a S 
 
 
 P-i 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 JERSEY PRISON-SHIP; 
 
 Taken and prepared for publication from the original 
 manuscript of the late 
 
 CAPTAIN THOMAS DRING, 
 
 OF PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 ONE OF THE PRISONERS. 
 
 BY ALBERT G. GREENE. 
 
 " It was there, that hunger and thirst and disease, and all the contumely 
 which cold-hearted cruelty could bestow, sharpened every pang of death. 
 Misery there wrung every fibre that could feel, before she gave the blow 
 of grace, which sent the sufferer to eternity." Russclii Oration. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY H. H. BROWN. 
 
 1829. 
 
/ 
 
 2E!)fs SE&ftfon strfctl^ Ifmfteti to ne J^unlitetJ Otopfes, all tljfs sfje 
 
 Riverside, Cambridge: H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN presenting the following narrative to the public, 
 it is deemed proper that it should be accompanied 
 with a brief notice of the individual from whose 
 memory these Recollections were drawn ; and with 
 some account of the materials left by him, from which 
 this work has been compiled. 
 
 Excepting the events described in this volume, his 
 biography would afford but few incidents of sufficient 
 importance to excite public attention. The prime of 
 his life was spent in active employment upon the 
 ocean, and his remaining years were passed in the avo 
 cations of the quiet and industrious citizen. The 
 events of the latter yield no themes for comment; 
 and the former, although not without its scenes of 
 peril and adventure, affords nothing which here re 
 quires to be recorded. 
 
 Capt. THOMAS DRING was born in the town of 
 Newport (R. I.), on the third day of August, 1758. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 He was therefore in his twenty-fifth year when the 
 events occurred which form the subject of the present 
 volume. After the termination of his confinement on 
 board the Jersey, he entered the merchant service, and 
 soon attained the command of a ship. He sailed 
 from the port of Providence for many years, and was 
 well known as an able and experienced officer. In 
 the year 1803 he retired from his nautical profession 
 and soon after established himself in business in Prov 
 idence, where he resided during the remainder of his 
 life. He died on the eighth day of August, 1825, 
 aged 67 years ; leaving many by whom his memory 
 will long be preserved, as a kind relative, an intelli 
 gent and industrious citizen, a worthy and an honest 
 man. 
 
 The original manuscript from which the facts con 
 tained in the following pages have been taken, was 
 written in the year 1824. Although it was finished 
 but a few-months previous to his decease, his faculties 
 were then perfect and unimpaired, and his memory 
 remained clear and unclouded, even in regard to the 
 most minute facts. To those who were personally 
 acquainted with Capt. Dring, his character affords 
 sufficient assurance of the correctness of his narrative. 
 
 His manuscript is a closely written folio of about 
 sixty pages, containing a great number of interesting 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 facts, thrown together, without m uch regard to style 
 or to chronological order. Not being intended for 
 publication, at least in the form in which he left it, he 
 appears to have bestowed but little regard on the lan 
 guage in which his facts were described, or on the 
 arrangement or connexion in which they were placed. 
 His only aim, indeed, appears to have been, to com 
 mit faithfully to paper his recollections of all the 
 principal events which transpired during his own con 
 finement, and the material circumstances in relation to 
 the general treatment of the prisoners. His writing 
 accordingly abounds with repetitions of not only the 
 most important, but even of the most minute occur 
 rences. These, although they add value to a manu 
 script like his, proving the strength and accuracy of 
 his memory, by the perfect accordance of his descrip 
 tions of the same facts, made at different times; still 
 in a published book they could be viewed but as use 
 less redundancies, at least. 
 
 The manuscript has been sought for and eagerly 
 perused by several gentlemen of high respectability, 
 who were either prisoners on board the Jersey, or 
 placed in situations where they had ample opportuni 
 ties of being acquainted with the facts. They have 
 uniformly borne testimony to the correctness of its 
 details ; but have been, at the same time, unanimous 
 
 b 
 
 D 
 
Vi PREFACE. 
 
 in the opinion that a perfect and complete revision of 
 its style and arrangement was absolutely required. 
 
 It was, in fact, necessary that the work should not 
 merely be revised, but rewritten, before its publica 
 tion. To do this in a proper manner was no easy 
 task. It was necessary to divide the narrative into 
 distinct and separate chapters ; and consequently, to 
 transpose and connect detached facts under their 
 proper heads, in order to produce a degree of uniform 
 ity in the whole. But while the circumstances not 
 only allowed, but required, full liberty to be taken 
 with the language and arrangement of the narrative, 
 still nothing has been added, and no fact or occurrence 
 of the least importance has been omitted. Through 
 out the whole work, the most scrupulous care has 
 been taken that the incidents as here pourtrayed, 
 should exactly agree with the descriptions of Capt. 
 Dring; and also, that they should be so set forth as 
 to appear neither of more nor less importance than 
 he appears to have attached to them, while writing 
 his manuscript. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOE. 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE JERSEY PRISON-SHIP, . . x iii 
 
 REFERENCES TO THE PLATES, ...... .XV 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OUR CAPTURE, f 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIRST NIGHT ON BOARD, ..... 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FIRST DAY, J? 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE GUN ROOM AND MESSES, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE COOK S QUARTERS, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OUR SITUATION, 
 
 36 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE WORKING PARTY, 
 
 . . 45 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE HOSPITAL SHIPS AND NURSES. 
 
 . 50 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE INTERMENT OF THE DEAD, 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CREW OF "THE CHANCE," .... g. 
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 
 THE MARINE GUARD, ........ g g 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " DAME GRANT " AND HER BOAT, ...... - . 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OUR SUPPLIES, . ....... _g 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 OUR BY-LAWS, ...... g 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 OUR ORATOR, . ....... g 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FOURTH OF JULY, ........ _ 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE, ...... ro g 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MEMORIAL TO GEN. WASHINGTON, . . . . -117 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE EXCHANGE, 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE CARTEL, 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 OUR ARRIVAL HOME, 
 
 I2 - 
 
 133 
 
 141 
 
 CONCLUSION, j ,. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 IT may be proper to mention, that the Engraving which ac 
 companies this volume is copied from an original sketch made 
 by Capt. DRING, and attached to his Manuscript. The Ref 
 erences are given almost in his own words. 
 
THE 
 
 JERSEY PRISON-SHIP, 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 JERSEY PRISON -SHIP, 
 
 WITH REFERENCES TO THE PLATES. 
 
 THE Jersey was originally a British ship of the 
 line. She was rated and registered as a sixty-four gun 
 ship, but had usually mounted seventy-four guns. At 
 the commencement of the American Revolution, being 
 an old vessel, and proving to be much decayed, she 
 was entirely dismantled, and soon after was moored 
 in the East River at New-York, and converted into a 
 store-ship. In the year 1780, she was fitted as a 
 prison-ship, and was used for that purpose during the 
 remainder of the war. Fears having been very natu 
 rally felt that the destructive contagion by which so 
 many of her unfortunate inmates had been swept 
 away might spread to the shore, she was, in conse- 
 
 d 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 quence, removed, and moored, with chain cables, at 
 the Wallabout, a solitary and unfrequented place on 
 the shore of Long-Island. She had been dismantled, 
 and her rudder unhung. Her only spars were the 
 bowsprit, a derrick for taking in supplies of water, 
 &c., and a flag-staff at the stern. Her port-holes had 
 all been closed and strongly fastened, and two tiers of 
 small holes cut through her sides. These holes were 
 about ten feet apart, each being about twenty inches 
 square, and guarded by two strong bars of iron, cross 
 ing it at right angles ; thus leaving four contracted 
 spaces, which admitted light by day, and served as 
 breathing holes at night. The interior construction 
 and arrangement of the ship, will be clearly under 
 stood by an examination of the Engraving, illustrated 
 by the following references. 
 
 REFERENCES TO THE PLATE. 
 FIGURE i. Exterior Vieiu of the Ship. 
 
 1. The Flag Staff, which was seldom used, and only for signals. 
 
 2. A Canvass Awning or Tent, used by the guards in warm weather. 
 
 3. The Quarter Deck, with its barricade about ten feet high, with a door 
 
 and loop holes on each side. 
 
 4. The Ship s Officers Cabin, under the quarter deck. 
 
 5. Accommodation Ladder, on the starboard side, for the use of the Snip s 
 
 officers. 
 
 6. The Steerage, occupied by the sailors belonging to the Ship. 
 
Fig. 2. 
 THE GUN DECK, 
 
 WITH ITS APARTMENTS. 
 
Fig. 3. 
 THE MIDDLE DECK. 
 
 The arrangement of the, Lower Deck 
 (wns simiJrt); but iritl/.out BunJcs.) 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. XV 
 
 7. The Cook Room for the Ship s crew and guards. 
 
 8. The Suttlcr s Room, where articles were sold to the prisoners, and 
 
 delivered to them through an opening in the bulk head. 
 
 9. The Upper Deck and Spar Deck, where the prisoners were occasion 
 
 ally allowed to walk. 
 
 10. The Gangway I adder, on the larboard side, for the prisoners. 
 n. The Derrick, on the starboard side, for taking in water, &c., &c. 
 
 i a. The Galley, or Great Copper, under the forecastle, where the pro 
 visions were cooked for the prisoners. 
 
 13. The Gun Room, occupied by those prisoners who were officers. 
 
 14, 15. Hatchways leading below, where the prisoners were confined. 
 17, 1 8. Between decks, where the prisoners were confined by night. 
 
 19. The Bowsprit. 
 
 20. Chain Cables, by which the Ship was moored. 
 
 FIGURE 2. The Gun Deck, with its Apartments. 
 
 i. Cabin. 9, 10. The Cook s quarters. 
 
 a. Steerage. n. The Gangway Ladder. 
 
 3. Cook Room. 12. The Officers Ladder. 
 
 4. Suttler s Room. 13. Working Party. 
 
 5. 6. Gangways. 14. The Barricade. 
 
 7. The Booms. o o o Store Rooms. 
 
 8. The Galley. 
 
 FIGURE 3. Tie Upper Deck, betivcen Decks. 
 
 i. The Hatchway Ladder, leading to the lower deck, railed round on 
 
 three sides. 
 a. The Steward s Room, from which the prisoners received their daily 
 
 allowance, through an opening in the partition. 
 3. The Gun Room, occupied by those prisoners who were officers. 
 4 Door of the Gun Room. 
 
XVI GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 5, 6, 7, 8. The arrangement of the prisoners chests and boxes, which were 
 
 ranged along, about ten feet from the sides of the Ship, leaving a 
 
 vacant space, where the messes assembled. 
 9, 10. The middle of the deck, where many of the prisoners hammocks 
 
 were hung at night, but always taken down in the morning, to afford 
 
 room for walking, 
 ii. Bunks, on the larboard side of the deck, for the reception of the sick. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OUR CAPTURE. 
 
 " The various horrors of these hulks to tell, 
 " Where want and woe, where pain and penance dwell ; 
 " Where Death in ten-fold vengeance holds his reign, 
 " And injured ghosts, yet unavenged, complain, 
 
 " This be my task." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 AMONG the varied events of the war of the 
 American Revolution, there are few circum 
 stances which have left a deeper impression on 
 the public mind, than those connected with the 
 cruel and vindictive treatment which was ex 
 perienced by those of our unfortunate country 
 men whom the fortune of war had placed on 
 board the Prison-Ships of the enemy. Still, 
 among the vague and indistinct narrations which 
 have been made, (although in almost every in 
 stance falling short of the dreadful reality,) but 
 
2 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 few statements have been given to the world in 
 an authentic form ; and these have been for the 
 most part relations of detached facts and circum 
 stances, rather than such distinct and connected 
 accounts as might afford the reader a correct 
 view of all the important facts in relation to the 
 subject. 
 
 Indeed, most of those who have spoken and 
 who could have written of these facts with the 
 fidelity of eye witnesses, have already passed 
 beyond the scenes of earth ; and while living, 
 had but slight inducements to devote the neces 
 sary time and labour to record the history of 
 their former sufferings. 
 
 Hence, so little that is authentic, has ever 
 been published upon the subject, and so scanty 
 are the materials for information respecting it, 
 which have as yet been given to the rising gen 
 erations of our country, that it has already be 
 come a matter of doubt, even among many of 
 the intelligent and well-informed of our young 
 citizens, whether the tales of the Prison-Ships, 
 such as they have been told, have not been ex 
 aggerated beyond the reality. They have not 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 3 
 
 been exaggerated. Much of the truth has, in 
 deed, been told ; but not one half the detail of 
 its horrors has ever been pourtrayed. 
 
 But the period has now arrived, which re 
 quires that some authentic record should be 
 made, in order that the truth of these events 
 shall not remain a subject of doubt and un 
 certainty. And so few of those who suffered 
 in these terrific abodes remain alive, that as a 
 matter of precaution, it seems to be required 
 that some one possessing actual knowledge of 
 the facts, should embody them in a form more 
 permanent than the tales of tradition, and more 
 detailed than can appear on the page of the 
 general historian. 
 
 All the important occurrences of that eventful 
 period, all which conspired to give its peculiar 
 character to the lengthened contest, or which 
 had an effect in advancing or retarding its issue, 
 every thing which tends to shew the spirit with 
 which it was conducted on either side, is certain 
 ly worthy of record and of remembrance. In 
 this light, I view the facts in relation to the treat 
 ment of the American seamen on board the Brit- 
 
4 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 ish Prison-Ships. These facts are a portion of 
 our country s history; and that history would 
 not be complete, one of its deepest lessons would 
 be lost, were the page which bears the record of 
 these facts, to be obliterated. 
 
 The principal motive of the writer of the fol 
 lowing pages, in recording the facts which they 
 contain, was originally to strengthen his recol 
 lection of the particulars relative to the events 
 which he has described. Although nearly half 
 a century has elapsed, since these events occur 
 red, yet so indelible was the impression which 
 they left on his mind, that they seem in all their 
 details, but as the things of yesterday ; and if 
 memory remains to him, they will go with him, 
 in all their freshness, to the grave. 
 
 In a very short time, there will be not one be 
 ing on the face of the earth, who can, from his 
 own knowledge, relate this tale ; though many 
 still live, who although not among the sufferers, 
 yet well know the truth of the circumstances 
 which I have written. 
 
 The number of those who perished on board 
 the prison and hospital ships at the Wallabout, 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 5 
 
 has never been, and never can be known. It has 
 been ascertained, however, with as much pre 
 cision as the nature of the case will admit, that 
 more than TEN THOUSAND died on board the 
 Jersey, and the hospital ships Scorpion, Strom- 
 boto, and Hunter. Thousands there suffered, 
 and pined and died, whose names have never 
 been known by their countrymen. They died 
 where no eye could admire their fortitude, no 
 tongue could praise their devotion to their coun 
 try s cause. 
 
 For years, the very name of "the old Jersey," 
 seemed to strike a terror to the hearts of those 
 whose necessities required them to venture upon 
 the ocean ; the mortality which prevailed on 
 board her was well known throughout the coun 
 try ; and to be confined within her dungeons, 
 was considered equal to a sentence of death, 
 from which but little hope of escape remained. 
 
 It was my hard fortune, in the course of the 
 war, to be twice confined on board the prison- 
 ships of the enemy. I was first immured in the 
 year 1779, on board the Good Hope, then lying 
 in the North River, opposite the city of New- 
 
6 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 York ; but after a confinement of more than 
 four months, I succeeded in making my escape 
 to the Jersey shore. Afterwards, in the year 
 1782, I was again captured and conveyed on 
 board the Jersey, where for nearly five months, 
 I was a witness and a partaker of the unspeak 
 able sufferings of that wretched class of Ameri 
 can prisoners, who were there taught the utmost 
 extent of human misery. 
 
 I am now far advanced in years, and am the 
 only survivor (with the exception of two) of a 
 crew of sixty-five men. I often pass some de 
 scendant of one of my old companions in cap 
 tivity ; and the recollection comes fresh to my 
 mind, that his father was my comrade and fel 
 low-sufferer in prison ; that I saw him breathe 
 his last upon the deck of the Jersey, and as 
 sisted at his interment at the Wallabout ; cir 
 cumstances probably wholly unknown to- the 
 person, the sight of whom had excited the rec 
 ollection. 
 
 In the month of May, 1782, I sailed from 
 Providence (Rhode-Island), as Master s Mate, 
 on board a privateer called the Chance. This 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 7 
 
 was a new vessel, on her first cruise. She was 
 owned in Providence, by Messrs. Clarke & Night 
 ingale, and manned chiefly from that place and 
 vicinity. She was commanded by Capt. Daniel 
 Aborn, mounted twelve six pound cannon ; and 
 sailed with a complement of about sixty-five 
 men. She was officered as follows, viz : 
 
 Daniel Aborn, of Pawtuxet, R. I. Commander. 
 
 John Tillinghast, Providence, First Lieut. 
 
 James Hawkins, Pawtuxet, Second do. 
 
 Sylvester Rhodes, do. Sailing-master. 
 
 Thomas Dring, Providence, Master s Mate. 
 
 Joseph Bowen, do. Surgeon. 
 
 Robert Carver, do. Gunner. 
 
 Joseph Arnold, do. Carpenter. 
 
 John W. Gladding, do. Prize Master. 
 
 The names of several other officers, in inferior 
 stations, I do not recollect at this distant period 
 of time. 
 
 Our cruise was but a short one : for in a few 
 days after sailing, we were captured by the Brit 
 ish ship of war Be/isarius, Capt. Graves, of twen 
 ty-six guns. We were captured in the night, and 
 our crew having been conveyed on board the 
 enemy s ship, were put in irons the next morn 
 ing. During the next day, the Belisarius made 
 
8 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 two other prizes, a privateer brig from New- 
 London or Stonington (Conn.), called the Sam 
 son, of twelve guns, commanded by Capt. 
 Brooks, and a merchant schooner from Warren 
 (R. I.), commanded by Capt. Charles Collins. 
 The crews of these two vessels, except the prin 
 cipal officers, were also put in irons. These 
 captures were all made on soundings, south of 
 Long- Island. The putting their prisoners in 
 irons was a necessary precaution on the part of 
 the captors. We were kept confined in the 
 cable-tier of the ship, but were occasionally per 
 mitted to go on deck during the day in small 
 parties. The Belisarius, then having on board 
 upwards of one hundred and thirty prisoners, 
 soon made her way for New- York, in company 
 with her prizes. 
 
