & allwere discharged except seven, who weredetained some time before I couldobtain their release. I forgot to mentionthat one Officer, Lieutenant was takenPrisoner and brought in with a woundthrough the leg. He was sent to theProvost to be examined, next night hewas put into the Dungeon andremained there ten weeks, totallyforgotten by the General, and neverhad his wound dressed except as hewashed it with a little Rum and Watergiven to him by the Centinels, throughthe hole out oftheir own rations.Captain and a Captain Chatham wereconfined with them and their allowancewas four pounds hard spoiled Biscuit,and two pounds Pork per week, whichthey were obliged to eat raw. While theywere thus confined for the slightestComplaints, the Provost Martial wouldcome down and beat themunmercifully with a Rattan, and Knockthem down with his fist. After this Ivisited two Hospitals ofour SickPrisoners, and the Sugar House: in thetwo first were 211 Prisoners, and in thelast about 190. They acknowledged thatfor about two months past they faredpretty well, being allowed two poundsofgood Beefand a proportion offlour or Bread per week, by Mr. Lewis,My Agent, over and above theallowance received from the British,which was professed to be two thirdsallowance; but before they had sufferedmuch from the small allowance theyhad received, and and that their Breadwas very bad, being mostly biscuit, butthat the British soldiers made the samecomplaint as to the bread. From everyaccount I received I found that theirtreatment had been greatly changed forthe better within a few months past,except at the Provost. They all agreedthat previous to the capture ofGeneralBurgoyne, and for some time after,Their treatment had been cruel beyondmeasure. That the Prisoners in theFrench church, amounting on anaverage to three or four hundred, couldnot all lay down at once, that from the15th October to the first January theynever received a single stick ofwood,and that for the most part they eat theirPork Raw, when the Pews and Door,and Wood on Facings failed them forfuel."But as to my own personal knowledgeI found General Robertson very readyto agree to every measure for alleviatingthe miseries ofWar and very candidlyadmitted many faults committed by theinferior Officers, and even the mistakesofthe General himself, by hearkeningto the representations ofthose aroundhim. He showed me a letter fromGeneral Howe who was inPhiladelphia, giving orders that weshould not be at liberty to purchaseblankets within their lines, andcontaining a copy ofan order I hadissued that they should not purchaseprovisions within ours, by way ofretaliation, but he represented it as ifmy order was first. I stated the facts toGeneral Robertson, who assured methat General Howe had been imposedupon, and requested me to state thefacts by way ofletter, when heimmediately wrote to General Howe,urging the propriety ofreversing hisorders, which afterwards he did in avery hypocritical manner as will appearhereafter."It does not seem that Cunningham wasvery seriously punished. It is probablethat he was sent away from New Yorkto Philadelphia, then in the hands ofGeneral Howe. Cunningham wasProvost Marshal in that city during theBritish occupancy, where his crueltieswere, ifpossible, more astrocious thanever before.Dr. Albigense Waldo was a surgeon inthe American army at Valley Forge, andhe declares in his Journal concerningthe prisoners in Philadelphia that "theBritish did not knock the prisoners inthe head, or burn them with torches, orflay them alive, or dismember them assavages do, but they starved themslowly in a large and prosperous city.One ofthese unhappy men, driven tothe last extreme ofhunger, is said tohave gnawed his own fingers to the firstjoint from the hand, before he expired.Others ate the mortar and stone whichthey chipped from the prison walls,while some were found with bits ofwood and clay in their mouths, whichin their death agonies they had suckedto find nourishment." [Footnote: Thisaccount is quoted by Mr. Bolton in arecent book called "The Private Soldierunder Washington," a valuablecontribution to American history.]Boudinot has something to say aboutthese wretched sufferers in the City ofBrotherly Love during the months ofJanuary and February, 1778. "VariousReports having reached us with regardto the Extreme Sufferings ofourPrisoners in Philadelphia, I wasdirected by the Commander-in-Chiefto make particular inquiry into thetruth. After some time I obtained fullInformation oftheir Sufferings. It wasproved by some Militia ofgoodCharacter that on being taken