 Our situation on board this ship was not, in 
 deed, a very enviable one ; but uncomfortable as 
 it was, it was far preferable to that in which we 
 soon expected to be placed, and which we soon 
 found it was our doom to experience. The ship 
 dropped her anchor, abreast of the city, and sig 
 nals were immediately made that she had pris- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 9 
 
 oners on board. Soon after, two large gondolas 
 or boats came alongside, in one of which was 
 seated the notorious David Sproat, the Commis 
 sary of Prisoners. This man was an American 
 Refugee, universally detested for the cruelty of 
 his conduct and the insolence of his manners. 
 
 We were then called on deck, and having 
 been released from our irons, were ordered into 
 the boats. This being accomplished, we put off 
 from the ship, under a guard of marines, and 
 proceeded towards our much dreaded place of 
 confinement, which was not then in sight. As 
 we passed along the Long-Island shore, against 
 the tide, our progress was very slow. The pris 
 oners were ordered, by Sproat, to apply them 
 selves to the oars ; but not feeling any particular 
 anxiety to expedite our progress, we declined 
 obeying the command. His only reply was, 
 " I ll soon fix you, my lads." 
 
 We at length doubled a point, and came in 
 view of the Wallabout, where lay before us the 
 black hulk of the old Jersey, with her satellites, 
 the three Hospital Ships ; to which Sproat pointed 
 in an exulting manner, and said, " There, Rebels, 
 
 3 
 
1O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 there is the cage for you." Oh ! how I wished 
 to be standing alone with that inhuman wretch 
 upon the green turf, at that moment ! 
 
 As he spoke, my eye was instantly turned 
 from the dreaded hulk : but a single glance had 
 shown us a multitude of human beings moving 
 upon her upper deck. Many were on her bow 
 sprit, for the purpose, as I afterwards learned, of 
 getting without the limits. 
 
 It was then nearly sunset : and before we 
 were alongside, every man, except the sentinels 
 on the gangway, had disappeared. Previous to 
 their being sent below, some of the prisoners, 
 seeing us approaching, waved their hats, as if 
 they would say, Approach us not : and we soon 
 found fearful reason for the warning. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIRST NIGHT ON BOARD. 
 
 " Hail, dark abode ! what can with thee compare 
 " Heat, sickness, famine, death, and stagnant air. 
 " Pandora s box, from whence all mischiefs flow, 
 " Here real found, torments mankind anew. 
 " Swift, from the guarded decks, we rushed along, 
 " And vainly sought repose, so vast our throng. 
 " Three hundred wretches here, denied all light, 
 * In crowded mansions, pass th 1 infernal night. 
 " Some, for a bed their tatter d vestments join; 
 " And some on chests, and some on floors, recline. 
 " Shut from the blessings of the evening air, 
 " Pensive we lay, with mingled corpses there. 
 " Meagre and wan, and scorched with heat below, 
 " We looked like ghosts, ere death had made us so." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 WE had now reached the accommodation lad 
 der, which led to the gangway on the larboard 
 side of the Jersey ; and my station in the boat, 
 as she hauled alongside, was exactly opposite to 
 one of the air- ports in the side of the ship. 
 
12 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 From this aperture proceeded a strong current 
 of foul vapor, of a kind to which I had been 
 before accustomed, while confined on board the 
 Good Hope; the peculiarly disgusting smell of 
 which I then recollected, after a lapse of three 
 years. This was, however, far more foul and 
 loathsome than any thing which I had ever met 
 with on board that ship, and produced a sensa 
 tion of nausea far beyond my powers of descrip 
 tion. 
 
 Here, while waiting for orders to ascend on 
 board, we were addressed by some of the pris 
 oners, from the air-ports. We could not, how 
 ever, discern their features, as it had now become 
 so dark that we could not distinctly see any 
 object in the interior of the ship. After some 
 questions, whence we came, and respecting the 
 manner of our capture, one of the prisoners said 
 to me, that it was " a lamentable thing to see so 
 many young men in full strength, with the flush 
 of health upon their countenances, about to enter 
 that infernal place of abode." He then added, 
 in a tone and manner but little fitted to afford us 
 much consolation, "Death has no relish for 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 13 
 
 such skeleton carcasses as we are, but he will 
 now have a feast upon you fresh comers/ 
 
 After lanterns had been lighted on board, for 
 our examination, we ascended the accommoda 
 tion ladder, to the upper deck, and passed through 
 the barricado door ; where we were examined, 
 and our bags of clothes inspected. These we 
 were permitted to retain, provided they contained 
 no money or weapons of any kind. 
 
 After each man had given his name and the 
 capacity in which he had served on board the 
 vessel in which he was captured, and the same 
 had been duly registered, we were directed to 
 pass through the other barricado door, on the 
 starboard side, down the ladder leading to the 
 main hatchway. I was detained but a short 
 time with the examination, and was permitted to 
 take my bag of clothes with me below; and 
 passing down the hatchway, which was still 
 open, through a guard of soldiers, I found my 
 self among the wretched and disgusting multi 
 tude, a prisoner on board the Jersey. 
 
 The gratings were soon after placed over the 
 hatchways, and fastened down for the night ; and 
 
14 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 I seated myself on the deck, holding my bag 
 with a firm grasp, fearful of losing it among the 
 crowd. I had now ample time to reflect on the 
 horrors of the scene, and to consider the pros 
 pect before me. It was impossible to find one 
 of my former shipmates in the darkness ; and I 
 had, of course, no one with whom to speak 
 during the long hours of that dreadful night. 
 Surrounded by I knew not whom, except that 
 they were beings as wretched as myself; with 
 dismal sounds meeting my ears from every 
 direction ; a nauseous and putrid atmosphere 
 filling my lungs at every breath ; and a stifled 
 and suffocating heat, which almost deprived me 
 of sense, and even of life. 
 
 Previous to leaving the boat, I had put on sev 
 eral additional articles of apparel for the purpose 
 of security ; but I was soon compelled to dis 
 encumber myself of these ; and was willing to 
 hazard their loss, for a relief from the intolerable 
 heat. 
 
 The thought of sleep did not enter my mind : 
 and at length, discovering a glimmering of light 
 through the iron gratings of one of the air-ports, 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 15 
 
 1 felt that it would be indeed a luxury, if I could 
 but obtain a situation near that place, in order to 
 gain one breath of the exterior air. Clenching 
 my hand firmly around my bag, which I dared 
 not leave, I began to advance towards the side 
 of the ship ; but was soon greeted with the 
 curses and imprecations of those who were lying 
 on the deck, and whom I had disturbed in at 
 tempting to pass over them. I however perse 
 vered, and at length arrived near the desired 
 spot ; but found it already occupied, and no per 
 suasion could induce a single individual to relin 
 quish his place for a moment. 
 
 Thus I passed the first dreadful night, waiting 
 with sorrowful forebodings for the coming day. 
 The dawn at length appeared, but came only to 
 present new scenes of wretchedness, disease, and 
 woe. I found myself surrounded by a crowd of 
 strange and unknown forms, with the lines of 
 death and famine upon their faces. My former 
 shipmates were all lost and mingled among the 
 multitude, and it was not until we were permitted 
 to ascend the deck, at eight o clock, that I could 
 discern a single individual whom I had ever seen 
 
16 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 before. Pale and meagre, the throng came upon 
 deck ; to view, for a few moments, the morning 
 sun, and then, to descend again, to pass another 
 day of misery and wretchedness. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1? 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FIRST DAY. 
 
 " Dull flew the hours, till from the East displayed, 
 " Sweet morn dispelled the horrors of the shade. 
 " On every side, dire objects met the sight, 
 " And pallid forms, and murders of the night. 
 " The dead were past their pain ; the living groan, 
 " Nor dare to hope another morn their own. 
 " But, what to them is morn s delightful ray ? 
 " Sad and distressful as the close of day. 
 " O er distant streams, appears the dewy green, 
 " And leafy trees on mountain tops, are seen. 
 " But they no groves nor grassy mountains tread, 
 " Marked for a longer journey to the dead." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 AFTER passing the weary and tedious night, 
 to whose accumulated horrors I have but slightly 
 alluded, I was permitted to ascend to the upper 
 deck, where other objects, even more disgusting 
 and loathsome, met my view. I found myself 
 surrounded by a motley crew of wretches with 
 tattered garments and pallid visages, who had 
 hurried from below, for the luxury of a little 
 
18 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 fresh air. Among them, I saw one ruddy and 
 healthful countenance, and recognized the feat 
 ures of one of my late fellow prisoners on board 
 the Belisarius. But how different did he appear 
 from the group around him, who had here been 
 doomed to combat with disease and death. Men, 
 who, shrunken and decayed as they stood around 
 him, had been, but a short time before, as strong, 
 as healthful and as vigorous as himself. Men, 
 who had breathed the pure breezes of the ocean, 
 or danced lightly in the flower-scented air of the 
 meadow and the hill ; and had from thence been 
 hurried into the pent-up air of a crowded prison- 
 ship, pregnant with putrid fever, foul with deadly 
 contagion ; here to linger out the tedious and 
 weary day, the disturbed and anxious night ; to 
 count over the days and weeks and months of 
 a wearying and degrading captivity, unvaried but 
 by new scenes of painful suffering, and new in 
 flictions of remorseless cruelty : their brightest 
 hope and their daily prayer, that death would not 
 long delay to release them from their torments. 
 In the wretched groups around me, I saw but 
 too faithful a picture of our own almost certain 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 19 
 
 fate ; and found that all which we had been 
 taught to fear of this terrible place of abode, was 
 more than realized. 
 
 During the night, in addition to my other suf 
 ferings, I had been tormented with what I sup 
 posed to be vermin ; and on coming upon deck, 
 I found that a black silk handkerchief, which I 
 wore around my neck, was completely spotted 
 with them. Although this had often been men 
 tioned as one of the miseries of the place, yet as 
 I had never before been in a situation to witness 
 any thing of the kind, the sight made me shud 
 der ; as I knew, at once, that so long as I should 
 remain on board, these loathsome creatures would 
 be my constant companions and unceasing tor 
 mentors. 
 
 The next disgusting object which met my sight 
 was a man suffering with the small pox ; and in a 
 few minutes, I found myself surrounded by many 
 others, labouring under the same disease, in every 
 stage of its progress. 
 
 As I had never had the small pox, it became 
 necessary that I should be inoculated ; and there 
 being no proper person on board to perform the 
 
2O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 * 
 
 operation, I concluded to act as my own phy 
 sician. On looking about me, I soon found a 
 man in the proper stage of the disease, and de 
 sired him to favor me with some of the matter 
 for the purpose. He readily complied ; observ 
 ing that it was a necessary precaution on my 
 part, and that my situation was an excellent one 
 in regard to diet, as I might depend upon finding 
 that extremely moderate. 
 
 The only instrument which I could procure 
 for the purpose of inoculation, was a common 
 pin. With this, having scarified the skin of my 
 hand, between the thumb and fore-finger, I ap 
 plied the matter and bound up my hand. The 
 next morning, I found that the wound had begun 
 to fester ; a sure symptom that the application 
 had taken effect. 
 
 Many of my former shipmates took the same 
 precaution, and were inoculated during the day. 
 In my case, the disorder came on but lightly, 
 and its progress was favourable ; and without the 
 least medical advice or attention, by the blessing 
 of Divine Providence, I soon recovered. 
 
 Since that time, more than forty years have 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 21 
 
 passed away ; but the scar on my hand is still 
 plainly to be seen. I often look upon it, when 
 alone, and it brings fresh to my recollection, the 
 fearful scene in which I was then placed, the 
 circumstances by which it was attended, and the 
 feelings which I then experienced. 
 
 As the prisoners sent from the Be/isarius had 
 not been formed into regular messes, and num 
 bered according to the regulations of the ship, 
 they were unable to draw their share of provi 
 sions for the day, in time for cooking. They had 
 now all fasted for nearly twenty-four hours ; and 
 knew not in what manner to obtain a morsel of 
 food. For my own part, it fortunately happened, 
 that at the time of our capture, I had taken the 
 precaution to put a few biscuit into my bag ; and 
 not having had occasion to use them while on 
 board the BeKsarius, I was now furnished with 
 the means of satisfying, in some degree, the 
 cravings of my own hunger ; and was also en 
 abled to distribute a portion of bread among some 
 of my comrades. 
 
 In the course of the day, after the regulations 
 of the ship had been made known to us, we 
 
22 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 divided ourselves into messes of six men each ; 
 and on the next morning, we drew our scanty 
 pittance of food with the rest of our compan 
 ions. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 23 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE GUN ROOM AND MESSES. 
 
 " But, such a train of endless woes abound, 
 " So many mischiefs in these hulks are found, 
 " That, of them all, the memory to prolong, 
 " Would swell too high the horrors of our song. 
 " Hunger and thirst, to work our woe, combine, 
 " And mouldy bread, and flesh of rotten swine; 
 " The mangled carcass, and the battered brain, 
 11 The doctor s poison, and the captain s cane, 
 " The soldier s musket, and the steward s debt, 
 " The evening shackle, and the noon-day threat." 
 
 KRENEAU. 
 
 ON the arrival of prisoners on board the Jersey, 
 the first thing necessary to be done was, as soon 
 as possible, to form, or be admitted into, some 
 regular mess. On the day of a prisoner s arrival, 
 it was impossible for him to procure any food ; 
 and even on the second day, he could not pro 
 cure any, in time to have it cooked. No matter 
 how long he had fasted, nor how acute might be 
 his sufferings from hunger and privation ; his 
 
24 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 petty tyrants would on no occasion deviate from 
 their rule of delivering the prisoner s morsel at 
 a particular hour, and at no other. And the poor, 
 half famished wretch must absolutely wait until 
 the coming day, before his pittance of food could 
 be boiled with that of his fellow captives. It 
 was therefore most prudent for a newly arrived 
 prisoner, to gain admittance into some old estab 
 lished mess, (which was not attended with much 
 difficulty, as death was daily providing vacan 
 cies ; ) for he would thereby be associated with 
 those who were acquainted with the mode of 
 procuring their allowance in time ; and be also 
 protected from many impositions, to which as a 
 stranger he otherwise would be liable during the 
 first days of his confinement. 
 
 The cruel tyrants, to whose petty sway we 
 were subjected on board this hulk, knew no dis 
 tinction among their prisoners. Whether taken 
 on the land or on the ocean, in arms, or from 
 our own firesides, it was the same to them. No 
 matter in what rank or capacity a prisoner might 
 have been known before his capture, no distinc 
 tion was here made ; we were " all Rebels." 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 25 
 
 Our treatment, our fare, its allowance and its 
 quality were the same. They did not, of course, 
 interfere in our private arrangements ; but left 
 us to manage our affairs in our own way. 
 
 The extreme after part of the ship, between 
 decks, was called the Gun Room. (See the 
 Plate, Figure 3.) Although no distinction was 
 made by our masters, yet those among the pris 
 oners who had been officers previous to their 
 capture, had taken possession of this room as 
 their own place of abode ; and from custom, it 
 was considered as belonging exclusively to them. 
 As an officer, I found my way into this apart 
 ment ; and with such of my late companions as 
 had been officers, was received with civility by 
 those who were already in possession of it ; who 
 humanely tendered us such little services as were 
 in their power to offer. We soon became incor 
 porated with them ; and having formed ourselves 
 into messes, as nearly as possible according to 
 our grades, we were considered -as a part of this 
 family of sufferers. 
 
 The different messes of the prisoners were all 
 numbered ; and every morning, at nine o clock, 
 
 7 
 
26 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 the Steward and his assistants having taken their 
 station at the window in the bulk head of the 
 Steward s room, (See the Plate, Figure 3,) the 
 bell was rung, and the messes called in rotation. 
 An* individual belonging to each mess stood 
 ready in order to be in time to answer when its 
 number was called. As the number of each 
 mess was spoken, its allowance was handed from 
 the window, to the person waiting to receive it ; 
 the rations being all prepared previous to the 
 hour of delivery. The prisoner must receive 
 for his mess, whatever was offered; and be its 
 quantity or quality what it might, no alteration 
 or change was ever allowed. We as prisoners, 
 were allowed each day for six men, what was 
 equal in quantity to the rations of four men at 
 full allowance. That is, each prisoner was fur 
 nished in quantity with two thirds of the allow 
 ance of a seaman in the British Navy ; which was 
 as follows : 
 
 On Sunday, i Ib. of biscuit, i Ib. of pork, and half a pint of peas. 
 
 Monday, i Ib. of biscuit, i pint of oat meal, 2 ounces of butter. 
 
 Tuesday, i Ib. of biscuit and two Ibs. of beef. 
 
 Wednesday, i r-a Ibs of flour, and two ounces of suet. 
 
 Thursday, The same as Sunday. 
 
 Friday, The same as Monday. 
 
 Saturday, The same as Tuesday. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 27 
 
 Hence, as prisoners, whenever we had our 
 due, we received, as they said, two thirds of the 
 ordinary allowance of their own seamen ; and 
 even this was of a very inferior quality. We 
 never received any butter; but in its stead, they 
 gave us a substance which they called sweet oil. 
 This was so rancid, and even putrid, that the 
 smell of it, accustomed as we were to every thing 
 foul and nauseous, was more than we could en 
 dure. We however, always received and gave 
 it to the poor, half-starved Frenchmen who were 
 on board ; who took it gratefully, and swallowed 
 it with a little salt and their wormy bread. Oil 
 of a similar quality, was given to the prisoners on 
 board the Good Hope, where I was confined in 
 1779. There however, it was of some use to 
 us, as we burnt it in our lamps ; being there in 
 dulged with the privilege of using lights until 
 nine o clock at night. But here, it was of no 
 service ; as we were allowed on board the 
 Jersey, no light or fire, on any occasion what 
 ever. 
 