they wereput under the care ofthe General'sGuard, and kept four or five dayswithout the least food. That on thefifth day they were taken into theProvost, where a small quantity ofRawPork was given to them. One oftheirnumber seized and devoured it with somuch eagerness that he dropped downdead: that the Provost Martial used tosell their provisions and leave them tostarve, as he did their Allowance ofWood. I received information from aBritish Officer who confided in myintegrity, that he happened in theProvost just at the time the ProvostMartial was locking up the Prisoners.He had ordered them from the Yardinto the House. Some ofthem being illwith the Dysentery could scarcely walk,and for not coming faster he wouldbeat them with his Rattan. One beingdelayed longer than the rest. On hiscoming up Cunningham gave him ablow with one ofthe large Keys oftheGoal which killed him on the Spot. TheOfficer, exceedingly affected with thesight, went next day and lodged aformal Complaint ofthe Murder withGeneral Howe's Aid. After waitingsome days, and not discovering anymeasures taken for the tryal ofCunningham, he again went to headquarters and requested to see theGeneral, but was refused. He repeatedhis Complaint to his Aid, and told himifthis passed unpunished it wouldbecome disreputable to wear a Britishuniform. No notice being taken theOfficer determined to furnish meprivately with the means ofproofofthe Facts, so that General Washingtonmight remonstrate to General Howe onthe subject: I reported them with theother testimony I had collected toGeneral Washington. He accordinglywrote in pretty strong Terms to GeneralHowe and fixed a day, when ifhe didnot receive a satisfactory answer, hewould retaliate on the prisoners in hisCustody. On the day he received ananswer from General Howe,acknowledging that, on Examination hefound that Cunningham had sold thePrisoners' rations publicly in theMarket. That he had therefor removedhim from the Charge ofthe Prisonersand appointed Mr. Henry H. Fergusonin his place. This gave us great pleasureas we knew Mr. Ferguson to be aGentleman ofCharacter and greatHumanity, and the issue justified ourexpectations. But to our great surpriseMr. Cunningham was only removedfrom the Charge ofthe Prisons inPhiladelphia, and sent to that ofNewYork. Soon after this great complaintsbeing made ofour Prisoners beinglikely to perish for want ofCloathingand Blankets, having been mostlystripped and robbed oftheir Cloathswhen taken, application was made forpermission to purchase (with theprovisions which the British wanted,)Blankets and cloathing, which shouldbe used only by the Prisoners while inConfinement. This was agreed to, as wewere informed by our own Agent aswell as by the British Commissioner.Provisions were accordingly attemptedto be sent in, when General Howepretending to ignorance in the business,forbid the provisions to be admitted, orthe Blankets to be purchased. On this Igave notice to the British Commissarythat after a certain day they mustprovide food for their prisoners southwest ofNew Jersey, and to be sent infrom their lines, as they should nolonger be allowed to purchaseprovisions with us. The line drawnarose from our being at liberty topurchase in New York. This made agreat noise, when General Howe onreceiving General Robertson's letterfrom New York before mentioned,urging the propriety ofthe measures,issued an order that every Person inPhiladelphia, who had a Blanket to sellor to spare should bring them into theKing's Stores. When this was done hethen gave my Agent permission topurchase Blankets and Cloathing, in theCity ofPhiladelphia. On my Agentattempting it he found every Blanket inthe City purchased by the Agents forthe Army, so that not a Blanket couldbe had. My Agent knowing thenecessities ofour Prisoners,immediately employed persons in everypart ofthe city and before GeneralHowe could discover his ownomission, purchased up every piece offlannel he could meet with, and made itup into a kind ofBlanket, whichanswered our purpose."Wherever General Howe andCunningham were together, either inNew York or in Philadelphia, the mostatrocious cruelties were inflicted uponthe American prisoners in their power,and yet some have endeavoured toexcuse General Howe, on whatgrounds it is difficult to determine. Ithas been said that Cunningham acted onhigher authority than any in America, andthat Howe in vain endeavored tomitigate the sufferings ofthe prisoners.This, however, is not easy ofbelief.Howe must at least have wilfullyblinded himselfto the wicked andmurderous violence ofhis