28 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE COOK S QUARTERS. 
 
 Why, Britain, raged thy insolence and scorn ? 
 
 Why burst thy vengeance on the wretch forlorn ? 
 
 The cheerless captive, to slow death consigned, 
 
 Chilled with keen frosts, in prison glooms confined, 
 
 Of hope bereft, by thy vile minions curst, 
 
 With hunger famished, and consumed by thirst, 
 
 Without one friend, when death s last horror stung, 
 
 Rolled the wild eye, and gnawed the anguished tongue." 
 
 HUMPHREYS. 
 
 HAVING received our daily rations, which 
 were frequently not delivered to us in time to 
 be boiled on the same day, we were conse 
 quently often under the necessity of fasting for 
 the next twenty-four hours, if we had not a 
 stock of provisions on hand ; or were obliged at 
 times to consume our food in its raw state, when 
 the cravings of hunger could no longer be re 
 sisted. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 29 
 
 The cooking for the great mass of the prison 
 ers was done under the forecastle, or, as it was 
 usually called, the Galley, in a boiler or " Great 
 Copper," which was enclosed in brick work, 
 about eight feet square. This copper was large 
 enough to contain two or three hogsheads of 
 water. It was made in a square form, and 
 divided into two separate compartments, by a 
 partition. In one side of the Copper, the peas 
 and oatmeal for the prisoners were boiled, which 
 was done in fresh water. In the other side, the 
 meat was boiled. This side of the boiler was 
 filled with salt water from alongside the ship ; 
 by which means, the copper became soon cor 
 roded, and consequently poisonous : the fatal 
 consequences of which are so obvious, that I 
 need not enlarge upon the subject. 
 
 After the daily rations had been furnished to 
 the different messes, the portion of each mess 
 was designated by a tally fastened to it by a 
 string. Being thus prepared, every ear was 
 anxiously waiting for the summons of the Cook s 
 bell. As soon as this was heard to sound, the 
 persons having charge of the different portions 
 
3O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 of food, thronged to the Galley ; and in a few 
 minutes after, hundreds of tallies were seen 
 hanging over the sides of the brick work, by 
 their respective strings, each eagerly watched by 
 someindividual of the mess, who always waited 
 to receive it. The meat was suffered thus to re 
 main in the boiler but a certain time ; and when 
 this had elapsed, the cook s bell was again rung, 
 and the pittance of food must be immediately re 
 moved. Whether sufficiently cooked, or not, it 
 could remain no longer. The proportions of 
 peas and oat-meal belonging to each mess were 
 measured out from the Copper, after they were 
 boiled. 
 
 Among the emaciated crowd of living skele 
 tons who had remained on board for any length 
 of time, the cook was the only person who ap 
 peared to have much flesh upon his bones. He 
 perhaps contrived to obtain a greater quantity of 
 provisions than any of ourselves ; but if they 
 were of the same quality with our own, it is ob 
 vious that his plumpness of appearance could not 
 be the result of good living. He had himself 
 been formerly a prisoner; but seeing no pros- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 31 
 
 pect of ever being liberated, he had entered in 
 his present capacity ; and his mates and scullions 
 had followed his example, they having also been 
 prisoners at first. I attributed the appearance of 
 our Cook merely to the fact, that he was more 
 content with his situation than any other person 
 on board appeared to be. He indeed possessed 
 a considerable share of good humour; and al 
 though often cursed by the prisoners ( but not in 
 his hearing) for his refusals to comply with their 
 requests, yet considering the many applications 
 which were made to him for favours, and the in- 
 cumbrances which were around " his palace," he . 
 really displayed a degree of fortitude and for 
 bearance far beyond what most men would have 
 been capable of exhibiting under similar circum 
 stances. He did, indeed, at times, when his 
 patience was exhausted, " make the hot water 
 fly among us ; " but a reconciliation was usually 
 effected, with but little difficulty . 
 
 In consequence of the poisonous effects pro 
 duced by the use of the sea water for boiling 
 our meat in the Great Copper, many of the dif 
 ferent messes had obtained permission from " his 
 
32 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 Majesty the Cook/ to prepare their own rations 
 separate from the general mess in the great 
 boiler. For this purpose, a great number of 
 spikes and hooks had been driven into the brick 
 work by which the boiler was enclosed, on 
 which to suspend their tin kettles. As soon as 
 we were permitted to go on deck in the morning, 
 some one took the tin kettle belonging to the 
 mess, with as much water, and such splinters of 
 wood as we had been able to procure during the 
 previous day, and carried them to the Galley ; 
 and there having suspended his kettle on one of 
 the hooks or spikes in the brick work, he stood 
 ready to kindle his little fire, as soon as the cook 
 or his mates would permit it to be done. It re 
 quired but little fuel to boil our food in these 
 kettles ; for their bottoms were made in a con 
 cave form, and the fire was applied directly in 
 the centre. And let the remaining brands be 
 ever so small, they were all carefully quenched ; 
 and having been conveyed below, were kept for 
 use on a future occasion. Much contention often 
 arose, through our endeavors to obtain places 
 round the brick work ; but these disputes were 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 53 
 
 always promptly decided by the Cook, from 
 whose mandate there was no appeal. No sooner 
 had one prisoner completed the cooking for his 
 mess, than another supplicant stood ready to take 
 his place ; and they thus continued to throng the 
 Galley, during the whole time that the fire was 
 allowed to remain under the Great Copper ; un 
 less it happened to be the pleasure of the Cook, 
 to drive them away. 
 
 I have said that but little wood was requisite 
 for our purpose ; but the great difficulty was to 
 procure a sufficient quantity of fresh water for 
 this manner of cooking. The arrangement by 
 which we effected this, was, by agreeing that each 
 man in the mess should, during the day previous, 
 procure and save as much water as possible; 
 as no prisoner was ever allowed to take more 
 than a pint, at one time, from the scuttle cask in 
 which it was kept. Every individual was there 
 fore obliged, each day, to save a little, for the 
 common use of the mess, on the next morning. 
 By this arrangement, the mess to which I be 
 longed, had always a small quantity of fresh 
 water in store ; which we carefully kept, with a 
 
 9 
 
34 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 few other necessaries, in a chest which we used 
 in common. 
 
 During the whole period of my confinement, 
 I never partook of any food which had been 
 cooked in the Great Copper. It is to this fact, 
 that I have always attributed, under Divine Prov 
 idence, the degree of health which I preserved 
 while on board. I was thereby also, at times, 
 enabled to procure several necessary and com 
 fortable things, such as tea, sugar, &c. so that 
 wretchedly as I was situated, my condition was 
 far preferable to that of most of my fellow suf 
 ferers ; which has ever been with me, a theme 
 of sincere and lasting gratitude to Heaven. 
 
 But terrible indeed was the condition of most 
 of my fellow captives. Memory still brings be 
 fore me those emaciated beings, moving from the 
 Galley, with their wretched pittance of meat ; 
 each creeping to the spot where his mess were 
 assembled, to divide it with a group of haggard 
 and sickly creatures, their garments hanging in 
 tatters around their meagre limbs, and the hue 
 of death upon their care-worn faces. By these, 
 it was consumed with their scanty remnants of 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 5 
 
 bread, which was often mouldy and filled with 
 worms. And even from this vile fare, they 
 would rise up, in torments from the cravings of 
 unsatisfied hunger and thirst. 
 
 No vegetables of any description were ever 
 afforded us by our inhuman keepers. Good 
 Heaven ! what a luxury to us would then have 
 been even a few potatoes ; if but the very leav 
 ings of the swine of our country. 
 
36 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OUR SITUATION. 
 
 " Oh ! my heart sinks, my trembling eyes o erflow, 
 
 " When memory paints the picture of their woe. 
 
 " Where my poor countrymen in bondage, wait 
 
 " The slow enfranchisement of lingering fate ; 
 
 " Greeting with groans the unwelcome night s return, 
 
 " While rage and shame their gloomy bosoms burn ; 
 
 " And chiding, every hour, the slow paced sun, 
 
 " Endure their woes till all his race was run. 
 
 " No eye to mark their sufferings with a tear, 
 
 " No friend to comfort, and no hope to cheer. 
 
 " And like the dull unpitied brutes, repair 
 
 " To stalls as wretched and as coarse a fare ; 
 
 " Thank Heaven, one day of misery was o er, 
 
 " And sink to sleep, and wish to wake no more." 
 
 DAY. 
 
 BEFORE attempting a more minute account of 
 our manner of living on board the Jersey, it may 
 be proper to add a further description of the 
 ship. The Quarter Deck covered about one 
 fourth part of the upper deck, from the stern ; 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 37 
 
 and the forecastle extended from the stern, about 
 one eighth part of the length of the upper deck. 
 Sentinels were stationed on the gangways on 
 each side of the upper deck leading from the 
 quarter deck to the forecastle. These gangways 
 were about five feet wide, and here the prison 
 ers were allowed to pass and repass. The in 
 termediate space from the bulk head of the 
 quarter deck to the forecastle, was filled with 
 long spars or booms, and called the Spar Deck. 
 The temporary covering afforded by the spar 
 deck, was of the greatest benefit to the prison 
 ers ; as it served to shield us from the rain and 
 the scorching rays of the sun. It was here also 
 that our moveables were placed while we were 
 engaged in cleaning the lower decks. The spar 
 deck was also the only place where we were 
 allowed to walk ; and was therefore continually 
 crowded, through the day, by those of the pris 
 oners who were upon deck. Owing to the great 
 number of the prisoners, and the small space 
 afforded us by the spar deck, it was our custom 
 to walk, in platoons, each facing the same way, 
 and turning at the same time. The derrick, for 
 
 10 
 
38 ** RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 taking in wood, water, &c. stood on the star 
 board side of the spar deck. On the larboard 
 side of the ship, was placed the accommodation 
 ladder, leading from the gangway to the water. 
 At the head of this ladder, a sentinel was also 
 stationed. 
 
 The head of the accommodation ladder was 
 near the door of the barricade, which extended 
 across the front of the quarter deck, and pro 
 jected a few feet beyond the sides of the ship. 
 The barricado was about ten feet high, and was 
 pierced with loop-holes for musketry ; in order 
 that the prisoners might be fired on from behind 
 it, if occasion should require. 
 
 The regular crew of the ship consisted of a 
 Captain, two Mates, a Steward, a Cook, and 
 about twelve sailors. The crew of the ship had 
 no communication whatever with the prisoners. 
 No prisoner was ever permitted to pass through 
 the barricado door, except when it was required 
 that the messes should be examined and regu 
 lated ; in which case, each man had to pass 
 through, and go down between decks ; and there 
 remain, until the examination was completed. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 39 
 
 None of the guard or of the ship s crew ever 
 came among the prisoners, while I was on board. 
 I never saw one of her officers or men, except 
 when they were passing in their boat, to or from 
 the stern ladder. 
 
 On the two decks below, where we were con 
 fined at night, our chests, boxes and bags were ar 
 ranged in two lines along the deck, about ten feet 
 distant from the sides of the ship; thus leaving as 
 wide a space unincumbered in the middle part of 
 each deck, fore and aft, as our crowded situation 
 would admit. Between these tiers of chests, &c. 
 and the sides of the ship, was the place where 
 the different messes assembled ; and some of the 
 messes were also separated from their neigbours 
 by a temporary partition of chests, &c. Some 
 individuals of the different messes usually slept 
 on the chests, in order to preserve their contents 
 from being plundered during the night. 
 
 At night, the spaces in the middle of the deck 
 were much encumbered with hammocks ; but 
 these were always removed in the morning. 
 
 The prisoners, as before stated, were confined 
 on the two main decks below. My usual place 
 
4O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 of abode being in the Gun Room, on the centre 
 deck, I was never under the necessity of de 
 scending to the lower dungeon : and during my 
 confinement, I had no disposition to visit it. It 
 was inhabited by the most wretched in appear 
 ance of all our miserable company. From the 
 disgusting and squalid appearance of the groupes 
 which I saw ascending the stairs which led to it, 
 it must have been more dismal, if possible, than 
 that part of the hulk where I resided. Its occu 
 pants appeared to be mostly foreigners, who had 
 seen and survived every variety of human suffer 
 ing. The faces of many of them were covered 
 with dirt and filth ; their long hair and beards 
 matted and foul : clothed in rags ; and with 
 scarcely a sufficient supply of these to cover 
 their disgusting bodies. Many among them 
 possessed no clothing except the remnants of 
 those garments which they wore when first 
 brought on board ; and were unable to procure 
 even any materials for patching these together, 
 when they had been worn to tatters by constant 
 use ; and had this been in their power, they had 
 not the means of procuring a piece of thread, or 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 41 
 
 even a needle. Some, and indeed many of them, 
 had not the means of procuring a razor or an 
 ounce of soap. 
 
 Their beards were occasionally reduced by 
 eacli other, with a pair of shears or scissors ; 
 but this operation, though conducive to cleanli 
 ness, was not productive of much improvement 
 in their personal appearance. The skins of many 
 of them were discolored by continual washing in 
 salt water, added to the circumstance that it was 
 impossible for them to wash their linen in any 
 other manner, than by laying it on the deck, and 
 stamping on it with their feet, after it had been 
 immersed in salt water ; their bodies remaining 
 naked during the operation. 
 
 To men thus situated, everything like ordi 
 nary cleanliness was impossible. Much that was 
 disgusting in their appearance undoubtedly orig 
 inated from neglect, which long confinement had 
 rendered habitual, until it created a confirmed in 
 difference to personal appearance. 
 
 As soon as the gratings had been fastened over 
 the hatchways for the night, we generally went 
 to our sleeping places. It was, of course, always 
 
42 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 desirable to obtain a station as near as possible to 
 the side of the ship ; and, if practicable, in the 
 immediate vicinity of one of the air-ports ; as 
 this not only afforded us a better air, but also 
 rendered us less liable to be trodden upon by 
 those who were moving about the decks during 
 the night. 
 
 But silence was a stranger to our dark abode. 
 There were continual noises during the night. 
 The groans of the sick and the dying ; the curses 
 poured out by the weary and exhausted upon our 
 inhuman keepers ; the restlessness caused by the 
 suffocating heat and the confined and poisoned 
 air ; mingled with the wild and incoherent rav 
 ings of delirium, were the sounds, which, every 
 night, were raised around us, in all directions. 
 Such was our ordinary situation ; but at times, 
 ths consequences of our crowded condition were 
 still more terrible, and proved fatal to many of 
 our number in a single night. 
 
 But, strange as it may appear, notwithstand 
 ing all the maladies and sufferings which were 
 there endured, I knew many who had been in 
 mates of that abode for two years, who were 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 43 
 
 apparently well. They had, as they expressed 
 it, " been through the furnace, and become sea 
 soned." Most of these, however, were foreign 
 ers, who appeared to have abandoned all hope 
 of ever being exchanged, and had become quite 
 indifferent in regard to their place of abode. 
 
 But far different was the condition of that 
 {X)rtion of our number who were natives of the 
 Northern States. These formed by far the most 
 numerous class of the prisoners. Most of these 
 were young men, who had been induced by ne 
 cessity or inclination to try the perils of the sea, 
 and had, in many instances, been captured soon 
 after leaving their homes, and during their first 
 voyage. After they had been here immured, the 
 sudden change in their situation was like a sen 
 tence of death. Many a one was crushed down 
 beneath that sickness of the heart, so well de 
 scribed by the Poet, 
 
 " Night and day, 
 
 Brooding on what he had been, what he was ; 
 Twas more than he could bear. His longing fits 
 Thickened upon him. His desire for Home 
 Became a madness ." 
 
44 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 These poor creatures had, in many instances, 
 been plundered of their wearing apparel by their 
 captors. And here the dismal and disgusting 
 objects by which they were surrounded ; the ver 
 min which infested them ; their vile and loath 
 some food ; and what, with them, was far from 
 being the lightest of their trials, their ceaseless 
 longing after their homes and the scenes to which 
 they had been accustomed, all combined to 
 produce a wonderful effect upon them. Dejec 
 tion and anguish were soon visible in their coun 
 tenances. They became dismayed and terror 
 stricken ; and many of them absolutely died 
 that most awful of all human deaths, the effects 
 of a broken heart. 
 
 " Denied the comforts of a dying bed, 
 With not a pillow to support the head ; 
 How could they else, but pine and grieve and sigh, 
 Detest that wretched life, and f wish to die ? " 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 45 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE WORKING PARTY. 
 
 No masts or sails these crowded ships adorn, 
 Dismal to view, neglected and forlorn ; 
 Here mighty ills oppress d the imprison d throng, 
 Dull were our slumbers, and our nights were long 
 From morn to eve, along the decks we lay, 
 Scorch d into fevers by the solar ray." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 A CUSTOM had long been established, that cer 
 tain labour which it was necessary should be per 
 formed daily, should be done by a company, 
 usually called the " Working Party." This 
 consisted of about twenty able-bodied men, chos 
 en from among the prisoners, and was com 
 manded, in daily rotation, by those of our num 
 ber who had formerly been officers of vessels. 
 The commander of the party for the day bore 
 
46 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 the title of Boatswain. The members of the 
 Working Party received, as a compensation for 
 their services, a full allowance of provisions, and 
 a half pint of rum each per day ; with the priv 
 ilege of going on deck early in the morning, to 
 breathe the pure air. This privilege alone was 
 a sufficient compensation for all the duty which 
 was required of them. 
 
 Their routine of service was, to wash down 
 that part of the upper deck and gangways where 
 the prisoners were permitted to walk ; to spread 
 the awning ; and to hoist on board the wood, 
 water, and other supplies, from the boats in 
 which the same were brought along side the 
 ship. 
 
 When the prisoners ascended the upper deck 
 in the morning, if the day was fair, each carried 
 up his hammock and bedding; which were all 
 placed upon the spar deck or booms. The 
 Working Party then took the sick and disabled 
 who remained below, and placed them in the 
 bunks prepared for them upon the centre deck ; 
 they then, if any of the prisoners had died dur 
 ing the night, carried up the dead bodies, and 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 47 
 
 laid them upon the booms. After which, it was 
 their duty to wash down the main decks below ; 
 during which operation the prisoners remained 
 upon the upper deck, except such as chose to go 
 below, and volunteer their services in the per 
 formance of this duty. 
 
 Around the railing of the hatchway leading 
 from the centre to the lower deck, were placed 
 a number of large tubs for the occasional use of 
 the prisoners during the night, and as general 
 receptacles of filth. Although these were in 
 dispensably necessary to us, yet they were 
 highly offensive. Nevertheless, on account of 
 our crowded situation, many of the prisoners 
 were obliged to sleep in their immediate vicinity. 
 It was a part of the duty of the Working Party 
 to carry these tubs on deck, at the time when 
 the prisoners ascended in the morning ; and 
 to return them between decks in the after 
 noon. 
 
 Our beds and clothing were kept on deck un 
 til it was nearly the hour when we were to be 
 ordered below for the night. During this inter 
 val, the chests, &c. on the lower deck being 
 
48 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 piled up, and the hammocks removed, the decks 
 washed and cleared of all incumbrances except 
 the poor wretches who lay in the bunks, it was 
 quite refreshing, after the suffocating heat and 
 foul vapours of the night, to walk between 
 decks. There was then some circulation of air 
 through the ship ; and for a few hours, our ex 
 istence was in some degree tolerable. 
 
 About two hours before sunset, the order was 
 generally issued for the prisoners to carry their 
 hammocks, &c. below. After this had been 
 done, we were allowed either to retire between 
 decks, or to remain above until sunset, accord 
 ing to our own pleasure. Every thing which 
 we could do conducive to cleanliness having 
 then been performed, if we ever felt anything 
 like enjoyment in this wretched abode, it was 
 during this brief interval, when we breathed the 
 cool air of the approaching night, and felt the 
 luxury of our evening pipe. But short indeed 
 was this period of repose. The working party 
 were soon ordered to carry the tubs below ; and 
 we prepared to descend to our gloomy and 
 crowded dungeons. This was no sooner done, 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 49 
 
 than the gratings were closed over the hatch 
 ways, the sentinels stationed, and we left to 
 sicken and pine beneath our accumulated tor 
 ments, with our guards above crying aloud, 
 through the long night, "All s 
 
5O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE HOSPITAL SHIPS AND NURSES. 
 
 " Thou SCORPION, fatal to the crowded throng, 
 " Dire theme of horror and Plutonian song, 
 " Requir st my lay. Thy sultry decks I know, 
 " And all the torments that exist below." 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 " The briny wave that Hudson s bosom fills, 
 " Drained through her bottom in a thousand rills. 
 " Rotten and old, replete with sighs and groans, 
 " Scarce on the waters she sustained her bones. 
 " Here, doomed to toil, or founder in the tide, 
 " At the moist pumps incessantly we plied. 
 " Here, doomed to starve, like famished dogs, we tore 
 " The scant allowance which our tyrants bore." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 THE Jersey was used as a place of confinement 
 for seamen only. I never knew an instance of a 
 soldier being sent on board her as a prisoner. 
 During my confinement in the summer of 1782, 
 the average number of prisoners on board the 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 51 
 
 Jersey was about ONE THOUSAND. They were 
 composed of the crews of vessels of all nations 
 with whom the English were then at war. By 
 far the greater number, however, had been cap 
 tured in American vessels. 
 
 The three Hospital Ships, Scorpion, Strombolo, 
 and Hunter, were used for the reception of the 
 sick from the principal hulk. The Jersey at 
 length became so crowded, and the mortality on 
 board her increased so rapidly, that sufficient 
 room could not be found on board the Hospital 
 Ships for their reception. Under these dreadful 
 circumstances it was determined to prepare a 
 part of the upper deck of the Jersey for the re 
 ception of the sick from between decks. Bunks 
 were therefore erected on the after part of the 
 upper deck, on the larboard side ; where those 
 who felt the symptoms of approaching sickness 
 could lie down, in order to be found by the 
 Nurses as soon as possible ; and be thereby also 
 prevented from being trampled upon by the 
 other prisoners, to which they were continually 
 liable while lying on the deck. 
 
 I have stated that the number of the Hospital 
 
52 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 Ships was three. One of them, however, was 
 used rather as a store-ship and depot for the 
 medical department, and as a station for the 
 Doctor s Mates and boats crews attending the 
 whole. This ship was, I think, the Hunter. 
 
 I never was on board either of the Hospital 
 Ships ; and could never learn many particulars in 
 relation to the treatment of the sufferers on board 
 them ; for but few ever returned from their re 
 cesses to the Jersey. I knew but three such in 
 stances during the whole period of my imprison 
 ment. But I could form some idea of the interior 
 of the Hospital Ships, from viewing their outward 
 appearance, which was disgusting in the high 
 est degree. Knowing, as we did, from whence 
 their wretched inmates had been taken, the sight 
 of these vessels was terrible to us, and their ap 
 pearance more shocking than that of our own 
 miserable hulk. 
 
 But whatever might be our sensations on 
 viewing the Hospital Ships, they were, undoubt 
 edly, in many respects, preferable to the Jersey. 
 They were not so crowded, and of course af 
 forded more room for breathing. They were 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 53 
 
 furnished with awnings, and provided with a 
 wind-sail to each hatchway, for the purpose of 
 conducting the fresh air between decks, where 
 the sick were placed. And, more than all, the 
 hatchways were left open during the night, as 
 our kind keepers were under no apprehensions 
 of danger from the feeble and helpless wretches 
 who were there deposited. 
 
 When communication between the ships was 
 required, or any thing wanted, it was made known 
 by signals, which were promptly attended to by 
 the boats from the Hunter. Our condition caused 
 our keepers much labour, and furnished employ 
 ment, which to some of them was far from being 
 agreeable. 
 
 There were on board the Jersey, among the 
 prisoners, about half a dozen men, known by the 
 appellation of " Nurses." I never learnt by 
 whom they were appointed, or whether they had 
 any regular appointment at all. But one fact I 
 well knew, they were all thieves. They 
 were, however, sometimes useful in assisting the 
 sick to ascend from below to the gangway on 
 the upper deck, to be examined by the visiting 
 
 4 
 
54 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 Surgeon, who attended from the Hunter every 
 day (when the -weather was good). If a sick 
 man was pronounced by the Surgeon to be a 
 proper subject for one of the Hospital Ships, 
 he was forthwith put into the boat in waiting 
 alongside ; but not without the loss or detention 
 of all his effects, if he had any, as these were at 
 once taken into possession by the Nurses as 
 their own property. 
 
 I will here relate an incident not on account 
 of its extreme aggravation, but because it oc 
 curred immediately under my own eye which 
 will show in some degree the kind of treatment 
 which was given by these Nurses to the poor, 
 weak, and dying men who were left to their 
 care, and who were about to be transported to a 
 hospital ship, and, in all probability, in a few 
 hours, to the sand bank on the shore. 
 
 I had found Mr. Robert Carver, our Gunner 
 while on board the Chance, sick in one of the 
 bunks where those retired who wished to be re 
 moved. He was without a bed or pillow, and 
 had put on all the wearing apparel which he pos 
 sessed, wishing to preserve it, and being sensible 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 55 
 
 of his situation. I found him sitting upright in 
 the bunk, with his great coat on over the rest of 
 his garments, and his hat between his knees. 
 The weather was excessively hot, and in the 
 place where he lay the heat was overpowering. 
 I at once saw that he was delirious, a sure 
 presage that his end was near. I took oft his 
 great coat, and having folded and placed it under 
 his head for a pillow, I laid him down upon it, 
 and went immediately to prepare him some tea. 
 I was absent but a few minutes, and on return 
 ing, met one of the thievish Nurses with Carver s 
 great coat in his hand. On ordering him to re 
 turn it, his only reply was, that it was a perqui 
 site of the Nurses, and the only one they had ; 
 that the man was dying, and the garment could 
 be of no further use to him. 
 
 I, however, took possession of the coat, and, 
 on my liberation, returned it to the family of the 
 owner. Mr. Carver soon after expired where 
 he lay. We procured a blanket, in which we 
 wrapped his body, which was thus prepared for 
 interment. Others of the crew of the Chance 
 had died previous to that time. Mr. Carver was 
 
56 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 a man of strong and robust constitution. Such 
 men were subject to the most violent attacks of 
 the fever, and were also its most certain victims. 
 I attach no blame to our keepers in regard to 
 the thievish habits of the Nurses, over whom 
 they had no control. I have merely related this 
 incident for the purpose of more clearly showing 
 to what a state of wretchedness we were re 
 duced. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 57 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE INTERMENT OF THE DEAD. 
 
 By feeble hands their shallow graves were made ; 
 No stone, memorial, o er their corpses laid. 
 In barren sands, and far from home, they lie, 
 4 No friend to shed a tear when passing by ; 
 O er the mean tombs, insulting foemen tread, 
 Spurn at the sand, and curse the rebel dead." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 IT has already been mentioned that one of 
 the duties of the Working Party was, on each 
 morning, to place the sick in the bunks, and if 
 any of the prisoners had died during the night, 
 to carry the dead bodies to the upper deck, 
 where they were laid upon the gratings. Any 
 prisoner who could procure and chose to furnish 
 a blanket, was allowed to sew it around the re 
 mains of his deceased companions. 
 
58 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 The signal being made, a boat was soon seen 
 approaching from the Hunter; and if there were 
 any dead on board the other ships, the boat re 
 ceived them on her way to the Jersey. 
 
 The corpse was laid upon a board, to which 
 some ropes were attached as straps ; as it was 
 often the case that bodies were sent on shore for 
 interment before they had become sufficiently 
 cold and stiff to be lowered into the boat by a 
 single strap. Thus prepared, a tackle was at 
 tached to the board, and the remains of the suf 
 ferer were hoisted over the side of the ship into 
 the boat, without further ceremony. If several 
 bodies were waiting for interment, but one of 
 them was lowered into the boat at a time, for 
 the sake of decency. The prisoners were al 
 ways very anxious to be engaged in the duty of 
 interment ; not so much from a feeling of hu 
 manity, or from a wish of paying respect to the 
 remains of the dead (for to these feelings they 
 had almost become strangers ) , as from the desire 
 of once more placing their feet upon the land, if 
 but for a few minutes. A sufficient number of 
 the prisoners having received permission to assist 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 59 
 
 in this duty, they entered the boat, accompanied 
 by a guard of soldiers, and put off from the 
 ship. 
 
 I obtained leave to assist in the burial of the 
 body of Mr. Carver, whose death was mentioned 
 in the preceding Chapter. As this was done 
 in the ordinary mode, a relation of the circum 
 stances attending it will afford a correct idea of 
 the general method of interment. 
 
 After landing at a low wharf which had been 
 built from the shore, we first went to a small 
 hut, which stood near the wharf, and was used 
 as a place of deposit for the hand-barrows and 
 shovels provided for these occasions. Having 
 placed the corpses on the hand-barrows, and re 
 ceived our hoes and shovels, we proceeded to the 
 side of the bank near the Wallabout. Here a 
 vacant space having been selected, we were 
 directed to dig a trench in the sand, of a proper 
 length for the reception of the bodies. We con 
 tinued our labour until our guards considered 
 that a sufficient space had been excavated. The 
 corpses were then laid into the trench, without 
 ceremony, and we threw the sand over them. 
 
60 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 The whole appeared to produce no more effect 
 upon our guards, than if we were burying the 
 bodies of dead animals instead of men. They 
 scarcely allowed us time to look about us ; for 
 no sooner had we heaped the earth above the 
 trench, than the order was given to march. But 
 a single glance was sufficient to show us parts of 
 many bodies which were exposed to view, al 
 though they had probably been placed there, 
 with the same mockery of interment, but a few 
 days before. 
 
 Having thus performed, as well as we were 
 permitted to do it, the last duty to the dead, and 
 the guards having stationed themselves on each 
 side of us, we began reluctantly to retrace our 
 steps to the boat. We had enjoyed the pleasure 
 of breathing, for a few moments, the air of our 
 native soil ; and the thought of returning to the 
 crowded prison-ship was terrible in the extreme. 
 As we passed by the water s side, we implored 
 our guards to allow us to bathe, or even to wash 
 ourselves for a few minutes ; but this was re 
 fused us. 
 
 I was the only prisoner of our party who wore 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 6l 
 
 a pair of shoes, and well recollect the circum 
 stance, that I took them from my feet for the 
 pleasure of feeling the earth, or rather the sand, 
 as I went along. It was a high gratification to 
 us to bury our feet in the sand, and to shove 
 them through it, as we passed on our way. We 
 went by a small patch of turf, some pieces of 
 which we tore up from the earth, and obtained 
 permission to carry them on board, for our com 
 rades to smell them. Circumstances like these 
 may appear trifling to the careless reader ; but 
 let him be assured that they were far from being 
 trifles to men situated as we had been. The in 
 flictions which we had endured ; the duty which 
 we had just performed ; the feeling that we 
 must in a few minutes re-enter our place of suf 
 fering, from which, in all probability, we should 
 never return alive, all tended to render every 
 thing connected with the firm land beneath, and 
 the sweet air above us, objects of deep and 
 thrilling interest. 
 
 Having arrived at the hut, we there deposited 
 our implements, and walked to the landing place, 
 where we prevailed on our guards, who were 
 
 16 
 
62 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 Hessians, to allow us the gratification of remain 
 ing nearly half an hour, before we re-entered 
 the boat. 
 
 Near us stood a house, occupied by a miller ; 
 and we had been told that a tide-mill, which he 
 attended, was in its immediate vicinity, as a land 
 ing place for which, the wharf where we stood 
 had been erected. It would have afforded me a 
 high degree of pleasure to have been permitted 
 to enter this dwelling, the probable abode of har 
 mony and peace. It was designated by the 
 prisoners by the appellation of the " Old Dutch 
 man s ; " and its very walls were viewed by us 
 with feelings of veneration, as we had been told 
 that the amiable daughter of its owner had kept 
 a regular account of the number of bodies which 
 had been brought on shore for interment from 
 the Jersey and the Hospital Ships. This could 
 easily be done in the house, as its windows com 
 manded a fair view of the landing place. We 
 were not, however, gratified on this occasion, 
 either by the sight of herself, or of any other 
 inmate of the house. 
 
 Sadly did we approach and re-enter our foul 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 63 
 
 and disgusting place of confinement. The pieces 
 of turf which we carried on board were sought 
 for by our fellow-prisoners with the greatest 
 avidity : every fragment being passed by them 
 from hand to hand, and its smell inhaled, as if it 
 had been a fragrant rose. 
 
64 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CREW OF * THE CHANCE. 
 
 " At dead of night, 
 
 " In sullen silence, stalks forth Pestilence : 
 " Contagion, close behind, taints all her steps 
 " With poisonous dew ; no smiting hand is seen ; 
 " No sound is heard ; but soon her secret path 
 " Is marked with desolation ; heaps on heaps, 
 " Promiscuous drop. No friend, no refuge near : 
 " All, all is false and treacherous around ; 
 " All that they touch, or taste, or breathe, is death. 
 
 " Yet, still they breathe destruction ; still go on, 
 
 " Inhumanly ingenious, to find out 
 
 " New pains for life, new terrors for the grave; 
 
 " Artificers of death ! " PORTEUS. 
 
 MY visit to the shore, as described in the last 
 chapter, was the first one which I had been per 
 mitted to make. I had then been a prisoner for 
 several weeks, and my situation had become, in 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 65 
 
 some degree, familiar ; but my visit to the land 
 caused me to feel the extent of my wretched 
 ness, and to view my condition with feelings of 
 greater abhorrence, and even of despair. 
 
 I have already observed that Mr. Carver was 
 not the first victim among the crew of the 
 Chance. The first individual was a lad named 
 Palmer, about twelve years of age, the youngest 
 of our crew. While on board the Chance he was 
 a waiter to the officers, and he continued in that 
 duty after we were placed on board the Jersey. 
 He had, with many others of our crew, been in 
 oculated for the small pox, immediately after our 
 arrival on board. The usual symptoms appeared 
 at the proper time, and we supposed the appear 
 ances of his disorder to be favourable ; but these 
 soon changed, and the yellow hue of his features 
 declared the approach of death. He became de 
 lirious, and died during the succeeding night. 
 He was a member of the same mess with my 
 self, and had always looked up to me as a pro 
 tector, and particularly so during his sickness. 
 That night was truly a wretched one to me ; for 
 I spent almost the whole of it in perfect dark- 
 17 
 
66 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 ness, holding him during his convulsions ; and it 
 was heart-rending to hear the screams of the 
 dying boy, while calling and imploring, in his 
 delirium, for the assistance of his mother and 
 other persons of his family. For a long time, 
 all persuasion or argument was useless to silence 
 his groans and supplications. But exhausted 
 nature at length sunk under its agonies ; his 
 screams became less piercing, and his struggles 
 less violent. In the midnight gloom of our 
 dungeon, I could not see him die ; but knew, by 
 placing my hand over his mouth, that his breath 
 ings were becoming shorter ; and thus felt the 
 last breath as it quit his frame. The first glim 
 mer of morning light through the iron grate, fell 
 upon his pallid and lifeless corpse. 
 
 I had done every thing in my power for this 
 poor boy during his sickness, and could render 
 him but one more kind office. I assisted in sew 
 ing a blanket round his body, which was, with 
 those of the others who had died during the 
 night, conveyed upon deck in the morning, to 
 be, at the usual hour, hurried to the bank at the 
 Wallabout. I regretted that I could not assist 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 67 
 
 at his interment ; but this was impossible, as I 
 was then suffering with the small pox myself; 
 neither am I certain that permission would have 
 been granted me if I had sought it. Our keep 
 ers seemed to have no idea that the prisoners 
 could feel any regard for each other ; but ap 
 peared to think us as cold-hearted as themselves. 
 If any thing like sympathy was ever shewn us 
 by any of them, it was done by the Hessians. 
 In fact, the prisoners had lost almost every feel 
 ing of humanity for each other ; and being able 
 to reciprocate but few offices of kindness, their 
 feelings had become withered, and self-preserva 
 tion appeared to be their only wish. 
 