subordinate.It was his duty to know how theprisoners at his mercy fared, and not toemploy murderers to destroy them bythe thousands as they were destroyed inthe prisons ofNew York andPhiladelphia.Oliver Bunce, in His "Romance oftheRevolution," thus speaks oftheinhumanity ofCunningham."But ofall atrocities those committedin the prisons and prison ships ofNewYork are the most execrable, and indeedthere is nothing in history to excel thebarbarities there inflicted. Twelvethousand suffered death by theirinhuman, cruel, savage, and barbaroususage on board the filthy and malignantprison ships adding those who diedand were poisoned in the infectedprisons in the city a much largernumber would be necessary to includeall those who suffered by command ofBritish Generals in New York. Thescenes enacted in these prisons almostexceed belief. * * * Cunningham, thelike ofwhom, for unpitying, relentlesscruelty, the world has not produced, * ** thirsted for blood, and took an eagerdelight in murder."He remained in New York untilNovember, 1783, when he embarkedon board a British man-of-war andAmerica was no longer cursed with hispresence. He is said to have been hungfor the crime offorgery on the tenthofAugust, 1791. The newspapers ofthe day contained the accounts ofhisdeath, and his dying confession. Theseaccounts have, however, beendiscredited by historians who have invain sought the English records for thedate ofhis death. It is said that no manofthe name ofCunningham was hungin England in the year 1791. It is notpossible to find any official Britishrecord ofhis transactions whileProvost Marshal, and there seems amystery about the disappearance ofhisbooks kept while in charge oftheProvost, quite as great as the mysterywhich envelopes his death. But whetheror no he confessed his many crimes;whether or no he received in this worlda portion ofthe punishment hedeserved, it is certain that the crimeswere committed, and duly recorded inthe judgment book ofGod, beforewhose awful bar he has been called toaccount for every one ofthem.CHAPTER VITHE CASE OF JABEZ FITCHIn presenting our gleanings from thebooks, papers, letters, pamphlets, andother documents that have been writtenon the subject ofour prisoners duringthe Revolution, we will endeavor tofollow some chronological order, sothat we may carry the story on monthby month and year by year until thatlast day ofthe British possession ofNew York when Sergeant O'Keefethrew down upon the pavement oftheProvost the keys ofthat prison, andmade his escape on board a Britishman-of-war.One ofthe prisoners taken on LongIsland in the summer of1776 wasCaptain Jabez Fitch, who was capturedon the 27th ofAugust, ofthat year.While a prisoner he contracted ascorbutic affection which renderedmiserable thirty years ofhis life.On the 29th ofAugust he was taken tothe transport Pacific. It was a very rainyday. The officers, ofwhom there wereabout twenty-five, were in one boat,and the men "being between three andfour hundred in several other Boats,and had their hands tied behind them.In this Situation we were carried byseveral Ships, where there appearedgreat numbers ofWomen on Deck,who were very liberal oftheir Cursesand Execrations: they were also not alittle Noisy in their Insults, but clap'dtheir hands and used other peculiargestures in so Extraordinary a Manneryet they were in some Danger ofleaping overboard in this surprisingExtacy." On arriving at the Pacific, avery large transport ship, they were toldthat all officers and men together wereto be shut down below deck. Themaster ofthe ship was a brute namedDunn. At sundown all were drivendown the hatches, with curses andexecrations. "Both ye lower Decks werevery full ofDurt," and the rains hadleaked in and made a dreadful sloppymess ofthe floor, so that the mud washalfover their shoes. At the same timethey were so crowded that only halftheir number could lie down at a time."Some time in the Evening a numberofthe Infernal Savages came downwith a lanthorn and loaded two smallpieces or Cannon with Grape shot,which were pointed through two Portsin such a manner as to Rake ye deckwhere our people lay, telling us at yesame time with many Curses yt in Caseofany Disturbance or the least noise inye Night, they were to be Imediatelyfired on ye Damned Rebels." Whenallowed to come on deck "we wereinsulted by those Blackguard Villians inthe most vulgar manner....We wereallowed no water that was fit for aBeast to Drink, although they hadplenty ofgood Water on board, whichwas used plentifully by the Seamen, etc."Lieutenant Dowdswell, with a partyofMarines