 The next deaths among our own crew were 
 those of James Mitchell, and his son-in-law, 
 Thomas Sturmey. It is a singular fact that both 
 of these men died at the same time. I did not 
 even know that either of them had been sick ; 
 and my first intimation of the fact was when I 
 was told that their bodies were lying on the 
 grating, on the upper deck. I there found them 
 lying in the same clothes in which they had died. 
 We procured a couple of blankets, and placed 
 
68 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 them around the bodies, previous to their inter 
 ment. I applied for permission to accompany 
 their remains to the land, and to assist in their 
 burial ; but this was denied me. I, however, 
 watched their progress to the shore, and saw 
 them deposited in the bank. Mr. Mitchell was 
 generally known among his fellow-citizens of 
 Providence ; and there are many now living who 
 well recollect him. 
 
 It will, at first, appear almost incredible, that 
 my former companions, my friends, and fellow- 
 townsmen, could be thus sick and dying, so near 
 me, and I remain in profound ignorance of the 
 fact. But such was in reality our situation in 
 this little world of concentrated misery. We 
 were separated and scattered over the different 
 parts of the crowded hulk, and mingled with the 
 great mass of the prisoners ; and, sometimes 
 meeting each other, among the multitude, we 
 would, on enquiring respecting the fate of an old 
 comrade, receive the appalling information that 
 he had either been attacked by sickness and re 
 moved to one of the Hospital Ships, or had died, 
 and gone to his last home under the bank of the 
 Wallabout. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 69 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE MARINE GUARD. 
 
 " Remembrance shudders at this scene of fears, 
 
 " Still in my view some tyrant chief appears, 
 
 " Some base-born Hessian slave walks threatening by, 
 
 "Some servile Scot, with murder in his eye, 
 
 " Still haunts my sight, as vainly they bemoan 
 
 " Rebellions manag d so unlike their (nun." 
 
 " No waters laded from the bubbling spring, 
 
 " To these dire ships these little tyrants bring, 
 
 " No drop was granted to the midnight prayer, 
 
 " To Rebels in these regions of despair ! 
 
 " The loathsome cask a deadly dose contains ; 
 
 " Its poison circling through the languid veins." 
 
 FBENEAU. 
 
 IN addition to the regular officers and seamen 
 of the Jersey, there were stationed on board 
 about a dozen old invalid marines ; but our act 
 ual guard was composed of soldiers from the 
 it 
 
7O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 different regiments quartered on Long Island. 
 The number usually on duty on board was about 
 thirty. Each week they were relieved by a fresh 
 party. They were English, Hessians, and Ref 
 ugees. We always preferred the Hessians, from 
 whom we received better treatment than from 
 the others. As to the English, we did not com 
 plain, being aware that they merely obeyed their 
 orders in regard to us ; but the Refugees, or Roy 
 alists, as they termed themselves, were viewed 
 by us with scorn and hatred. I do not recol 
 lect, however, that a guard of these miscre 
 ants was placed over us more than three times, 
 during which their presence occasioned much 
 tumult and confusion ; for the prisoners could 
 not endure the sight of these men, and occasion 
 ally assailed them with abusive language ; while 
 they, in return, treated us with all the severity 
 in their power. 
 
 We dared not approach near them for fear of 
 their bayonets : and of course could not pass along 
 the gangways where they were stationed ; but 
 were obliged to crawl along upon the booms, in 
 order to get fore and aft, or to go up or down 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 71 
 
 the hatchways. They never answered any of 
 our remarks respecting them ; but would merely 
 point to their uniforms, as if saying, We are 
 clothed by our Sovereign, while you are naked. 
 They were as much gratified at the idea of leav 
 ing us, as we were at seeing them depart. Many 
 provoking gestures were made by the prisoners 
 as they left the ship, and our curses followed 
 them as far as we could make ourselves heard. 
 
 A regiment of Refugees, with a green uni 
 form, was then quartered at Brooklyn. We 
 were invited to join this Royal Band, and to par 
 take of his Majesty s pardon and bounty. But 
 the prisoners, in the midst of their unbounded 
 suffering, of their dreadful privation and consum 
 ing anguish, spurned the insulting offer. They 
 preferred to linger and to die, rather than desert 
 their country s cause. During the whole period 
 of my confinement, I never knew a single in 
 stance of enlistment from among the prisoners of 
 the Jersey. 
 
 The only duty, to my knowledge, ever per 
 formed by the old marines, was to guard the 
 water butt, near which one of them was stationed 
 
72 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 with a drawn cutlass. They were ordered to 
 allow no prisoner to carry away more than one 
 pint of water at once ; but we were allowed to 
 drink at the butt as much as we pleased ; for 
 which purpose two or three copper ladles were 
 chained to the cask. Having been long on 
 board, and regular in the performance of this 
 duty, they had become familiar with the faces of 
 the prisoners ; and could thereby, in many in 
 stances, detect the frauds which we practised 
 upon them in order to obtain more fresh water 
 for our cooking than was allowed us by the reg 
 ulations of the ship. Over the water the soldiers 
 had no control. 
 
 The daily consumption of water on board was 
 at least equal to seven hundred gallons. I know 
 not whence it was brought, but presume it was 
 from Brooklyn. One large gondola, or boat, 
 was kept in constant employment to furnish the 
 necessary supply. 
 
 So much of the water as was not required on 
 deck for immediate use, was conducted into butts 
 placed in the lower hold of the hulk, through a 
 leathern hose, passing through her side, near the 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 73 
 
 bends. To this water we had recourse when we 
 could procure no other. 
 
 When water in any degree fit for use was 
 brought on board, it is impossible to describe the 
 struggle which ensued in consequence of our 
 haste and exertions to procure a draught of it. 
 The best which was ever afforded us was very 
 brackish ; but that from the ship s hold was nau 
 seous in the highest degree. This must be evi 
 dent when the fact is stated, that the butts for 
 receiving it had never been cleaned since they 
 were placed in the hold. The quantity of foul 
 sediment which they contained was therefore 
 very great, and was disturbed and mixed with 
 the water, as often as a new supply was poured 
 into them ; thereby rendering their whole con 
 tents a substance of the most disgusting and 
 poisonous nature. I have not the least doubt 
 that the use of this vile compound caused the 
 death of hundreds of the prisoners, when, to 
 allay their tormenting thirst, they were driven 
 by desperation to drink this liquid poison, and 
 to abide the consequences. 
 
74 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 DAME GRANT AND HER BOAT. 
 
 " At Brooklyn WTiarf, in travelling trim, 
 " Young Charon s boat receives her store ; 
 " Across the wavy waste they skim, 
 " She at the helm, and he, the oar. 
 
 " The market done, her cash secure, 
 " She home%vard takes her wonted way ; 
 " The painted chest, behind the door, 
 " Receives the gainings of the day." 
 
 THE MARKET GIRL. 
 
 ONE indulgence was allowed us by our keep 
 ers ; if indulgence it may be called. They had 
 given permission for a boat to come alongside 
 the ship with a supply of a few necessary arti 
 cles, to be sold to such of the prisoners as pos 
 sessed the means of paying for them. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 75 
 
 This trade was carried on by a very corpulent 
 old woman, known among the prisoners by the 
 name of " DAME GRANT." Her visits, which 
 were made on every other day, were of much 
 benefit to us, and I presume a source of profit to 
 herself. She brought us soft bread and fruit, with 
 various other articles, such as sugar, tea, &c. all 
 of which she previously put up into small paper 
 parcels, from one ounce to a pound in weight, 
 with the price affixed to each, from which she 
 would never deviate. The bulk of the old lady 
 completely filled the stern sheets of the boat; 
 where she sat, with her box of goods before her, 
 from which she supplied us very expeditiously. 
 Her boat was rowed by two boys, who delivered 
 to us the articles we had purchased ; the price 
 of which we were required first to put into their 
 hands. 
 
 When our guard was not composed of Refu 
 gees, we were usually permitted to descend to 
 the foot of the accommodation ladder, in order 
 to select from the boat such articles as we wished. 
 While standing there, it was distressing to see 
 the faces of hundreds of half famished wretches, 
 
76 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 looking over the side of the ship into the boat, 
 without the means of purchasing the most tri 
 fling article before their sight ; not even so much 
 as a morsel of wholesome bread. None of us 
 possessed the means of generosity, nor had any 
 power to afford them relief. Whenever I 
 bought any articles from the boat, I never en 
 joyed them ; for it was impossible to do so in the 
 presence of so many needy wretches, eagerly 
 gazing at my purchase, and almost dying for 
 want of it. 
 
 We frequently furnished Dame Grant with a 
 memorandum of such articles as we wished her 
 to procure for us, such as pipes, tobacco, needles, 
 thread, and combs. These she always faithfully 
 procured and brought to us ; never omitting 
 the assurance that she afforded them exactly at 
 cost. 
 
 Her arrival was always a subject of interest to 
 us ; but at length she did not make her appear 
 ance for several days ; and her approach was 
 awaited in extreme anxiety. But, alas ! we were 
 no longer to enjoy this little gratification. Her 
 traffic was ended. She had taken the fever from 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 77 
 
 the hulk, and died, if not in the flower of 
 her youth, at least in the midst of her use 
 fulness, leaving a void which was never after 
 wards filled up. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OUR SUPPLIES. 
 
 " On the hard floors, these wasted objects laid, 
 " There tossed and tumbled in the dismal shade. 
 " There no soft voice their bitter fate bemoaned, 
 44 And death trod stately while his victims groaned." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 AFTER the death of Dame Grant, we were 
 under the necessity of purchasing from the Sut 
 ler such small supplies as we needed. This man 
 was one of the Mates of the ship, and occupied 
 one of the apartments under the quarter deck, 
 through the bulk head of which an opening had 
 been cut, from which he delivered his goods. 
 He here kept for sale a variety of articles, among 
 which was usually a supply of ardent spirits, 
 which was not allowed to be brought alongside 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 79 
 
 the ship for sale. It could therefore only be 
 procured from the Sutler, whose price was two 
 dollars for a gallon. Except in relation to this 
 article, no regular price was fixed for what he 
 sold us. We were first obliged to hand him the 
 money, and he then gave us such a quantity as 
 he pleased of the article which we needed ; there 
 was, on our part, no bargain to be made. But, 
 to be supplied even in this manner, was, to those 
 of us who had means of payment, a great con 
 venience. 
 
 But how different was our condition from that 
 of our countrymen who were sent prisoners to 
 England, during the same period. They were 
 also in confinement, it is true, but it was in pris 
 ons which were palaces in comparison with the 
 foul and putrid dungeons into which we were 
 crowded. They were furnished with sweet and 
 wholesome provisions, and with pure and good 
 water for every necessary purpose. They could 
 easily procure vegetables, and every other sup 
 ply conducive to their comfort. An Agent was 
 appointed to supply them with clothing and to 
 attend to their complaints. They had a sufficient 
 
8O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 space for exercise and manly recreation during 
 the day, and the privilege of using lights by 
 night. They were not so crowded together as 
 to be thereby rendered the almost certain victims 
 of disease and death. They received donations 
 from the charitable and the well disposed. Such 
 was their situation, in a foreign country, in the 
 land of our enemies. What a contrast does this 
 present to the picture I have attempted to give 
 of our condition, while confined on our own 
 waters, and in sight of our own shore! Our 
 own people afforded us no relief. Oh, my 
 Country ! why were we thus neglected in this 
 our hour of misery, why was not a little food 
 and raiment given to the dying martyrs of thy 
 cause ? 
 
 Although the supplies which some of us were 
 enabled to procure from the Sutler were highly 
 conducive to our comfort, yet one most neces 
 sary article neither himself nor any other person 
 could furnish us. This was wood for our daily 
 cooking; to procure a sufficient quantity of which, 
 was to us a source of continual trouble and anx 
 iety. The cooks would indeed steal small quan- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 8l 
 
 tities, and sell them to us, at the hazard of cer 
 tain punishment if detected ; but it was not in 
 their power to embezzle a sufficient quantity to 
 meet our daily necessities. As the disgust of 
 swallowing any food which had been cooked in 
 the Great Copper was universal, each prisoner 
 used every exertion to procure as much wood 
 as possible, for the private cooking of his own 
 mess. 
 
 During my excursion to the shore, to assist in 
 the interment of Mr. Carver, it was my good 
 fortune to find a hogshead stave floating in the 
 water. This was truly a prize. I conveyed 
 the treasure on board ; and in the economical 
 manner in which it was used, it furnished the 
 mess to which I belonged with a supply of fuel 
 for a considerable time. 
 
 I was also truly fortunate on another occasion. 
 I had, one day, command of the Working Party, 
 which was then employed in taking on board a 
 sloop load of wood for the ship s use. This was 
 carefully conveyed below, under a guard, to pre 
 vent embezzlement. I nevertheless found means, 
 with the assistance of my associates, to convey a 
 
82 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 cleft of it into the Gun Room, where it was im 
 mediately secreted. Our mess was thereby sup 
 plied with- a sufficient quantity for a long time ; 
 and its members were considered by far the 
 most wealthy persons in all this republic of mis 
 ery. We had enough for our own use, and 
 were enabled occasionally to supply our neigh 
 bours with a few splinters. 
 
 Our mode of preparing the wood for use was 
 to cut it with a jack knife, into pieces about four 
 inches long. This labour occupied much of our 
 time, and was performed by the different mem 
 bers of the mess, in rotation ; which employment 
 was to us a source of no little pleasure. 
 
 After a sufficient quantity had thus been pre 
 pared for the next day s use, it was deposited in 
 the chest. The main stock was guarded, by day 
 and night, with the most scrupulous and anxious 
 care. We kept it at night within our own en 
 closure; and by day it was always watched by 
 some one of its proprietors. So highly did we 
 value it, that we went into mathematical calcula 
 tions to ascertain how long it would supply us, if 
 a given quantity was each day consumed. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 83 
 
 It may be thought that this subject is not of 
 sufficient importance to be so long dwelt upon. 
 But things which are usually of trifling worth 
 may, at times, become objects of the greatest 
 consequence. Men may be placed in situations 
 where the flint is of more value than the dia 
 mond. 
 
84 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 OUR BY-LAWS. 
 
 " What though the sun, in his meridian blaze, 
 " Dart on their naked limbs his scorching rays ; 
 " Still, of etherial temper are their souls, 
 " And in their veins the tide of honour rolls." 
 
 DAY. 
 
 SOON after the Jersey was first used as a place 
 of confinement, a code of By-Laws had been 
 established by the prisoners, for their own regu 
 lation and government, to which a willing sub 
 mission was paid, so far as circumstances would 
 permit. I much regret my inability to give these 
 rules verbatim ; but I cannot at this distant period 
 of time recollect them with a sufficient degree 
 of distinctness. They were chiefly directed to 
 the preservation of personal cleanliness, and the 
 prevention of immorality. For a refusal to com- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 85 
 
 ply with any one of them, the refractory prisoner 
 was subject to a stated punishment. It is an 
 astonishing fact that any rules thus made should 
 have so long existed and been enforced among 
 a multitude of men situated as we were ; so 
 numerous, and composed of individuals of that 
 class of human beings who are not easily con 
 trolled, and usually not the most ardent support 
 ers of good order. There were many foreigners 
 among our number, over whom we had no con 
 trol, except so far as they chose voluntarily to 
 comply with our regulations ; which they cheer 
 fully did, in almost every instance, so far as their 
 condition would allow. 
 
 Among our Rules were the following : That 
 personal cleanliness should be preserved, as far as 
 was practicable ; that profane language should be 
 avoided ; that drunkenness should not be allowed ; 
 that theft should be severely punished ; and that 
 no smoking should be permitted between decks, 
 by day or night, on account of the annoyance 
 which it caused to the sick. 
 
 A due observance of the Sabbath was also 
 strongly enjoined ; and it was recommended to 
 
86 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 every individual to appear cleanly shaved on 
 Sunday morning, and to refrain from all recrea 
 tion during the day. This rule was particularly 
 recommended to the attention of the officers, and 
 the remainder of the prisoners were desired to 
 follow their example. 
 
 Our By-Laws were occasionally read to the 
 assembled prisoners, and always whenever any 
 prisoner was to be punished for their violation. 
 Theft or fraud upon the allowance of a fellow- 
 prisoner was always punished, and the infliction 
 was always approved by the whole company. 
 On these occasions the oldest officer among the 
 prisoners presided as Judge. 
 
 It required much exertion for many of us to 
 comply with the law prohibiting smoking be 
 tween decks. Being myself much addicted to 
 the habit of smoking, it would have been a great 
 privilege to have enjoyed the liberty of thus in 
 dulging it, particularly during the night, while 
 sitting by one of the air ports ; but as this was 
 entirely inadmissible, I of course submitted to the 
 prohibition. 
 
 Many of us waited in great anxiety for the 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 87 
 
 moment when we could ascend to the upper 
 deck, and enjoy the gratification of our favourite 
 habit. The practice had indeed become univer 
 sal among the prisoners, at least as many of them 
 as had the means of procuring tobacco. We 
 were allowed no means of striking fire, and were 
 obliged to procure it from the Cook employed 
 for the ship s officers, through a small window 
 in the bulk head, near the camboose. After one 
 had thus procured fire, the rest were also soon 
 supplied, and our pipes were all in full operation 
 in the course of a few minutes. The smoke 
 which rose around us appeared to purify the 
 pestilential air by which we were surrounded ; 
 and I attributed the preservation of my health in 
 a great degree to the exercise of this habit. Our 
 greatest difficulty was to procure tobacco. This, 
 to some of the prisoners, was impossible ; and it 
 must have been an aggravation to their suffer 
 ings to see us apparently puffing away our sor 
 rows, while they had no means of procuring the 
 enjoyment of a similar gratification. 
 