sent on board for ourGuard; this Mr. Dowdswell treated uswith considerable humanity, andappeared to be a Gentleman, nor werethe Marines in General so Insolent asthe Ships Crew....On the 31st theCommissary ofPrisoners came onBoard and took down the names, etc,ofthe prisoners....he told us ColonelClark and many other Officers wereconfined at Flatbush. On Sunday,September 1st, we were removed to theship Lord Rochford, commanded byone Lambert. This ship was muchcrowded. Most ofthe Officers werelodged on the quarter deck. Somenights we were considerably wet withrain."The Lord Rochford lay offNewUtrecht. On the third ofSeptember theofficers that had been confined atFlatbush were brought on board thesnow called the Mentor. "On the fifth,"says Fitch, in his written account, ofwhich this is an abstract, "we wereremoved on board this Snow, whichwas our prison for a long time. * * * Wewere about 90 in number, and ye FieldOfficers had Liberty ofye Cabbin, etc.* * * This Snow was commanded byone Davis, a very worthless, low-livedfellow. * * * When we first met onboard the Mentor we spent aconsiderable time in Relating to eachother ye particular Circumstances ofour first being Taken, and also yevarious Treatment with which we meton yt occasion, nor was this adisagreeable Entertainment in ourMelancholy Situation. * * * Many ofthe officers and men were almostDestitute ofClothes, several havingneither Britches, Stockings or Shoes,many ofthem when first taken werestripped entirely naked. CorporalRaymond ofthe 17th Regiment afterbeing taken and Stripped wasshamefully insulted and Abused byGen'l Dehightler, seized by ye Hair ofhis head, thrown on the ground, etc.Some present, who had some smalldegree ofhumanity in theirComposition, were so good as to favorthem (the prisoners) with some olddurty worn Garments, just sufficient tocover their nakedness, and in thisSituation (they) were made Objects ofRidicule for ye Diversion ofthoseForeign Butchers."One Sam Talman (an Indian fellowbelonging to the 17th Regiment) wasStripped and set up as a mark for themto Shoot at for Diversion or Practice,by which he Received two severewounds, in the neck and arm * * *afterwards they destroyed him withmany hundreds others by starvation inthe prisons ofNew York."On October first orders came to landthe prisoners in New York. This wasnot done until the seventh. On Mondayabout four o'clock Mr. Loringconducted us to a very large house onthe West side ofBroadway in thecorner south ofWarren Street nearBridewell, where we were assigned asmall yard back ofthe house, and aStoop in ye Front for our Walk. Wewere also Indulged with Liberty to passand Repass to an adjacent pump in YeStreet."Although paroled the officers wereclosely confined in this place for sixweeks. Their provisions, he says: "wereinsufficient to preserve ye Connectionbetween Soul and Body, yet yeCharitable People ofthis City were sogood as to afford us very considerableReliefon this account, but it was yepoor and those who were in lowcircumstances only who werethoughtful ofour Necessities, andprovisions were now grown scarce andExcessive dear. * * * Their unparalleledgenerosity was undoubtedly ye happymeans ofsaving many Lives,notwithstanding such great numbersperished with hunger."Here we found a number ofOfficersmade prisoners since we were, ColonelSelden, Colonel Moulton, etc. Theywere first confined in Ye City Hall.Colonel Selden died the Fryday afterwe arrived. He was Buried in the NewBrick Churchyard, and most oftheOfficers were allowed to attend hisFuneral. Dr. Thatcher ofthe Britisharmy attended him, a man ofgreathumanity."Captain Fitch declares that there weretwo thousand wounded British andHessians in the hospitals in New Yorkafter the battle ofFort Washington,which is a much larger estimate than wehave found in other accounts. He saysthat the day ofthe battle was Saturday,November 16th, and that the prisonerswere not brought to New York untilthe Monday following. They were thenconfined in the Bridewell, as the CityJail was then called, and in severalchurches. Some ofthem were soonafterwards sent on board a prison ship,which was probably the Whitby. "Anumber ofthe officers were sent to ourplace ofconfinement; ColonelRawlings, Colonel Hobby, Major(Otho) Williams, etc. Rawlings andWilliams were wounded, others werealso wounded, among them LieutenantHanson (a young Gent'n from Va.) whowas Shot through ye Shoulder with aMusq't Ball ofwhich wound he Diedye end ofDec'r."Many ofye charitable Inhabitantswere denied admittance when theycame to Visit us."On the twentieth ofNovember mostofthe officers were set at liberty onparole. "Ye first Objects ofourattention were ye poor men who hadbeen unhappily Captivated with us.They had been landed about ye sametime yt we were, and confined in severalChurches and other large Buildings andalthough we had often ReceivedIntelligence from them with ye mostDeplorable Representation oftheirMiserable Situation, yet when we cameto visit them we found their sufferingsvastly superior to what we had beenable to conceive. Nor are wordssufficient to convey an Adequate Ideaoftheir Unparalled Calamity. Wellmight ye Prophet say, 'They yt be slainwith ye sword are better than they yt beslain with hunger, for these pine away,etc.'"Their appearance in general RatherResembled dead Corpses than livingmen. Indeed great numbers had alreadyarrived at their long home, and yeRemainder appeared far advanced on yesame Journey: their accommodationswere in all respects vastly Inferior towhat a New England Farmer wouldhave provided for his Cattle, andalthough ye Commissary pretended tofurnish them with two thirds ofyeallowance ofye King's Troops, yet theywere cheated out ofone halfofthat.They were many times entirelyneglected from Day to Day, andreceived no Provision at all; they werealso frequently Imposed upon inRegard to ye Quality as well as Quantityoftheir provision. Especially in theNecessary article ofBread ofwhichthey often received such Rotten andmouldy stuff, as was entirely unfit foruse."* * * A large number ofye mostfeeble were Removed down to yeQuaker Meeting House on QueenStreet, where many hundreds ofthemperished in a much more miserableSituation than ye dumb Beasts, whilethose whose particular business it wasto provide them relief, paid very little orno attention to their unparalleledsufferings. This house I understand wasunder ye Superintendence ofone Dr.Dibuke * * * who had been at leastonce convicted ofstealing (in Europe)and had fled to this country forprotection: It was said he often madeapplication ofhis Cane among ye Sickinstead ofother medicines. * * * I haveoften been in danger ofbeing stabbedfor attempting to speak to a prisoner inye yard. * * *"About the 24th December a largenumber ofprisoners were embarkedon a ship to be sent to New England.What privates ofthe 17th Regimentremained living were Included in thisnumber, but about one halfhadalready perished in Prison. I wasafterwards informed that the Windsbeing unfavourable and theiraccommodations and provisions onboard ye Ship being very similar towhat they had been provided withbefore, a large proportion ofthemperished before they could reach NewEngland, so that it is to be feared veryfew ofthem lived to see their nativehomes."Soon after there was large numbers ofthe prisoners sent offby land both tothe Southward and Eastward so ytwhen ye Officers were Removed overinto Long Island in the latter part ofJanuary there remained but very few ofthe privates in that City except thosereleased by Death which number wassupposed to be about 1800."General Robertson, so famous forPoliteness and Humanity wascommanding Officer at New Yorkduring the aforesaid treatment oftheprisoners. Governor Scheene was saidto have visited the prisoners at theChurches and manifested greatdissatisfaction at their ill Usage, yet Iwas never able to learn that ye poorSufferers Rec'd any Advantage thereby."Captain Jabez Fitch was a prisonereighteen months. After the Revolutionhe lived in Vermont, where he died in1812.CHAPTER VIITHE HOSPITAL DOCTOR ATORY'S ACCOUNT OF NEW YORKIN 1777 ETHAN ALLEN'SACCOUNT OF THE PRISONERSThe doctor spoken ofby Jabez Fitch asDr. Dibuke is perhaps the notoriouscharacter described by Mr. EliasBoudinot in the Journal from which wehave already quoted. On page 35 ofthis book he gives us the following:"AN ACCOUNT OF THEFRENCHMAN WHO POISONED.AMERICAN PRISONERS IN NEWYORK, AND WAS REWARDEDFOR SO DOING BY GENERAL,HOWE"When the British Army tookpossession ofNew York they found aFrenchman in Goal, underCondemnation for Burglery andRobbery. He was liberated. He was avery loos, ignorant man. Had been aServant. This fellow was set over ourPrisoners in the Hospital, as a Surgeon,though he knew not the least principleofthe Art. Dr. McHenry, a Physicianofnote in the American Army, andthen a Prisoner, finding the extremeignorance ofthis man, and that he wasreally murdering our people,remonstrated to the British Director ofthe Hospital, and refused visiting oursick Prisoners ifthis man was notdismissed. A British Officer, convincedthat he had killed several ofour People,lodged a complaint against him, whenhe was ordered to be tryed by a CourtMartial, but the morning before theCourt were to set, this Officer wasordered offto St Johns, and theCriminal was discharged for want ofEvidence. During this man having theCharge ofour Prisoners in theHospital, two ofour Men desertedfrom the Hospital and came into ourArmy when they were ordered to mefor Examination. They Joined in thisstory. That they were sick in theHospital under the care ofthe aboveFrenchman. That he came andexamined them, and gave to each ofthem a dose ofPhysick to be takenimmediately. A Young Woman, theirNurse, made them some private signsnot to take the Physick immediately.After the Doctor was gone, she toldthem she suspected the Powder waspoison. That she had several timesheard this Frenchman say that hewould have ten Rebels dead in such aRoom and five dead in such a Roomthe next morning, and it always sohappened. They asked her what theyshould do: She told them their onlychance was to get off, sick as they were,that she would help them out and theymust shift for themselves. Theyaccordingly got offsafe, and broughtthe Physick with them. This was givento a Surgeon's Mate, who afterwardsreported that he gave it to a Dog, andthat he died in a very short time. Iafterwards saw an account in a LondonPaper ofthis same Frenchman beingtaken up in England for some Crimeand condemned to dye. At hisExecution he acknowledged the fact ofhis having murdered a great number ofRebels in the Hospitals at New York bypoyson. That on his reporting toGeneral Howe the number ofthePrisoners dead, he raised his pay. Hefurther confessed that he poisoned thewells used by the American FlyingCamp, which caused such anuncommon Mortality among them inthe year 1776."Jabez Fitch seems to have beenmistaken in thinking that GeneralRobertson instead ofLord Howe wascommanding in New York at this time.We will now give the account writtenby a Tory gentleman, who lived in NewYork during a part ofthe Revolution,ofLoring, the Commissary ofPrisons,appointed by General Howe in 1776.Judge Thomas Jones was a notedloyalist ofthe day. Finding itinconvenient to remain in this countryafter the war, he removed to England,where he died in 1792, having firstcompleted his "History ofNew Yorkduring the Revolution." He gives amuch larger number ofprisoners inthat city in the year 1776 than do anyofthe other authorities. We will,however, give his statements just as theywere written."Upon the close ofthe campaign in1776 there were not less than 10,000prisoners (Sailors included) within theBritish lines in New York. ACommissary ofPrisoners was thereforeappointed, and one Joshua Loring, aBostonian, was commissioned to theoffice with a guinea a day, and rationsofall kinds for himselfand family. Inthis appointment there was reciprocity.Loring had a handsome wife. TheGeneral, Sir William Howe, was fondofher. Joshua made no objections. Hefingered the cash: the General enjoyedMadam. Everybody supposing the nextcampaign (should the rebels ever riskanother) would put a final period to therebellion. Loring was determined tomake the most ofhis commission andby appropriating to his own use nearlytwo thirds ofthe rations allowed theprisoners, he actually starved to deathabout three hundred ofthe poorwretches before an exchange tookplace, and which was not untilFebruary, 1777, and hundreds that werealive at the time were so emaciated andenfeebled for the want ofprovisions,that numbers died on the road on theirway home, and many lived but a fewdays after reaching their habitations.The war continuing, theCommissaryship ofPrisoners grew solucrative that in 1778 the Admiralthought proper to appoint one fornaval prisoners. Upon the French War aCommissary was appointed for France.When Spain joined France another wasappointed for Spain. When GreatBritain made war upon Holland aCommissary was appointed for Dutchprisoners. Each had his guinea a day,and rations for himselfand family.Besides, the prisoners were halfstarved, as the Commissaries filchedtheir provisions, and disposed ofthemfor their own use. It is a known fact,also, that whenever an exchange was totake place the preference was given tothose who had, or could procure, themost money to present to theCommissaries who conducted theexchange, by which means large sumsofmoney were unjustly extorted anddemanded from the prisoners at everyexchange, to the scandal and disgraceofBritons. We had five CommissariesofPrisoners, when one could havedone all the business. EachCommissary had a Deputy, a Clerk, aMessenger in full pay, with rations ofevery k