 We dared not often apply at this Cook s cam- 
 boose for fire, as the surly wretch would not 
 
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 willingly repeat the supply. One morning I 
 went to the window of his den, and requested 
 leave to light my pipe ; and the miscreant, with 
 out making any reply, threw a shovel full of 
 burning cinders in my face. I was almost 
 blinded by the pain, and several days elapsed 
 before I fully regained my sight. My feelings 
 on this occasion may be imagined ; but redress 
 was impossible, as we were allowed no mode of 
 even seeking it. I mention this occurrence to 
 show to what a wretched state we were reduced, 
 when thus exposed to the wanton and vexatious 
 insults, the petty and disgusting tyranny of all 
 those wretches, from the Commissary to the 
 Cook and the Cook s scullion. This wanton act 
 of that inhuman monster would not probably 
 have been justified by the Captain, had it come 
 to his knowledge ; but it was wholly out of our 
 power to devise means whereby to convey any 
 complaint to him. Had the means been allowed 
 us of making known our grievances, many of 
 these brutal aggressions would probably have 
 been punished, and we should have been saved 
 from the endurance of a great number of petty, 
 but unceasing insults. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 OUR ORATOR. 
 
 " Stranger Youth, 
 
 " So noble and so mild is thy demeanour, 
 
 " So gentle and so patient ; such the air 
 
 " Of candour and of courage which adorns 
 
 " Thy manly features, thou hast won my love." 
 
 H. MOORE. 
 
 DURING the period of my confinement, the 
 Jersey was never visited by any regular clergy 
 man, nor was Divine service ever performed on 
 board. And among the whole multitude of the 
 prisoners, there was but one individual who ever 
 attempted to deliver a set speech, or to exhort 
 his fellow-sufferers. 
 
 This individual was a young man named 
 Cooper, whose station in life was apparently that 
 
9O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 of a common sailor. He was a man of eccentric 
 character, but evidently possessed talents of a 
 very high order. His manners were pleasing, 
 and he had every appearance of having received 
 an excellent education. He was a Virginian ; 
 but I never learnt the exact place of his nativity. 
 He told us that he had been a very unmanage 
 able youth, and that he had left his family con 
 trary to their wishes and advice ; that he had 
 often been assured by them that the old Jersey 
 would bring him up at last, and the Wallabout 
 be his place of burial. " The first of these pre 
 dictions/ said he, " has been verified ; and I 
 care not how soon the second proves equally 
 true, for I am prepared for the event. Death, 
 for me, has lost its terrors, for with them I have 
 been too long familiar." 
 
 On several Sunday mornings Cooper harangued 
 the prisoners in a very forcible yet pleasing 
 manner, which, together with his language, 
 made a lasting impression upon my memory. 
 On one of these occasions, having mounted a 
 temporary elevation on the spar deck, he, in an 
 audible voice, requested the attention of the pris- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 91 
 
 oners, who having immediately gathered round 
 him in silence, he commenced his discourse. 
 
 He began by saying that he hoped no one 
 would suppose he had taken that station by way 
 of derision or mockery of that holy day, for that 
 such was not his object ; on the contrary, he was 
 pleased to find that the good regulations estab 
 lished by the former prisoners obliged us to re^ 
 frain even from recreation on the Sabbath ; that 
 his object, however, was not to preach to us, nor 
 to discourse upon any sacred subject. He wished 
 to read us our By-Laws, a copy of which he 
 held in his hand ; the framers of which were 
 then in all probability sleeping in death, beneath 
 the sand of the shore before our eyes. That 
 these laws had been framed in wisdom, and were 
 well fitted to preserve order and decorum in a 
 community like ours ; that his present object was 
 to impress upon our minds the absolute necessity 
 of a strict adherence to those wholesome regula 
 tions ; that he should briefly comment upon each 
 article, which might be thus considered as the 
 particular text of that part of his discourse. 
 
 He proceeded to point out the extreme neces- 
 
92 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 sity of a full observance of these Rules of Con 
 duct ; and pourtrayed the evil consequences 
 which would inevitably result to us, if we neg 
 lected or suffered them to fall into disuse. He 
 enforced the necessity of our unremitted atten 
 tion to personal cleanliness, and to the duties of 
 morality ; he dwelt on the degradation and sin of 
 drunkenness ; described the meanness and atrocity 
 of theft; and the high degree of caution against 
 temptation necessary for men who were perhaps 
 standing on the very brink of the grave; and 
 added that, in his opinion, even sailors might as 
 well refrain from profane language while they 
 were actually suffering in Purgatory. 
 
 He said that our present torments in that 
 abode of misery were a proper retribution for 
 our former sins and transgressions ; that Satan 
 had been permitted to send out his messengers 
 and inferior demons in every direction to collect 
 us together ; and that among the most active of 
 these infernal agents was David Sproat, Com 
 missary of Prisoners. 
 
 He then made some just and suitable observa 
 tions on the fortitude with which we had sus- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 93 
 
 tained the weight of our accumulated miseries ; 
 of our firmness in refusing to accept the bribes 
 of our invaders and desert the banners of our 
 country. During this part of his discourse, the 
 sentinels on the gangways occasionally stopped 
 and listened attentively. We much feared, that 
 by some imprudent remark, he might expose 
 himself to their resentment; and cautioned him 
 not to proceed too far. He replied that our 
 keepers could do nothing more, unless they 
 should put him to the torture, and that he should 
 proceed. 
 
 He touched on the fact that no clergyman had 
 ever visited us ; that this was probably owing to 
 the fear of contagion ; but it was much to be re 
 gretted that no one had ever come to afford a 
 ray of hope, or to administer the Word of Life 
 in that terrific abode ; that if any Minister of the 
 Gospel desired to do so, there could be no ob 
 stacle in the way ; for that even David Sproat 
 himself, bad as he was, would not dare to 
 oppose it. 
 
 He closed with a merited tribute to the mem 
 ory of those of our fellow-sufterers who had 
 
94 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 already paid the debt of nature. " The time," 
 said he, " will come, when their bones will be 
 collected ; when their rites of sepulture will be 
 performed ; and a monument erected over the 
 remains of those who have here suffered, the 
 victims of barbarity, and died in vindication of 
 the rights of Man." 
 
 I have myself lived to see his predictions veri 
 fied. Those bones have been collected ; those 
 rites have been performed ; that monument has 
 been raised. 
 
 The remarks of our Orator were well adapted 
 to our situation, and produced much effect upon 
 the prisoners, who at length began to accost him 
 as " Elder," or " Parson Cooper." But this he 
 would not allow ; and told us, if we would insist 
 on giving him a title, we might call him " Doc 
 tor ; " by which name he was ever afterwards 
 saluted, so long as he remained among us. 
 
 He had been a prisoner for about the period 
 of three months, when, one day, the Commissary 
 of Prisoners came on board, accompanied by a 
 stranger, and enquired for Cooper ; who, having 
 made his appearance, a letter was put into his 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 95 
 
 hand, which he perused, and immediately after 
 wards left the ship, without even going below 
 for his clothing. While in the boat, he waved 
 his hand, and bid us be of good cheer. We 
 could only return a mute farewell ; and in a few 
 moments the boat had left the ship, and was on 
 its way to New York. 
 
 Thus we lost our Orator, for whom I had a 
 very high regard at the time, and whose charac 
 ter and manners have, ever since, been to me a 
 subject of pleasing recollection. 
 
 Various were the conjectures which the sud 
 den manner of his departure caused on board. 
 Some asserted that poor Cooper had drawn upon 
 himself the vengeance of old Sproat, and that he 
 had been carried on shore to be punished. No 
 certain information was ever received respecting 
 him ; but I have always thought that he was a 
 member of some highly influential and respect 
 able family, and that his release had been effected 
 through the agency of his friends. This was 
 often done by the influence of the Royalists or 
 Refugees in New York, who were sometimes 
 the connexions or personal friends of those who 
 
96 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 applied for their assistance in procuring the lib 
 eration of a son or a- brother from captivity. 
 Such kind offices were thus frequently rendered 
 to those who had chosen opposite sides in the 
 great revolutionary contest ; and to whom, 
 though directly opposed to themselves in politi 
 cal proceedings, they were willing to render 
 every personal service in their power. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 97 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 " Black as the clouds that shade St. Kilda s shore, 
 
 " Wild as the winds that round her mountains roar, 
 
 "At every post some surly vagrant stands, 
 
 " Cull d from the English or the Scottish bands. 
 
 " Dispensing death, triumphantly they stand ; 
 
 " Their muskets ready to obey command, 
 
 " Wounds are their sport, as ruin is their aim ; 
 
 " On their dark souls compassion has no claim ; 
 
 " And discord only can their spirits please : 
 
 " Such were our tyrants ; only such as these." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 A FEW days before the fourth of July, we had 
 made such preparations as our circumstances 
 would admit for an observance of the anniver 
 sary of American Independence. We had pro 
 cured some supplies wherewith to make our 
 selves merry on the occasion ; and intended to 
 
98 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 spend the day in such innocent pastime and 
 amusement as our situation would afford ; not 
 dreaming that our proceedings would give um 
 brage to our keepers, as it was far from our in 
 tention to trouble or insult them. We thought, 
 that although prisoners, we had a right, on that 
 day at least, to sing and be merry. As soon as 
 we were permitted to go on deck in the morn 
 ing, thirteen little national flags were displayed 
 in a row upon the booms. We were soon or 
 dered by the guard to take them away ; and as 
 we neglected to obey the command, they tri 
 umphantly demolished and trampled them under 
 foot. 
 
 Unfortunately for us, our guards at that time 
 were Scotchmen, who, next to the Refugees, 
 were the objects of our greatest hatred ; but 
 their destruction of our flags was merely viewed 
 in silence, with the contempt which it merited. 
 
 During the time we remained on deck, several 
 patriotic songs were sung, and choruses were re 
 peated ; but not a word was intentionally spoken 
 to give offence to our guards. They were, nev 
 ertheless, evidently dissatisfied with our proceed- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 99 
 
 ings, as will soon appear. Their moroseness 
 was a prelude to what was to follow. We were 
 in a short time forbidden to pass along the com 
 mon gangways, and every attempt to do so was 
 repelled by the bayonet. Although thus incom 
 moded, our mirth still continued. Songs were 
 still sung, accompanied with occasional cheers. 
 Things thus proceeded until about four o clock, 
 when the guards were turned out, and we re 
 ceived orders to descend between decks, where 
 we were immediately driven, at the point of the 
 bayonet. 
 
 After being thus sent below in the greatest 
 confusion, at that early and unusual hour, and 
 having heard the gratings closed and fastened 
 above us, we supposed that the barbarous resent 
 ment of our guards was fully satisfied ; but we 
 were mistaken, for they had further vengeance 
 in store, and merely waited for an opportunity to 
 make us feel its weight. 
 
 The prisoners continued their singing between 
 decks, and were of course more noisy than usual, 
 but forbore, even under their existing tempta 
 tions, to utter any insulting or aggravating ex- 
 
1OO RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 pressions. At least, I heard nothing of the kind, 
 unless our patriotic songs could be so construed. 
 
 In the course of the evening we were ordered 
 to desist from making any further noise. This 
 order not being fully complied with, at about 
 nine o clock the gratings were removed, and the 
 guards descended among us, with lanterns and 
 drawn cutlasses in their hands. The poor, help 
 less prisoners retreated from the hatchways, as 
 far as their crowded situation would permit ; 
 while their cowardly assailants followed as far 
 as they dared, cutting and wounding every one 
 within their reach; and then ascended to the 
 upper deck, exulting in the gratification of their 
 revenge. 
 
 Many of the prisoners were wounded ; but, 
 from the total darkness, neither their number 
 nor their situation could be ascertained ; and, if 
 this had been possible, it was not in the power of 
 their companions to afford them the least relief. 
 During the whole of that tragical night, their 
 groans and lamentations were dreadful in the 
 extreme. Being in the Gun Room, I was at 
 some distance from the immediate scene of this 
 
p 
 t 
 
 JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1O1 
 
 bloody outrage ; but the distance was by no 
 means far enough to prevent my hearing their 
 continual cries, from the extremity of pain, their 
 applications for assistance, and their curses upon 
 the heads of their brutal assailants. 
 
 It had been the usual custom for each prisoner to 
 carry below, when he descended at sunset, a pint 
 of water, to quench his thirst during the night. 
 But on this occasion we had thus been driven to 
 our dungeons, three hours before the setting of 
 the sun, and without our usual supply of water. 
 
 Of this night I cannot describe the horrors. 
 The day had been very sultry, and the heat was 
 extreme throughout the ship. The unusual num 
 ber of hours during which we had been crowded 
 together between decks, the foul atmosphere and 
 sickening heat, the additional excitement and 
 restlessness caused by the wanton attack which 
 had been made ; above all, the want of water, 
 not a drop of which could we obtain during the 
 whole night to cool our parched tongues ; the 
 imprecations of those who were half-distracted 
 with their burning thirst, the shrieks and wail- 
 ings of the wounded, the struggles and groans 
 26 
 
1O2 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 of the dying, together formed a combination of 
 horrors which no pen can describe. 
 
 In the agonies of their suffering, the prisoners 
 invited, and even challenged, their inhuman 
 guards to descend once more among them ; but 
 this they were prudent enough not to attempt. 
 
 Their cries and supplications for water were 
 terrible, and were, of themselves, sufficient to 
 render sleep impossible. Oppressed with the 
 heat, I found my way to the grating of the 
 main hatchway, where on former nights I had 
 frequently passed some time, for the benefit of 
 the little current of air which circulated through 
 the bars. I obtained a place on the larboard 
 side of the hatchway, where I stood facing the 
 East, and endeavoured, as much as possible, to 
 draw my attention from the terrific sounds be 
 low me, by watching through the grating the 
 progress of the stars. I there spent hour after 
 hour in following with my eye the motion of a 
 particular star, as it rose and ascended, until it 
 passed over beyond my sight. 
 
 How I longed for the day to dawn ! At length 
 the morning light began to appear ; but still our 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1OS 
 
 torments were increasing every moment. As the 
 usual hour for us to ascend to the upper deck 
 approached, the Working Party were mustered 
 near the hatchway, and we were all anxiously 
 waiting for the opportunity to cool our weary 
 frames, to breathe for a while the pure air, and, 
 above all, to procure water to quench our intol 
 erable thirst. The time arrived, but still the 
 gratings were not removed. Hour after hour 
 passed on, and still we were not released. Our 
 minds were at length seized with the horrible 
 suspicion that our tyrants had determined to 
 make a finishing stroke of their cruelty, and rid 
 themselves of us altogether. 
 
 It was not until ten o clock in the forenoon 
 that the gratings were at length removed. We 
 hurried on deck, and thronged to the water cask, 
 which was completely exhausted before our 
 thirst was allayed. So great was the struggle 
 around the cask, that the guards were again 
 turned out to disperse the crowd. 
 
 In a few hours, however, we received a new 
 supply of water ; but it . seemed impossible to 
 allay our thirst, and the applications at the cask 
 were incessant until sunset. 
 
104 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 Our rations were delivered to us; but, of 
 course, not until long after the usual hour. 
 During the whole day, however, no fire was 
 kindled for cooking in the Galley. All the food 
 whic"h we consumed that day we were obliged 
 to swallow raw. Everything, indeed, had been 
 entirely deranged by the events of the past night, 
 and several days elapsed before order was re 
 stored. This was at length obtained by a change 
 of the guard, who, to our great joy, were re 
 lieved by a party of Hessians. 
 
 The average number who died on board, dur 
 ing the period of twenty-four hours, was about 
 five ; but on the morning of the fifth of July, 
 eight or ten corpses were found below. Many 
 had been badly wounded, to whom, in the total 
 darkness of the night, it was impossible for their 
 companions to render any assistance ; and even 
 during the next day they received no attention, 
 except that which was afforded by their fellow- 
 prisoners, who had nothing to administer to their 
 comfort, not even bandages for their wounds. 
 
 I was not personally acquainted with any of 
 those who died or were wounded on that night. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1O5 
 
 No equal number had ever died in the same 
 period of time during my confinement. This 
 unusual mortality was of course caused by the 
 increased sufferings of the night. 
 
 Since that time, I have often, while standing 
 on the deck of a good ship under my command, 
 and viewing the rising stars, thought upon the 
 terrors of that night when I stood watching their 
 progress through the gratings of the old Jersey. 
 And when I now contrast my former wretched 
 ness with my present situation, in the full enjoy 
 ment of liberty, health, and every earthly com 
 fort, I cannot but muse upon the contrast, and 
 bless the great and good Being from whom my 
 comforts have been derived. I do not now re 
 gret my captivity nor my sufferings ; for the 
 recollection of them has ever taught me how to 
 enjoy my after life, with a greater degree of con 
 tentment than I should perhaps have otherwise 
 ever experienced. 
 
1O6 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE. 
 
 Better the greedy wave should swallow all, [ 
 
 Better to meet the death-conducting ball, 
 
 Better to sleep on ocean s oozy bed, 
 
 At once destroy d and number d with the dead ; 
 
 Than thus to perish in the face of day, 
 
 Where twice ten thousand deaths one death delay." 
 
 FRENEAU. 
 
 IT had been some time in contemplation, among 
 .a few of the inmates of the Gun Room, to make 
 a desperate attempt to escape, by cutting a hole 
 through the stern or counter of the ship. In 
 order that their operations might proceed with 
 even the least probability of success, it was ab 
 solutely necessary that but few of the prisoners 
 should be admitted to the secret. At the same 
 time, it was impossible for them to make any 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1O7 
 
 progress in their labour, unless they first con 
 fided their plan to all the other occupants of the 
 Gun Room ; which was accordingly done. In 
 this part of the ship, each mess was on terms of 
 more or less intimacy with those whose little 
 sleeping enclosures were immediately adjacent to 
 their own ; and the members of each mess fre 
 quently interchanged good offices with those in 
 their vicinity ; and borrowed and lent such little 
 articles as they possessed, like the good house 
 wives of a sociable neighbourhood. I never 
 knew any contention in this apartment during 
 the whole period of my confinement. Each in 
 dividual in the Gun Room, therefore, was willing 
 to assist his comrades, as far as he had the power 
 to do so. When the proposed plan of escape 
 was laid before us, although it met the disappro 
 bation of by far the greater number, still we 
 were all perfectly ready to assist those who 
 thought it practicable. 
 
 We, however, described to them the difficul 
 ties and dangers which must unavoidably attend 
 their undertaking ; the prospect of detection 
 while making the aperture, in the immediate 
 
108 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 A 
 
 vicinity of such a multitude of idle men, crowded 
 together ; a large proportion of whom were always 
 kept awake by their restlessness and sufferings 
 during the night ; the little probability that they 
 would be able to travel, undiscovered, on Long 
 Island, even should they succeed in reaching the 
 shore in safety ; and, above all, the almost abso 
 lute impossibility of obtaining food for their sub 
 sistence ; as an application for that, to our keep 
 ers, would certainly lead to detection. But, not 
 withstanding all our arguments, a few of them 
 remained determined to make the attempt. Their 
 only reply to our reasoning was, that they must 
 die if they remained ; and that nothing worse 
 could befal them if they failed in their under 
 taking. 
 
 One of the most sanguine among the adven 
 turers was a young man named Lawrence, the 
 Mate of a ship from Philadelphia. He was a 
 member of the mess next to my own, and I had 
 formed with him a very intimate acquaintance. 
 He frequently explained his plans to me, and 
 dwelt much upon his hopes of success. But, ar 
 dently as I desired to obtain my liberty, and 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1O9 
 
 great as were the exertions I would have made, 
 had I seen any probable mode of gaining it, yet 
 it was not my intention to join in this attempt. 
 I nevertheless agreed to assist in the labour of 
 cutting through the planks ; and heartily wished, 
 although I had no hope, that the enterprise might 
 prove successful. 
 
 The work was accordingly commenced, and 
 the labourers concealed, by placing a blanket 
 between them and the prisoners without. The 
 counter of the ship was covered with hard oak 
 plank, four inches thick ; and through this we 
 undertook to cut an opening sufficiently large 
 for a man to descend, and to do this with no 
 other tools than our jack knives and a single 
 gimlet. 
 
 All the occupants of the Gun Room assisted 
 in this labour, in rotation, some, in confidence 
 that the plan was practicable ; and the rest, 
 merely for amusement, or for the sake of being 
 employed. Some one of our number was con 
 stantly at work ; and we thus continued, wear 
 ing a hole through the hard planks, from seam 
 to seam, until at length the solid oak was worn 
 
110 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 away piecemeal, and nothing remained but a thin 
 sheathing on the outside, which could be cut 
 away at any time, in a few minutes, whenever 
 a suitable opportunity should occur for making 
 the bold attempt to leave the ship. 
 
 It had been previously agreed, that those who 
 should first descend through the aperture should 
 drop into the water, and there remain until all 
 those among the inmates of the Gun Room, who 
 chose to make the attempt, could join them, and 
 that the whole band of adventurers should then 
 swim together to the shore, which was about a 
 quarter of a mile from the ship. 
 
 A proper time at length arrived. On a very 
 dark and rainy night, the exterior sheathing was 
 cut away ; and at midnight, four of our number, 
 having disencumbered themselves of their clothes, 
 and tied them across their shoulders, were as 
 sisted through the opening, and dropped, one 
 after another, into the water. 
 
 Ill-fated men ! Our guards had long been 
 acquainted with the enterprise. But, instead of 
 taking any measures to prevent it, they had per 
 mitted us to go on with our labour, keeping a 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. Hi 
 
 I 
 
 vigilant watch for the moment of our projected 
 escape, in order to gratify their bloodthirsty 
 wishes. No other motive than this could have 
 prompted them to the course which they pur 
 sued. A boat was in waiting, under the ship s 
 quarter, manned with rowers and a party of the 
 guards. They maintained a perfect silence after 
 hearing the prisoners drop from the opening ; 
 until, having ascertained that no more would 
 probably descend, they pursued the swimmers, 
 whose course they could easily follow by the 
 sparkling of the water, an effect always pro 
 duced by the agitation of the waves in a stormy 
 night. 
 
 We were all profoundly silent in the Gun 
 Room, after the departure of our companions, 
 and in anxious suspense as to the issue of their 
 adventure. In a few minutes we were startled 
 by the report of a gun, which was instantly suc 
 ceeded by a quick and scattering fire of mus 
 ketry. In the darkness of the night, we could 
 not see the unfortunate victims, but could dis 
 tinctly hear their shrieks and cries for mercy. 
 
 The noise of the firing had alarmed the pris- 
 
112 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 oners generally ; and the report of the attempted 
 escape, and its defeat, ran like wildfire through 
 the- gloomy and crowded dungeons of the hulk, 
 and produced much commotion among the whole 
 body of the prisoners. lit a few moments the 
 gratings were raised, and the guards descended, 
 bearing a naked and bleeding man, whom they 
 placed in one of the bunks ; and having left a 
 piece of burning candle by his side, they again 
 ascended to the deck, and secured the gratings. 
 
 Information of this circumstance soon reached 
 the Gun Room ; and myself, with several others 
 of our number, succeeded in making our way 
 through the crowd to the bunks. The wounded 
 man was my friend Lawrence. He was severely 
 injured in many places, and one of his arms had 
 been nearly severed from his body by the stroke 
 of a cutlass. This, he said, was done in wanton 
 barbarity, while he was crying for mercy, with 
 his hand on the gunwale of the boat. He was 
 too much exhausted to answer any of our ques 
 tions, and uttered nothing further, except a single 
 enquiry respecting the fate of Nelson, one of his 
 fellow-adventurers. This we could not answer. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 113 
 
 Indeed, what became of the rest, we never 
 knew. They were probably all murdered in 
 the water. 
 
 This was the first time that I had ever seen a 
 light between decks. The piece of candle had 
 been left by the side of the bunk in order to 
 produce an additional effect upon the prisoners. 
 Many had been suddenly awakened from their 
 slumbers, and had crowded round the bunk 
 where the sufferer lay. The effect of the par 
 tial light upon his bleeding and naked limbs, 
 and upon the pale and haggard countenances 
 and tattered garments of the wild and crowded 
 groups by which he was surrounded, was horrid 
 beyond description. 
 
 We could render the sufferer but little assist 
 ance ; being only able to furnish him with a few 
 articles of apparel, and to bind a handkerchief 
 around his head. His body was completely cov 
 ered and his hair filled with clotted blood ; we 
 had not the means of washing the gore from his 
 wounds during the night. We had seen many 
 die ; but to view this wretched man expiring in 
 that situation, where he had been placed beyond 
 
114 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 the reach of surgical aid, merely to strike us 
 with terror, was dreadful. 
 
 The gratings were not removed at the usual 
 hour in the morning, but we were all kept be 
 low until ten o clock. This mode of punishment 
 had now become habitual with our keepers, 
 and we were all frequently detained between 
 decks until a late hour in the day, in revenge 
 for the most trifling occurrence. This cruelty 
 never failed to produce the torments arising 
 from heat and thirst, with all their attendant 
 miseries. 
 
 The immediate object of our tyrants having 
 been answered by leaving Mr. Lawrence below 
 in that situation, they promised, in the morning, 
 that he should have the assistance of a Surgeon ; 
 but this promise was not fulfilled. The prison 
 ers rendered him every attention in their power. 
 They washed and dressed his wounds ; but in 
 vain. Mortification soon commenced ; he be 
 came delirious and died. 
 
 No inquiry was made by our keepers respect 
 ing his situation. They evidently left him thus 
 to suffer, in order that the sight of his agonies 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 115 
 
 might deter the rest of the prisoners from follow 
 ing his example. 
 
 We received not the least reprimand for this 
 transaction. The aperture was again filled up 
 with plank, and made perfectly secure ; and no 
 similar attempt to escape was made, at least so 
 long as I remained on board. 
 
 It was always in our power to knock down 
 the guards and throw them overboard. But 
 this would have been of no avail. If we had 
 done so, and have effected our escape to Long 
 Island, it would have been next to impossible 
 for us to have proceeded any farther, among 
 the number of troops there quartered. Of these 
 there were several regiments ; and among them 
 the regiment of Refugees, before mentioned, 
 who were vigilant in the highest degree, and 
 would have been delighted at the opportunity 
 of apprehending and returning us to our dun 
 geons. 
 
 There were, however, several instances of 
 individuals making their escape. One, in par 
 ticular, I well recollect. James Pitcher, one of 
 the crew of the Chance, was placed on the sick- 
 
lift RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 list, and conveyed to BlackwelFs Island. He 
 effected his escape from thence to Long Island ; 
 from which, after having used the greatest pre 
 caution, he contrived to cross the Sound, and 
 arrived safe at home. He is now one of the 
 three survivors of that vessel s crew. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 117 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MEMORIAL TO GEN. WASHINGTON. 
 
 The body maddened by the spirit s pain, 
 
 The wild, wild working of the breast and brain, 
 
 4 The haggard eye, that horror widened, sees 
 
 Death take the start of sorrow and disease ; 
 
 Here, such were seen and heard : so close at hand, 
 
 A cable s length had reached them from the land ; 
 
 Yet farther off than ocean ever bore ; 
 
 Eternity between them and the shore ! " 
 
 W. READ. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the destroying pestilence 
 which was now raging to a degree hitherto un 
 known on board, new companies of victims were 
 continually arriving ; so that, although the mor 
 tality was very great, our numbers were increas 
 ing daily. Thus situated, and seeing no pros 
 pect of our liberation by exchange, we began to 
 
118 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 despair, and to believe that our certain fate was 
 rapidly approaching. 
 
 One expedient was at length proposed among 
 us, and adopted. We petitioned General Clin 
 ton, who was then in command of the British 
 forces at New York, for leave to transmit a me 
 morial to General Washington, describing our 
 deplorable situation, and requesting his interfer 
 ence in our behalf. We further desired that 
 our memorial might be examined by the British 
 General, and if approved by him, that it might 
 be carried by one of our number to General 
 Washington. 
 
 Our petition was laid before the British com 
 mander by the Commissary of Prisoners, and 
 was granted. We received permission to choose 
 three from our number, to whom was promised 
 a passport, with leave to proceed immediately on 
 their embassy. 
 
 Our choice was accordingly made, and I had 
 the satisfaction to find that two of those elected 
 were from among the former officers of the 
 Chance, Capt. Aborn, and our Surgeon, Mr. 
 Joseph Bowen. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 119 
 
 The Memorial was soon completed, and signed, 
 in the name of all the prisoners, by a committee 
 appointed for that purpose. It contained an ac 
 count of the extreme wretchedness of our con 
 dition, and stated, that although we were sensible 
 that the subject was one over which General 
 Washington had no direct control, as it was not 
 usual for soldiers to be exchanged for seamen, 
 and his authority not extending to the marine 
 department of the American service; yet still, 
 although it might not be in his power to effect 
 our exchange, we hoped that he would be able 
 to devise some means to lighten or relieve our 
 sufferings. 
 
 Our messengers were further charged with a 
 verbal communication for General Washington, 
 which, for obvious reasons, was not included in 
 the written memorial. They were directed to 
 state, in a manner more circumstantial than we 
 had dared to write, the peculiar horrors of our 
 situation ; to describe the miserable food and 
 putrid water on which we were doomed to sub 
 sist ; and finally to assure the General, that in 
 case he could effect our release, we would agree 
 
12O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 to enter the American service, as soldiers, and 
 remain during the war. Thus instructed, our 
 messengers departed. 
 
 We waited, in alternate hope and fear, the 
 event of their mission. Most of our number 
 who were natives of the Eastern States were 
 strongly impressed with the idea that some means 
 would be devised for our relief, after such a 
 representation of our condition should have been 
 made. This class of the prisoners, indeed, felt 
 most interested in the success of the application ; 
 for many of the sufferers appeared to give them 
 selves but little trouble respecting it ; and some, 
 among the foreigners, did not even know that 
 such an application had been made, or that it had 
 ever been in contemplation. The long endur 
 ance of their privations had rendered them al 
 most indifferent to their fate ; and they appeared 
 to look forward to death as the only probable 
 termination of their captivity. 
 
 In a few days, our messengers returned to 
 New York, with a letter from General Wash 
 ington, addressed to the committee of the pris 
 oners who had signed the memorial. The pris- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1 2 1 
 
 oners were all summoned to the. spar-deck, 
 where this letter was read. Its purport was as 
 follows: That he had perused our communi 
 cation, and had received with due consideration 
 the account which our messengers had laid be 
 fore him ; that he viewed our situation with a 
 high degree of interest ; and that although our 
 application (as we had stated) was made in re 
 lation to a subject over which he had no direct 
 control, yet that it was his intention to lay our 
 Memorial before Congress ; and that in the 
 mean time we might be assured that no exer 
 tion on his part should be spared which could 
 tend to a mitigation of our sufferings. 
 
 He observed to our messengers, during their 
 interview, that our long detention in confine 
 ment was owing to a combination of circum 
 stances, against which it was very difficult, if not 
 impossible, to provide. That, in the first place, 
 but little exertion . was made on the part of our 
 countrymen to secure and detain their British 
 prisoners for the purposes of exchange ; many 
 of the British seamen being captured by priva 
 teers, on board which, as he understood, it was a 
 3* 
 
122 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 common practice for them to enter as seamen ; 
 and that when this was not the case, they were 
 usually set at liberty, as soon as the privateer 
 arrived in port, as neither the owners nor the 
 town or state where they were landed would be 
 at the expense of their confinement and mainte 
 nance ; and that the officers of the General Gov 
 ernment only took charge of those seamen who 
 were captured by the vessels in the public ser 
 vice. All which circumstances combined to ren 
 der the number of British prisoners, at all times, 
 by far too small for a regular and equal ex 
 change. 
 
 General Washington also transmitted to our 
 committee copies of letters which he had sent to 
 General Clinton and to the Commissary of Pris 
 oners, which were also read to us. He therein 
 expressed an ardent desire that a general ex 
 change of prisoners might be effected ; and if 
 this could not be accomplished, he wished that 
 something might be done to lessen the weight of 
 our sufferings ; that if it was absolutely neces 
 sary that we should be confined on the water, he 
 desired that we might at least be removed to 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 123 
 
 clean ships. He added, if the Americans should 
 be driven to the necessity of placing the British 
 prisoners in situations similar to our own, similar 
 effects must be the inevitable result ; and that he 
 therefore hoped they would afford us better 
 treatment, from motives of humanity. He con 
 cluded by saying, that as a correspondence on 
 the subject had thus begun between them, he ar 
 dently wished it might eventually result in the 
 liberation of the unfortunate men whose situation 
 had called for its commencement. 
 
 Our three messengers did not return on board 
 as prisoners, but were allowed to remain on pa 
 role at Flatbush, on Long Island. 
 
 We soon found an improvement in our fare. 
 The bread which we received was of a better 
 quality, and we were furnished with butter in 
 stead of rancid oil. An awning was provided, 
 and a windsail furnished to conduct fresh air be 
 tween the decks during the day. But of this we 
 were always deprived at night, when we most 
 needed it, as the gratings must always be fast 
 ened over the hatchways ; and I presume that 
 our keepers were fearful, if it was allowed to 
 remain, we might use it as a means of escape. 
 
We were, however, obliged to submit to all 
 our privations ; consoling ourselves only with 
 the faint hope, that the favourable change in our 
 situation, which we had observed for the last few 
 days, might lead to something still more benefi 
 cial, although we saw but little prospect of escap 
 ing from the raging pestilence, except through 
 the immediate interposition of Divine Providence, 
 or by a removal from the scene of contagion. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 1 2 
 
 CHAPTER XIX, 
 
 THE EXCHANGE. 
 
 " The captive raised his slow and sullen eye ; 
 
 " He knew no friend, nor deemed a friend was nigh ; 
 
 " Till the sweet tones of Pity touched his ears, 
 
 " And Mercy bathed his bosom with her tears. 
 
 " Strange were those tones, to him, those tears were strange 
 
 " He wept, and wondered at the mighty change." 
 
 " Like Peter, sleeping in his chains, he lay ; 
 " The angel came, and night was turned to day ; 
 " Arise ! his fetters fall ; his slumbers flee ; 
 " He wakes to life ; he springs to liberty ! " 
 
 MONTGOMERY. 
 
 SOON after Capt. Aborn had been permitted to 
 go to Long Island on his parole, he sent a mes 
 sage on board the Jersey, informing us that his 
 parole had been extended so far as to allow his 
 return home, but that he should visit us previous 
 3* 
 
126 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 to his departure. He requested our First Lieu 
 tenant, Mr. John Tillinghast, to provide a list of 
 the names of those captured in the Chance who 
 had died, and also a list of the survivors, noting 
 where each survivor was then confined, whether 
 on board the Jersey,, or one of the Hospital Ships. 
 
 He also requested that those of our number 
 who desired to write to their friends at home, 
 would have their letters ready for delivery to 
 him, whenever he should come on board. The 
 occupants of the Gun Room, and such of the 
 other prisoners as could procure the necessary 
 materials, were, therefore, soon busily engaged 
 in writing as particular descriptions of our situa 
 tion as they thought it prudent to do, without the 
 risk of the destruction of their letters, as we were 
 always obliged to submit our writing for inspec 
 tion, previous to its being allowed to pass from 
 the ship. We, however, afterwards regretted 
 that on this occasion our descriptions were not 
 more minute, as these letters were not examined. 
 
 The next day, Capt. Aborn came on board, 
 accompanied by several other persons who had 
 also been liberated on parole ; but they came no 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 127 
 
 nearer to the prisoners than the head of the 
 gangway-ladder, and passed through the door of 
 the barricado to the quarter-deck. This was 
 perhaps a necessary precaution against the con 
 tagion, as they were more liable to be affected 
 by it than if they had always remained on board ; 
 but we were much disappointed at not having as 
 opportunity to speak to them. Our letters were 
 delivered to Capt. Aborn by our Lieutenant, 
 through whom he sent us assurances of his de 
 termination to do everything in his power for our 
 relief; and that if a sufficient number of British 
 prisoners could be procured, every survivor of 
 his vessel s crew should be exchanged ; and if 
 this could not be effected, we might depend on 
 receiving clothing, and such other necessary ar 
 ticles as could be sent for our use. 
 
 About this time some of the sick were sent 
 ashore on Blackwell s Island. This was con 
 sidered a great indulgence. I endeavoured to 
 obtain leave to join them by feigning sickness, 
 but did not succeed. The removal of the sick 
 was a great relief to us, as the air was less foul 
 between decks, and we had more room for mo- 
 
128 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 tion. Some of the bunks were removed, and the 
 sick were carried on shore, as soon as their con 
 dition was known. Still, however, the pestilence 
 did not abate on board, as the weather was ex 
 tremely warm. In the day time the heat was 
 excessive, but at night it was intolerable. 
 
 But we lived on hope, knowing that in all 
 probability our friends at home had, ere then, 
 been apprized of our condition, and that some 
 relief might perhaps be soon afforded us. 
 
 Such was our situation, when, one day, a short 
 time before sunset, we descried a sloop approach 
 ing us, with a white flag at her mast-head ; and 
 knew, by that signal, that she was a Cartel ; and 
 from the direction in which she came, supposed 
 her to be from some of the Eastern States. She 
 did not approach near enough to satisfy our curi 
 osity, until we were ordered below for the night. 
 
 Long were the hours of that night to the sur 
 vivors of our crew. Slight as was the founda 
 tion on which our hopes had been raised, we had 
 clung to them as our last resource. No sooner 
 were the gratings removed in the morning, than 
 we were all upon deck, gazing at the Cartel. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 129 
 
 Her deck was crowded with men, whom we sup 
 posed to be British prisoners. In a few minutes 
 they began to enter the Commissary s boats, and 
 proceeded to New York. 
 
 In the afternoon a boat from the Cartel came 
 alongside the hulk, having on board the Com 
 missary of Prisoners ; and by his side sat our 
 townsman, Capt. William Corey, who came on 
 board with the joyful information that the sloop 
 was from Providence, with English prisoners, to 
 be exchanged for the crew of the Chance. The 
 number which she had brought was forty ; being 
 more than sufficient to redeem every survivor of 
 our crew then on board the Jersey. 
 
 I immediately began to prepare for my de 
 parture. Having placed the few articles of cloth 
 ing which I possessed in a bag (for, by one of 
 our by-laws, no prisoner, when liberated, could 
 remove his chest), I proceeded to dispose of my 
 other property on board ; and after having made 
 sundry small donations of less value, I concluded 
 by giving my tin kettle to one of my friends, 
 and to another the remnant of my cleft of fire 
 wood. 
 
 33 
 
ISO RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 I then hurried to the upper deck, in order to 
 be ready to answer to my name, well knowing 
 that I should hear no second call, and that no 
 delay would be allowed. 
 
 The Commissary and Capt. Corey were stand 
 ing together on the quarter-deck ; and as the list 
 of names was read, our Lieutenant, Mr. Tilling- 
 hast, was directed to say whether the person 
 called was one of the crew of the Chance. As 
 soon as this assurance was given, the individual 
 was ordered to pass down the accommodation- 
 ladder into the boat. Cheerfully was the word 
 " here ! " responded by each survivor as his name 
 was called. My own turn at length came, 
 and the Commissary pointed to the boat. I 
 never moved with a lighter step, for that mo 
 ment was the happiest of my life. In the excess 
 and overflowing of my joy, I forgot, for a while, 
 the detestable character of the Commissary him 
 self ; and even, Heaven forgive me, bestowed a 
 bow upon him as I passed. 
 
 We took our stations in the boat in silence. 
 No congratulations were heard among us. Our 
 feelings were too deep for utterance. For my 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 131 
 
 own part, I could not refrain from bursting into 
 tears of joy. 
 
 Still there were intervals when it seemed im 
 possible that we were in reality without the lim 
 its of the old Jersey. We dreaded the idea that 
 some unforeseen event might still detain us ; and 
 shuddered with the apprehension that we might 
 yet be returned to our dungeons. 
 
 When the Cartel arrived, the surviving num 
 ber of our crew on board the Jersey was but 
 thirty-five. This fact being well known to Mr. 
 Tillinghast, and finding that the Cartel had 
 brought forty prisoners, he allowed five of our 
 companions in the Gun Room to answer to the 
 names of the same number of our crew who had 
 died ; and having disguised themselves in the 
 garb of common seamen, they passed unsus 
 pected. 
 
 It was nearly sunset when we had all arrived 
 on board the Cartel. So sooner had the ex 
 change been completed than the Commissary 
 left us, with our prayers that we might never 
 behold him more. I then cast my eyes towards 
 the hulk, as the horizontal rays of the setting 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 sun glanced on her polluted sides, where, from 
 the bends upwards, filth of every description had 
 been permitted to accumulate for years ; and the 
 feelings of disgust which the sight occasioned 
 are indescribable. The multitude on her spar- 
 deck and forecastle were in motion, and in the 
 act of descending for the night ; presenting the 
 same appearance that met my sight, when, near 
 ly five months before, I had, at the same hour, 
 approached her as a prisoner. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE CARTEL. 
 
 At length returned unto my native shore, 
 
 4 How changed I find those scenes which pleased before. 
 
 In sickly ships, what num rous hosts confined, 
 
 At once their lives and liberties resigned. 
 
 In dreary dungeons, woful scenes have passed ; 
 
 Long in tradition shall the story last : 
 
 1 As long as Spring renews the flowery wood, 
 
 4 Or Summer s breezes curl the yielding flood." 
 
 "DowN, Rebels; down!" was the insulting 
 mandate by which we had usually been sent be 
 low for the night ; and now, as we stood on the 
 deck of the Cartel, watching the setting sun, I 
 could hardly persuade myself that I should not 
 soon hear that unfeeling order shouted forth by 
 some ruffian sentinel behind me. 
 
 34 
 
134 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 During the evening, every thing around us 
 contributed to our gratification. It was a pleas 
 ure to us even to look at the lighted candles ; 
 for, except on the night of the attempted escape, 
 described in a former Chapter, we had not seen 
 any thing of the kind for months. We derived 
 enjoyment from gazing at the stars, not one of 
 which we had seen, in its zenith, since our cap 
 ture, having never been permitted to look abroad 
 in the night, except through the massy gratings 
 or iron bars of our prison. 
 
 We had no desire for sleep ; and the whole 
 night was spent in conversation, during which 
 I learned the particular circumstances in relation 
 to our exchange. 
 
 On his arrival at Providence, Capt. Aborn had 
 lost no time in making the details of our suf 
 ferings publicly known ; and a feeling of deep 
 commiseration was excited among our fellow 
 citizens. Messrs. Clarke & Nightingale, the 
 former owners of the Chance, in conjunction 
 with other gentlemen, expressed their determi 
 nation to spare no exertion or expense neces 
 sary to procure our liberation. It was found that 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 135 
 
 forty British prisoners were, at that time, in 
 Boston. These were immediately procured, and 
 marched to Providence, where a sloop, owned 
 and commanded by a Capt. Gladding of Bristol, 
 was chartered to proceed with the prisoners 
 forthwith to New York, that they might be 
 exchanged for an equal number of our crew. 
 Capt. Corey was appointed as an Agent, to effect 
 the exchange, and to receive us from the Jersey ; 
 and having taken on board a supply of good pro 
 visions and water, he hastened to our relief. He 
 received much assistance, in effecting his object, 
 from our townsman, Mr. John Creed, at that 
 time Deputy-Commissary of Prisoners. I do 
 not recollect the exact day of our deliverance, 
 but think it was early in the month of October, 
 1782. 
 
 The sun rose brightly on the morning after 
 our exchange. We spent the time, while our 
 breakfast was preparing, in viewing once more 
 the detested place of our long confinement ; and 
 while the prisoners were crowding on deck, we 
 could occasionally discern among them the fig 
 ures of some of our former messmates. We 
 
136 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 could not but compare their situation with our 
 own ; and sweet as was the taste to us of whole 
 some food, gladly would we have relinquished 
 our repast, could we have sent it to them. 
 
 Our plentiful breakfast produced a great effect 
 upon our spirits. We soon began to think and 
 feel that we were, once more, men. Our anxi 
 ety for the arrival of Capt. Corey from the shore 
 was extreme. At length, about ten o clock, he 
 came on board, and ordered the sloop to be got 
 under weigh. No windlass nor capstan was 
 necessary for that purpose ; for we grasped the 
 cable with our hands, and run the anchor up to 
 the bow in a moment. The sails were rapidly 
 set ; and with the wind and tide in our favour, 
 we soon lost sight of the Jersey, the Hospital 
 Ships, and the dreaded sand bank of the Wall- 
 about. 
 
 We were obliged to pass near the shore of 
 Black well s Island, where were several of our 
 crew, who had been sent on shore among the 
 sick. They had learned that the Cartel had 
 arrived from Providence, for the purpose of re 
 deeming the crew of the Chance, and expected to 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 137 
 
 be taken on board. Seeing us approaching, they 
 had, in order to cause no delay, prepared for 
 their departure, and stood together on the shore, 
 with their bundles in their hands ; but to their 
 unutterable disappointment and dismay, they saw 
 us pass by. We knew them, and bitterly did 
 we lament the necessity of leaving them behind. 
 We could only wave our hands as we passed ; 
 but they could not return the salutation, and 
 stood, as if petrified with horror, like statues, 
 fixed immovably to the earth, until we had van 
 ished from their sight. 
 
 I have since seen and conversed with one of 
 these unfortunate men, who afterwards made his 
 escape. He informed me that their removal 
 from the Jersey to the Island, was productive of 
 the most beneficial effects upon their health, and 
 that they had been exulting at the improvement 
 in their condition ; but their terrible disappoint 
 ment overwhelmed them with despair. They 
 then considered their fate inevitable ; believing 
 that in a few days they must be again conveyed 
 on board the hulk, there to undergo all the 
 agonies of another death. 
 
 35 
 
1 38 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 We were hailed and examined by two guard 
 ships near the Island, but were not long de 
 tained. When this was over, and all fear of 
 further detention by our enemies had vanished, 
 we gave way at once to our unrestrained feel 
 ings. We breathed a purer air ; it was the air 
 of Freedom. Every countenance was lighted 
 up with smiles, and every heart swelled with ex 
 pectation. Each hour presented some new and 
 pleasing object, some well-known spot, some 
 peaceful dwelling, or some long remembered 
 spire. 
 
 Several of our crew were sick when we en 
 tered the Cartel, and the sudden change of air 
 and diet caused some new cases of fever. This 
 we attributed in a great degree to our having 
 partaken too freely of fish and vegetables, a 
 diet to which we had long been unaccustomed, 
 and with which we were then abundantly sup 
 plied. No one, however, died on board the 
 sloop. 
 
 One of our number, who was thus seized by 
 the fever, was a young man named Bicknell, of 
 Harrington, Rhode Island. He was unwell when 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 139 
 
 we left the Jersey, and his symptoms indicated 
 the approaching fever; and when we entered 
 Narragansett Bay, he was apparently dying. 
 Being informed that we were in the Bay, he 
 begged to be taken on deck, or at least to the 
 hatchway, that he might look once more upon 
 his native land. He said that he was sensible of 
 his condition ; that the hand of death was upon 
 him ; but that he was consoled by the thought 
 that his remains would be decently interred, and 
 be suffered to rest among those of his friends 
 and kindred. I was astonished at the degree of 
 resignation and composure with which he spoke. 
 He pointed to his father s house, as we approached 
 it, and said it contained all that was dear to him 
 on earth. He requested to be put on shore. 
 Our Captain was intimately acquainted with the 
 family of the sufferer ; and, as the wind was 
 light, we dropped our anchor, and complied with 
 his request. He was placed in the boat, where 
 I took a seat by his side, in order to support 
 him ; and with two boys at the oars, we left the 
 sloop. In a few minutes his strength began 
 rapidly to fail. He laid his fainting head upon 
 
14O RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 my shoulder, and said he was going to the shore, 
 to be buried with his ancestors ; that this had 
 long been his ardent desire ; and that God had 
 heard his prayers. No sooner had we touched 
 the shore, than one of the boys was sent to in 
 form his family of the event. They hastened 
 to the boat to receive their long lost son and 
 brother ; but we could only give them his 
 yet warm, but lifeless corpse. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 141 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 OUR ARRIVAL HOME. 
 
 " There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 
 
 " A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest, 
 
 " Where man, creation s tyrant, casts aside 
 
 " His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride. 
 
 " Here woman reigns ; the mother, daughter, wife, 
 
 " Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life. 
 
 " Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found ? 
 
 " Art thou a man ? a patriot ? look around : 
 
 " Oh, thou shah find, howe er thy footsteps roam, 
 
 " That land THY COUNTRY, and that spot THY HOME ! " 
 
 MONTGOMERY. 
 
 AFTER remaining for a few minutes with the 
 friends of our deceased comrade, we returned to 
 the sloop, and proceeded up the river. It was 
 about eight o clock in the evening when we 
 reached Providence. There were no quarantine 
 regulations to detain us ; . but as the yellow fever 
 
142 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 was raging among us, we took the precaution to 
 anchor in the middle of the stream. It was a 
 beautiful moonlight evening ; and the intelligence 
 of our arrival having spread through the town, 
 the nearest wharf was in a short time crowded 
 with people, drawn together by curiosity, and a 
 desire for information relative to the fate of their 
 friends and connexions. Continual enquiries were 
 made from the anxious crowd on the land, re 
 specting the condition of several different indi 
 viduals on board. At length the information 
 was given that some of our number were below, 
 sick with the yellow fever. No sooner was this 
 fact announced, than the wharf was totally de 
 serted, and in a few minutes not a human being 
 remained in sight. " The old Jersey Fever," as 
 it was called, was well known throughout the 
 whole country. All were acquainted with its 
 terrible effects ; and it was shunned as if its 
 presence was certain destruction. 
 
 After the departure of the crowd, the sloop 
 was brought alongside the wharf, and every one 
 who could walk immediately sprang on shore. 
 So great was the dread of the pestilence, and so 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 143 
 
 squalid and emaciated were the figures which we 
 presented, that those among us whose families 
 did not reside in Providence, found it almost im 
 possible to gain admittance into any dwelling. 
 There being at that time no hospital in or near 
 the town, and no preparations having been made 
 for the reception of the sick, they were aban 
 doned for that night. They were, however, 
 supplied in a few hours, with many small ar 
 ticles necessary for their immediate comfort, 
 by the humane people in the vicinity of the 
 wharf. 
 
 The friends of the sick who belonged in the 
 vicinity of the town, were immediately informed 
 of our arrival ; and in the course of the follow 
 ing day, these were removed from the vessel. 
 For the remainder of the sufferers ample provis 
 ion was made, through the generous exertions of 
 Messrs. Clark & Nightingale. 
 
 Solemn indeed are the reflections which crowd 
 upon my mind, as I review the events which are 
 here recorded. Forty-two years have passed 
 away since this remnant of our ill-fated crew 
 were thus liberated from their wasting captivity. 
 
144 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 In that time what changes have taken place. 
 Of their whole number, but three are now alive. 
 James Pitcher, Dr. Joseph Bowen, and myself, 
 are the sole survivors. Of their officers, I alone 
 remain. 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 145 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I CANNOT close these sketches without refer 
 ring to the fate of the old Jersey. At the expi 
 ration of the war, in 1783, the prisoners remain 
 ing on board were liberated ; and the hulk being 
 considered unfit for further use, was abandoned 
 where she lay. The dread of contagion pre 
 vented every one from venturing on board, and 
 even from approaching her polluted frame. But 
 the ministers of destruction were at work. Her 
 planks were soon filled with worms, who, as if 
 sent to remove this disgrace to the name of 
 common humanity, ceased not from their labour 
 until they had penetrated through her decaying 
 bottom, through which the water rushed in, and 
 she sunk. With her went down the names of 
 many thousands of our countrymen, with which 
 her inner planks and sheathing were literally 
 
 37 
 
I4f6 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE 
 
 covered ; for but few of her inmates had ever 
 neglected to add their own names to the almost 
 innumerable catalogue. Could these be counted, 
 some estimate might now be made of the whole 
 number who were there immured ; but this rec 
 ord has long since been consigned to eternal ob 
 livion. It is supposed that more men perished 
 on her decks than ever died in any other place 
 of confinement on the face of the earth, in the 
 same number of years. 
 
 Notwithstanding the lapse of time, and the con 
 sequent decay and dissolution of the remains of 
 the multitudes who were buried on the shore, 
 which were continually washed from the sand 
 and wasted by the elements, when, in the year 
 1803, the bank at the Wallabout was removed 
 for the purpose of building a Navy Yard, a very 
 great quantity of bones were collected. A me 
 morial was presented to Congress, requesting an 
 appropriation sufficient to defray the expenses 
 necessary for their interment, and for the erec 
 tion of a suitable Monument upon the spot ; but 
 the application was unsuccessful. In the year 
 1808, the bones were interred under the direc- 
 
JERSEY PRISON-SHIP. 147 
 
 tion of the Tammany Society of New York, at 
 tended by a solemn funeral procession, in the 
 presence of a vast concourse of citizens ; and the 
 corner stone of a Monument was laid (to use 
 the impressive words which are inscribed upon 
 it), " in the name of the Spirits of the Departed 
 Free." 
 
TO DESK 
 
 LOAN DEPT 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY