University of California Berkeley 
 
A 
 
 * JOURNAL, 
 
 OF 
 
 A YOUNG MAN OF MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 LATE 
 A SURGEON ON BOARD AN AMERICAN PRIVATEER, 
 
 WHO WAS CAPTURED AT SEA BY THE BRITISH, IN MAT, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED 
 AND THIRTEEN, AND WAS CONFINED FIRST, 
 
 AT MELVILLE ISLAND, HALIFAX, THEN AT CHATHAM, 
 IN ENGLAND..MMAND LAST, 
 
 AT DARTMOOR PRISON. 
 
 INTERSPERSED WITH 
 
 OBSERVATIONS, ANECDOTES AND REMARKS, 
 
 TENDING TO ILLUSTRATE THE MORAL AND POLITICAL CHARACTERS 
 vXJ 1 i'HREE NATIONS. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A CORRECT ENGRAVING OF DARTMOOR PRISON, 
 
 REPRESENTING THE MASSACRE OF AMERICAN PRISONERS, 
 
 WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 
 
 *' Nothing extenuate, or set down aught in malice.".,.SHAKESPAiiJ^ 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION, 
 With considerable Additions and Improvements. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 PRINTED BY ROWE & HOOPER....78 STATE-STREET, 
 
 1816,' 
 
!Hf 
 
 > 
 
 District of Massachusetts, to wit : 
 
 District Clerk's Office. 
 
 BE it remembered, that on the sixth day of March, A. D, 
 (I.. S.) 1816, and in the fortieth year of the Independence of the Unit- 
 ed States of America, ROWE &c HOOPER, of the said District 
 hav<- deposited in this Office, the title of a book, the right whereof they 
 cl.ii.n as Proprietors, in the words following, to wit : 
 
 " A Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, late a Surgeon on board 
 an American privateer, who was captured at sea by the British, in May, 
 eighteen hundred and thirteen, and was confined first, at Melville Island, 
 Halifax, then at Chatham, in England, and last at Dartmoor Prison. In- 
 tersperssd with Observations, Anecdotes and Remarks, tending to illus- 
 trate the moral and political characters of three nations. To which is 
 added, a correct Engraving of Dartmoor Prison, representing the Massa- 
 cre of American prisoners. Written by himself. Nothing extenuate, 
 
 or set dawn aught in malice Shakespeare. 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled 
 " An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies 0$ 
 Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, 
 during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an Act entitled, " An 
 Act supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of 
 learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the authors 
 and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned \ and 
 extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and 
 etching, historical, and ether prints." 
 
 WM. S. SHAW, 
 Clerk of the District of Massachusetts 
 
m 
 
 TO 
 
 THE COMMON SENSE, 
 
 AND 
 
 HUMANE FEELINGS 
 
 OF THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA, 
 
 THIS JOURNAL IS INSCRIBED^ 
 
 BT A LATF, 
 
 PRISONER OF WAR 
 
 WITH THE BRITISH, 
 
 f 
 
 Massacnufttti, County of > 
 Hampshire^ 1815. ) 
 
13 JOURNAL. 
 
 it not so easy to impose on a public ship as on a private 
 one, with our English colours and uniform. In beating up 
 to Pernambuco, we spoke with vessels every clay, but they 
 were all Portuguese. When near to St. Salvadore, we were 
 in great danger of being captured by a British frigate, which 
 we mistook for a large merchantman, until she came within 
 half musket shot of us; but, luckily for us, it died away 
 calm, when we out with our oars, which seamen call sweeps, 
 and in spite of their round and grape shot, we got clear of 
 her without any serious injury. 
 
 We would remark here, that sailors have a dialect of 
 their own, and a phraseology t>y themselves. Instead of 
 right side, and left side, they say starboard and larboard. 
 To tie a rope fast, is to belay it. To lower down a sail, or 
 to pull down a colour, is to dowse it ; and so of many other 
 things. These peculiar phrases have been adopted from 
 the Dutch, and from the Danes : nations from whom the 
 English learnt navigation. We may occasionally use some 
 of these terms, when it cannot well be avoided. 
 
 Our captain was not an American, neither was he an Eng- 
 lishman. He was a little bit of a man, of a swarthy com- 
 plexion, and did not weigh perhaps more than an hundred 
 pounds by the scale. During the firing, our little man stood 
 upon the taffrail, swung his sword, d d the English, and 
 praised his own men. He had been long enough in the 
 United States to acquire property and information, and 
 credit enough to command a schooner of four guns arid ninety 
 men. The crew considered him a brave man, and a good 
 sailor, but not over generous in his disposition. Whether 
 the following is a proof of it, I cannot determine. 
 
 He allowed the crew but one gill of New England rum 
 per day, which they thought an under dose for a Yankee. 
 They contended for more, but he refused it. They expos- 
 tulated, and he remained obstinate ; when at length they 
 one and all declared that they would not touch a rope unless 
 he agreed to double the allowance to half a pint. The cap- 
 tain was a very abstemious man himself, and being very 
 small in person, he did not consider that a man four times 
 as big required twice as much rum to keep his sluggish 
 frame in the same degree of good spirits. He held out 
 against his crew for two days, during which time they never 
 one of them so much as lifted a spun-yarn. The weather 
 was, be sure, very mild and pleasant. I confess, how- 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 ever, that I was very uneasy, under the idea that we might 
 all perish, from the obstinacy of the crew, on one side, and 
 the firmness of the little man on the other. Our captain 
 found that his government was democratical; and perceiv- 
 ing that the weather was about to change, he conceded to 
 the large and fearful majority; and New England spirit 
 carried the day against a temperate European commander. 
 
 This habit of rum drinking makes a striking difference 
 between the military of ancient and modern days. If a Ro- 
 man soldier, or a Carthagenian sailor, had his cloathing, his 
 meat, and his bread, and his vinegar, he was contented, and 
 rarely was guilty of mutiny. But the modern soldier and 
 sailor must, in addition to these, have his rum, or brandy, 
 and his tobacco; deprive him of these two articles, which 
 are neither food nor clothing, and he infallibly mutinies : 
 that is, he runs the risk of the severest punishment, even 
 that of death, rather than renounce these modern luxuries. 
 I have observed among sailors, that they bear the depriva- 
 tion of rum with more patience than the deprivation of tobac- 
 co. On granting the crew half a pint of rum a day, they 
 gave three cheers, and went to work with the greatest 
 cheerfulness and alacrity. 
 
 The Americans, I believe, drink more spirits than the 
 same class of people in England. The labouring people, and 
 sailors, connot get it in Britain. A soldier whose regiment 
 was quartered in Boston, just before the revolution, held up 
 his bottle to one of the new comers, and exclaimed, " Here 
 is a country for you, by J s; I have been drunk once to- 
 day, and have got enough left to be drunk again : and all 
 for six coppers !" What they then called coppers, we now 
 call cents, and the Londoners hap-pemrics. 
 
 The next day we descried three sail steering for St. Sal- 
 vadore. We gave chase to them ; but when we came within 
 gun shot of the stern most, she fired her stern chasers at us. 
 We brought our four guns on one side, to attack, or to de- 
 fend, as we should find ourselves circumstanced ; but night 
 coming on, we saw no more of them. 
 
 Our water becoming short, we determined to gain our 
 former watering place; but not being able to reach it easily, 
 we anchored off a little settlement, twenty miles distant from 
 the place where we watered before. Here our captain put 
 n a British uniform, and waited on the commandant of the 
 who, although he treated him with politeness, gave 
 
O JOURNAL* 
 
 evident suspicions that he was net an English officer. T. 
 prevent the awkward consequences of a detection, our cap- 
 tain promised to send off a barrel of hams, and a keg of but- 
 ter. Under the expectation of the fulfilment of this, rather 
 rash promise, our crafty commander returned to his vessel, 
 and left the place very early next morning. 
 
 It was now the middle of March, and we had taken noth- 
 ing:; neither had we fired our cannon, excepting at a mise- 
 rable sort of a half boat and half raft, called a catamaran: 
 made of five light logs, with a triangular sail. From the 
 men on this miserable vessel we got information of a good 
 watering place, where we soon anchored. The comman- 
 dant of this little settlement was of the colour of our North 
 American Indians, and so w r ere his family, but the rest were 
 nearly as black as negroes. He lived in a house covered 
 and worked in with long grass ; he offered us snuff out of a 
 box tipped with silver, but every thing else looked very rude 
 and simple. While we were getting our water, the females 
 hovered round us. They had long, black, and shining hair, 
 and wore a long white cotton garment, like a shirt or shift. 
 They seemed to admire our complexions. One of these 
 women, more forward than the rest, opened the bosom of 
 one of our fairest young men, to see if his body was as white 
 as his face. She appeared to be highly amused with the 
 discovery, and called her companions to come and view the 
 phenomenon. He shewed a similar curiosity as it concerned 
 her, but she shrunk from it with the apparent delicacy of 
 polished life, before so many men. The colour of these 
 merry girls was that of the inside of a nevr leather shoe. 
 
 Just as we were about embarking, the commandant told our 
 captain that he had just received a message from the com- 
 mandant of Gomora, to seize him and all his crew and send 
 them to Pernambuco, but that he should not obey him. We 
 now set sail for the United States, and had not been at 
 sea long before we were chaced by a frigate, but out sail- 
 ed her. 
 
 On the 20th of May we made Gay Head, which is the 
 shining remains of an extinguished volcano, on the west end 
 of Martha's Vineyard. The next morning we discovered a 
 ship and a brig standing for us. We tacked and stood for the 
 ship until we found that she was a man of war, and then we 
 wore round for the brig, she being nearest of our own sive^-- 
 We now, for the first time, hoisted American colours. \vh* w 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 the brig gave us a broadside, and kept up a constant fire 
 upon us; "but \ve soon left her by our superior sailing and 
 management. The frigate, for such she proved to be, was 
 not so easily c;ot rid of. She was to the windward of us when 
 we first saw her; and she came within gun shot about noon. 
 She firing her bow-chasers, and we our stern-chasers. At 
 length she came almost within musket shot of us, when she 
 fired repeated broadsides into our little schooner, so as to 
 cut away almost all our rigging, when our brave little cap- 
 tain went down below, after telling the men "to fight it 
 out;" but they prudently struck their colours. A boat soon 
 came on board of us with a lieutenant and twelve marines, 
 swearing most bravely at the d d Yankees. The name 
 Yankee is used with pride by an American sailor or soldier; 
 but with derision by the British. But as our men had, ac- 
 cording to custom, when a vessel surrenders, seized whatever 
 casks of liquor they could come at, soon filled out a few 
 horns of gin, and passed it round among the marines, which 
 inspired them with good nature, and for a moment they 
 seemed " all hale fellows well met." The boarding officer 
 did not appear to be so intent in securing the vessel, as in 
 searching every hole and corner for small articles to pocket. 
 The Americans disdain this dishonourable practice. The 
 officers and crews of our men of war have never soiled their 
 characters by taking from their enemies the contents of their 
 chesls and pockets, as the commanders of the Britisii frig- 
 ates, whom we have captured, can testify. We were soon 
 ordered on board of his Britannic Majesty's ship the Tenc- 
 doS) captain Parker. 
 
 I had always entertained a respectable opinion of the 
 British, especially of their national marine. I had read 
 British history, and listened to British songs, and had heard 
 from my childhood of the superior bravery and generosity of 
 the British sailor, and had entertained a real respect for 
 their character; and being of a family denominated /dc- 
 ralhls, I may be said to have entered the frigate Tenedos, 
 captain Parker, with feelings and expectations very differ- 
 ent from what 1 should have felt, had we been at war with 
 the French, and had it been a frigate of that nation that had 
 captured us. The French are a people marked by nature, 
 as well as by cusioms and habits, a different nation from usv 
 Theh- language <s different, their religion is different, and so 
 are their manners. All those things have conspi 
 
iV JOURNAL. 
 
 ing a wall of separation between us and that lively people. 
 But it is not so with the English. Our language, religion, 
 customs, habits, manners, institutions : and above all, books 
 have united to make us feel as if we were but children of 
 the same great family, only divided by the Atlantic ocean. 
 All these things have a natural and habitual tendency to 
 wnite us; and nothing but the unfeeling and contemptuous 
 treatment of us by the British military generally, could have 
 separated us. With all these feelings and partialities about, 
 me, I went from our schooner over the side of the British 
 frigate with ditferent feelings from what I should, had I been 
 going on board an enemy's ship of the French, Spanish, or 
 Portuguese nation. But what was my change of feelings, 
 on being driven with the rest all up in a corner like hogs, 
 and then marched about the deck, for the strutting captain 
 of the frigate to view and review us; like cattle in a market, 
 beforo the drover or butcher. 
 
 When our baggage was brought on board, the master of 
 arms look every portable article from us, not leaving us a 
 jack-knife, pen-knife, or razor. We Americans never con- 
 duct so towards British prisoners. We always respect the 
 private articles of the officer and sailor. 
 
 On the same day we were put on board the brig Curlew, 
 lieutenant Head, a polite and humane gentleman, and much 
 beloved by his own crew. He is, I am informed, son of an 
 English baronet. He is a plain, honest man, with easy, ele- 
 gant manners, and very unlike the sputtering commander of 
 the Tenedos: a man who allowed us to be stripped of all 
 our little pocket articles : not much to the honour of his 
 commission, or credit of his nation. We were kept very 
 :!ose while on board the Curlew, because her crew was very 
 weak, principally decripid old men and boys; but then we 
 \vere kindly spoken to, and respectfully ami humanely treat- 
 -xl by lieutenant Head, and his worthy surgeon. We can 
 discover real gentlemen at sea as well as on shore. 
 
 We were landed in Halifax, the principal British port of 
 North America, and the capital of Nova Scotia, on the 29th 
 ,i' .May, 1813. We were soon surrounded by soldiers, and 
 i'i:injr joined l;y a number of our countrymen, recently cap- 
 tured, we were attempted to be marshalled anil paraded in 
 military order, no as to make as grand a show as possible, 
 v. hilo marchinjr through the streets to pna:>ji. The first thing 
 ke us Bland 1*5 tacoosjS; r.nrl then the 
 
JOURNAL, 11 
 
 commending officer stationed a soldier ou the flanks of each 
 platoon to keep us regular, and to march and wheel according 
 to rule. The word was then given to inarch, when we all 
 ran up together just as we were when the strutting captain 
 Parker reviewed us on the deck of the Tenedos. We were 
 then commanded to halt. As we have no such word of 
 command on board ofyn American privateer, some crowded 
 on, while a few stopped. The young officer tried again, 
 and made us stand all in a row. Some of the crew told their 
 comrades that when the captain sung out "/iflft,' 1 he meant 
 "awzA'J," and that then they should all stop. When we were 
 all in order again, the scarlet-coated young gentleman, with 
 a golden swab on his left shoulder, gave a second time the 
 word of command, "MZflrcft.;" by which word we all understood 
 he meant, " to Iwave a licad? when we got into the like con- 
 fusion again, w hen he cried out in a swearing passion, "/taft," 
 en which some stopped short, and some walked on, when 
 the whole squad burst out a laughing. I know not what 
 vould have been the consequence of his ridiculous passion 
 d not a navy officer, standing by, observed to him, that 
 ihcy were not soldiers but sailors, who knew nothing about 
 military marching-, or military words of command, when the 
 young man told us to march on in our own way; upon which 
 our sailors stuck their fists in their pockets, and scrabbled 
 and reeled on as sailors always do; fora sailor does not know 
 how to wakk like a landsman. On which account I have 
 been informed, since my return from captivity, that all our 
 seamen, that were sent from Boston to Sackett's harbour, on 
 Lake Ontario, were transported in coaches with four horses, 
 chartered for the express purpose; and that it was common, 
 for many weeks together, to see a dozen of the large stage 
 coaches, set ting out from Boston in a morning, full of sailors 
 going up to the lakes, to man the fleets of commodores Perry, 
 Chauncey and M'Donough. The former of these command- 
 ers told the writer, that he never allowed a sailor destined for 
 his squadron to walk a single day. These merry fellows 
 used to ride through the country with their colors, and stream- 
 ers and music, and heaving the lead amidst the acclamations 
 of the country people, who delight in a sailor and in a s!ip. 
 While these things 'were thus conducted in New-England, 
 the people of Old England were simple enough to believe 
 that the war with England was unpopular. They judgul <' 
 us by oar party newspapers. 
 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 The soldiers marched us about two miles, when we came 
 to the spot, where we were to take boat for Melville Island, 
 the place of our imprisonment. When we arrived at the 
 gates of the prison, hammocks and blankets were served out 
 to us, as our names were called over. We were then order- 
 ed into the prison yard. And here I must remark, that I 
 shall never forget the first impression^rhich the sight of my 
 wretched looking countrymen made on my feelings. Here 
 we were, at once, surrounded by a ragged set of quidnuncs, 
 eagerly inquiring What news? where we were taken? and 
 how? and what success we had met with before we were 
 taken? and every possible question, for American curiosity 
 to put to a promiscuous set of new comers. 
 
 After satisfying these brave fellows, who felt an uncom- 
 mon interest in the events of the war, and the news of the 
 day, I had time to notice the various occupations of these 
 poor fellows. Some were washing their own clothes; others 
 mending them. Others were intent on ridding their shirts 
 and other clothing from lice, which, to the disgrace of the 
 British government, are allowed to infest our prisoners.. It 
 may, in part, be owing to the nastiness and negligence of the 
 prisoners themselves, but the great fault and the disgrace, 
 remain with the British. Whoever could say that criminals, 
 confined in our state prisons, were infested with vermin? 
 Were our prison ships in Boston or Salem ever known to be 
 lousy? Shame on, you Britons! 
 
 The buildings on Melville Island are constructed of wood. 
 Beside the prison, there is a cooking house, barracks for sol- 
 diers, and a store-house; a house for the officers, and another 
 for the surgeon. There are a couple of cannon pointing to- 
 wards the prison; and a telegraph, for the purpose of giving 
 intelligence to the fort, which overlooks this island and the 
 ,. town of fialifax. These buildings are painted red, and have 
 upon the whole, a neat appearance. The prison Hseif is iwo 
 hundred feet in length, and fifty in breadth. It is two sto- 
 ries high; the upper one is for officers, ami for the infirmary 
 and dispensary; while the lower part is divided into two 
 prjso/js, one for the French, the other for Americans. The 
 prison yard is tittle more than an acre the whole island 
 being little more than live acres. It is connected on the 
 south side with the main land by a bridge. The parade, so 
 called, is between the turnkey's house and the barracks. 
 From ali which ii may be gathered that Alolviiie Island is a 
 
humble garrison, and a very dreary spot for the officer 
 who commands there. 
 
 The view from the prison exhibits a range of dreary hills. 
 On the northern side are a few scattered dwellings, and som 
 attempts at cultivation; on the southern nothing appears but 
 immense piles of rocks, with bushes, scattered here and there 
 in their hollows and crevices; if their summer appearance 
 conveys the idea of barrenness, their winter appearance must 
 be dreadful in this region of almost everlasting frost and snow. 
 This Unfruitful country is rightly named New Scotland. 
 Barren and unfruitful as old Scotland is, our Nova Seotia is 
 worse. If Churchill were alive, what might he not say of 
 this rude and unfinished part of creation, that glories in the 
 name of " New Scotland?" The picture would here be com- 
 plete if it were set off with here and there a meagre and dried 
 up Highlander, without shoes, stockings or breeches, with a 
 ragged plaid, a little blue flat bonnet, sitting on a bleak rock 
 playing a bag-pipe, and singing the glories of a country thai, 
 never was conquered ! To finish the picture, you have only 
 to imagine a dozen more ragged, rawboried Scotchmen, sit- 
 ting on the bare rocks around the piper, knitting stockings 
 to send to England and America, where they can afford to 
 wear them. Such is Scotia, old and new, whose sons are 
 remarkable for their inveterate, hatred of tke Americans, as 
 we shall see in the course of this narrative. 
 
 As to the inside of the prison at Melville Island, if the 
 American reader expects to hear it represented as a place 
 resembling the large prisons for criminals in the United States, 
 such as those at Boston, Chark'stown, New York, or Phila- 
 delphia, he will he sadly disappointed. Some of these pri- 
 sons are as clean and nearly as comfortable, as some of the 
 monasteries and convents in Europe. Our new prisons in 
 the United Stales reflect great honor on the nation. They 
 speak loudly that we are a considerate and humane people; 
 wheroas the prison at Halifax, erected solely for the safe 
 keeping of prisoners of war, resembles an horse stable, with 
 stalls or stanchions, for separating the cattle from each other. 
 It is to a contrivance of this sort that they attach the cords 
 that support those canv-iss bags, or cradles, called hammocks. 
 Four tier of these hanging-nests were made to swing one 
 above another, betv- een these stalls or stanchions. To those 
 unused to these lofty sleeping-births, they were rather unplea- 
 sant situatioiii for repose. But use makes every thing easy. 
 
14 JOURNAL. 
 
 The first time I was shut up for the night, in this prison, it 
 distressed me too much to close my eyes. Its closeness and 
 smell were, in a degree, disagreeable, but this was trifling to 
 what I experienced afterwards, in another place. The 
 general hum and confused noise from almost every hammock, 
 was at first, very distressing. Some would be lamenting 
 their hard fate at being shut up like negro slaves in a Guinea 
 ship, or like fowls in a hen coop, for no crime, but for fight- 
 ing the battles of their country. Some were cursing and 
 execrating their oppressors ; others, late at night, were relat- 
 ing their adventures to a new prisoner; others lamenting 
 tiieir aberrations from rectitude, and disobedience of parents, 
 and head strong wilfulness, that drove them to sea, contrary 
 to their parents' wish, while others of the younger class, were 
 sobbing out their lamentations at the thoughts of what their 
 mothers and sisters suffered, after knowing of their imprison- 
 ment. Not unfrequently the whole night was spent in this 
 way, and when, about day break, the weary prisoner fell into 
 a dose, he was waked from his slumber by the grinding noise 
 of the locks, and the unbarring of the doors, with the cry of 
 " turn out all oitt? when each man took down his hammock 
 and lashed it up, and slung it on his back, and was ready to 
 answer to the toll call of the turnkey. If any, through nat- 
 ural heaviness, or indisposition, was dilatory, he was sure to 
 feel the bayonet of the brutal soldier, who appeared to us to 
 have a natural antipathy to a sailor, and from what I observ- 
 ed, I believe that in general little or no love is lost between 
 them. 
 
 This prison is swept out twice a week, by the prisoners. 
 The task is performed by the respective messes in turns. 
 When the prison is washed, the prisoners are kept out until 
 it is perfectly dry. This, in the wet seasons, and in the se- 
 verity of winter, is sometimes very distressing and dangerous 
 to health; for there is no retiring place for shelter; it is like 
 a stable, where the cattle are either under cover, or exposed 
 to the weather, be it ever so inclement. 
 
 When we arrived here in May, 1813, there were about 
 nine hundred prisoners ; but many died by the severity of 
 the winter ; for the quantity of fuel allowed by the British 
 government was insufficient to convey warmth through the 
 prison. The men were cruelly harrassed by the barbaror.s 
 custom of mustering and parading them in the severest cold, 
 aad even in snow storms. The agent, Milter, might have 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 alleviated the sufferings of our people, had he been so dis- 
 posed, without relaxation of duty. But he , as well as the 
 turnkey, named Grant, seemed to take delight in tormenting 
 the Americans. This man would often keep the prisoners 
 out tor many hours, in the severest weather, when the mer- 
 cury was ten and fifteen degrees below zero, under a pre- 
 text that the prison had been washed, and was not sufficient- 
 ly dry for their reception : when in fact every drop of water 
 used was in a moment ice. People in the southern states, 
 and the inhabitants of England and Ireland, can form no 
 adequate idea of the frightful climate of Nova Scotia. The 
 description of the sufferings of our poor fellows the past win- 
 ter, was enough to make one's heart ach, and to rouse our 
 indignation against the agents in this business. 
 
 Our people are sensible to kind treatment, and are ready 
 to acknowledge humane and considerate conduct towards 
 themselves, or towards their companions; but they are re- 
 sentful in proportion as they are grateful. They speak very 
 generally of the conduct of Miller, the agent, and Grant, the 
 turnkey, with disgust and resentment. . A complaint was 
 made to him of the badness of the beef served out to 
 the prisoners, upon which he collected the prisoners, and 
 mounting the stair-case, began a most passionate harrangue, 
 declaring that the beef .was good enough, and a d d deal 
 better than they had in their own country : and if they did 
 not eat it they should have none. He then went on as fol- 
 lows r " Hundreds of you, d d scoundrels, have been tome 
 " begging and pleading that I would interpose my influence 
 " that you might be the first to be exchanged, to return home 
 to your families, who were starving in your absence ; and 
 now you have the impudence to tell me to my face, that 
 the king's beef is not good enough for your dainty stomach*. 
 Why some of that there beef is good enough for me to eat. 
 You are a set of mean rascals, you beg of an enemy the 
 *' favours which your own government won't grant you. 
 " You complain of ill treatment* when you never fared bet- 
 " ter in your lives. Had you been in a French prison, and 
 - fed on horse beef, you would have some grounds of com- 
 " plaint; but here in his Britannic Majesty's royal prison., 
 i; you have every thing that is right and proper for persona 
 ic taken fighting against his crown and dignity. There is a 
 " surgeon here for you if you are sick, and physic for you to 
 * c take if you are sick, and a hospital to go to into the bargain j 
 
36 
 
 " and if you die, there are boards enough (pointing to a pile 
 c * of lumber in the yard) for to make you coffins, and an him- 
 " dred and fifty acres of land to bury you in ; and if you are 
 '* not satisfied with all this, you may die and be d d." 
 Having finished this eloquent harrangue, orator Miller des- 
 cended from his rostrum, and strutted out of the prison yard, 
 accompanied with hisses from some of the prisoners. 
 
 On a re-examination, however, of the " king's beef,-' some 
 pieces were found too much tainted for a dog to eat, and the 
 prisoners threw it over the pickets. After this the supply of 
 wholesome meat was such as it ought to be ; full good enough 
 for Mr. Miller himself to eat ; and some of the very best 
 pieces good enough for Mr. Grant, the turnkey. 
 
 Jn all this business of provision for prisoners of war, one 
 thing oug v t to be taken into consideration, which may be 
 offered as an extenuation of crime alledged against the Brit- 
 ish agents for prisoners ; and that is, that the American sol- 
 dier and sailor live infinitely better in America, than the 
 same class of people do in Great Britain and Ireland. Gene- 
 rally speaking, an American eats three times the quantity of 
 animal food that fall to the share of the same class of people 
 in England, Holland, Germany, Denmark, or Sweden. He 
 sleeps more comfortably, and lives in greater plenty of fish, 
 flesh, vegetables, cider, and spirituous liquors. Add to this, 
 his freedom is in a manner unbounded. He speaks his mind 
 to any man. If he thinks he is wronged, he seeks redress 
 with confidence; if he is insulted, he resents it; and if you 
 should venture to strike him, he never will rest quiet under 
 the dishonour; yet you seldom or ever hear of quarrels end- 
 ing in murder. The dagger and pistol are weapons in a 
 manner unknown. The fist, a la mode de John Bull, is com- 
 monly the ultimatum of a Yankee's revenge. 
 
 We often hear the British, if they are unsuccessful, la- 
 menting the war between England and America ; they call 
 it aa unhappy strife between brethren ; and they attribute 
 this "unnatural war," to a French influence; and their 
 friends in New England, who are denominated tones, use 
 the same language. They say that all the odium of the war 
 ought to fall on our administration and their wicked sedu- 
 cers, the French; and yet you will find that both in Eng- 
 land, and at Halifax, the French meet with better treatment 
 than their dear brothers, the Americani. 
 
JOtllNAf, 
 
 \Ve found that there were about two hundred French 
 prisoners in Nova Scotia. Some had been there ever 
 since 1803. Few of them were confined in prison. The 
 chief of them lived in or near the town of Halifax, working 
 for the inhabitants, or teaching dancing, or fencing, or their 
 own language. Some were employed as butchers and cooks; 
 others as nurses in the hospital ; and they were every where 
 favoured for their complaisance, obedience, and good hu- 
 mour. They had the character of behaving better towards 
 the British officers and inhabitants than the Americans, and 
 I believe with reason ; for our men seem to take a delight 
 in plaguing, embarrassing, and alarming those who were set 
 over them. A Frenchman always tried to please, while 
 many Americans seemed to take an equal delight in letting 
 the Nova Scotians know that they longed to be at liberty to 
 fight them again. I confess I do not wonder that the 
 submissive, smiling Frenchmen made more friends at Hali- 
 fax than the ordinary run of American seamen, who seemed 
 too often to look and speak as if they longed to tiy again the 
 tug of war with John Bull. 
 
 Sunday being a leisure day among the men of business in 
 Halifax and its vicinity, the old refugees from the United 
 Stateg used to come round the prison to gratify their evil 
 eyes, instead of going to a place of worship, with the light 
 of what they called " rebels." These are generally Scotch- 
 men, or sons of Scotchmen, and are very bitter against the 
 Americans. Some of this class were clergymen, who came 
 occasionally to pray and preach with us in prison. We paid 
 every mark of respect to every modest and prudent minis- 
 ter who came among us to perform divine service; but we 
 never could restrain our feelings, when one of these refugee 
 gentlemen came among us, praying for king George and the 
 royal family of England. The men considered it as an in- 
 sult, and resented it accordingly. Some of these imprudent 
 ' men would fulminate the vengeance of Heaven, for what 
 they conceived political, instead of moral errors. The pri- 
 soners respected some of these reverend gentlemen highly, 
 while they despised some others. The priesthood, however, 
 have less hold on the minds of the people of the United 
 States, than of any other people on earth. 
 
 The Bishops and Church of England are fast destroying 
 their own craft, by aiding the sly dissenters in spreading the 
 Inble through every family iu Britain, and in America. In 
 
18 JOURNAL. 
 
 readiqg this blessed book, the people will see how Christian 
 ity has been corrupted. They will compare the archbishops 
 and dignified clergy of the present degenerate days, with the 
 plainness of our Saviour, and with the simplicity of the holy 
 fishermen, and other of his disciples. Before this book the 
 factitious institutions and gorgeous establishments of the 
 modern priesthood will fade and die, like Jonah's gourd. The 
 English Episcopacy never has, nor ever will, take deep root 
 in the United States. It can never flourish in the American 
 soil. Even the Roman Catholic religion is here a humble 
 and rational thing. Its ministers are highly respected, be- 
 cause their lives adorn their doctrines ; and the parochial 
 otire of their flock, who are principally Irish, is seen and 
 commended. It is observed throughout our sea ports, that 
 the seafaring people are generous supporters of their minis- 
 ters; but these same people can never be made to pay 
 tythes, or to hear and support a minister whom they ha*d 
 not directly or remotely chosen. This is the predominant 
 sentiment of all the Anglo-Americans. 
 
 The daily allowance of the British government to our 
 prisoners, is one pound of bread, one pound of beef, and one 
 gill of peas. Over and above this we received from the 
 American agent a sufficiency of coffee, sugar, potatoes, and 
 tobacco. The first may be called the bare necessaries of 
 life, but the latter contribute much to its comfortable enjoy- 
 ment. Whether the British government ought not to have 
 found the w^hole, I am not prepared to determine; but cer- 
 tainly, before this addition from our own agent, our men 
 complained bitterly : and it is a fact, that the agent here 
 more than once detained tobacco, sent as a present to us 
 from our agent at Boston. 
 
 Injustice to Mr. Miller, the British agent, I ought to re- 
 cord that he paid great attention to the cleanliness of the 
 prison, and to the clothes of the men ; and I must, at the 
 same time, say that some of our men were very dirty, lazy 
 fellows, that required constantly spurring up to keep them 
 from being offensive. This indolent and careless disposition 
 was observed to be chiefly among those who had been for- 
 merly intemperate ; they felt the loss of their beloved stimu- 
 lus, their spirits sunk, and they had rather lay down and rot, 
 and die, than exert themselves. There were a few who 
 seemed to be like hogs, innately dirty, and who had rather 
 lie dirty than clean. Mr. Miller had therefore great merit 
 
JOURNAL* 19 
 
 in compelling these men to follow the rules prescribed to the 
 whole prison. For this he had the thanks of every consid- 
 erate American. 
 
 It was a common remark, that the most indolent and most 
 slovenly men were the most vicious ; and a dirty external 
 w r as a pretty sure indication of a depraved mind. Such as 
 would not conform to the rules of cleanliness were commit- 
 ted to the Hack hole, which was under the prison, and divid- 
 ed into solitary cells. The agent had the power of confin- 
 ing a prisoner in one of these dungeons during ten days. It 
 is to the credit of our seamen to remark, that they co-oper- 
 rated with the agent most heartily in whatever tended 
 to preserve the cleanliness of their persons, and they ap- 
 plauded the confinement of such as were disinclined to fol- 
 low the salutary rules of the prison. 
 
 We were one day not a little shocked by the arrival of a 
 number of American soldiers who were entrapped and taken 
 with Colonel Boerstler, in Upper Canada. They exhibited 
 a picture of starvation, misery, woe, and despair. Their 
 miserable condition called forth our sympathy and compas- 
 sion, ami I may add* excited our resentment against the au- 
 thors of their distress. These unfortunate landsmen had 
 never been used to " rough it" like sailors, but had lived (he 
 easy life of farmers and mechanics. Some of them had nev- 
 er experienced the hardships of a soldiers life, but were 
 raw, inexperienced militia men. They were taken at some 
 creek between Fort George and Little York, by the Brit- 
 ish and their allies the Indians, who stripped them of most 
 of their clothing, and then wore them down by very long 
 and harrassing marches; first to Montreal, and then to Que- 
 bec; and soon after crowded them on board transports, like 
 negroes in a Guinea ship, where some suffered a lingering 
 death, and others merely escaped it. It appears from their 
 account, and from every other account, that the treatment 
 of these poor fellows at their capture, and on their march, 
 and more especially on board the transports from Quebec to 
 Halifax, was barbarous in the extreme, and highly disgrace- 
 ful to the British name and nation. 
 
 We have it asserted uniformly, that the prisoners, who 
 cnnw from Quebec to Halifax and to Boston, down the St. 
 Lawrence, were treated and provided for in a manner little 
 above brutes. Colonel SCOTT, now Major General Scott, 
 by that route from Quebec to Boston, and it ia well 
 
20 JOURNAL. 
 
 known that he complained, that there were neither aceom. 
 modations, provisions, nor any thing on board the ship prop- 
 er for a gentleman. He spoke of the whole treatment he re- 
 ceived with deep disgust and pointed resentment. If an 
 officer of his rank and accomplishments had so much reason 
 for complaint, we may easily conceive what the private sol- 
 dier must have endured. 
 
 We paid every attention in onr power to these poor sol- 
 diers, whose emaciated appearance and dejection gave us 
 reason to expect that an end would soon be put to their suf- 
 ferings by death. They, however, recruited fast; and we 
 were soon convinced, that they were reduced to the condi- 
 tion we saw them in, absolutely for want of food. The ac- 
 count which these soldiers gave of their hardships was 
 enough to fill with rage and resentment the heart of a saint. 
 Four men were not allowed more provisions than what wa* 
 needful for one. They assured us, that if they had not se* 
 cretly come at some bags of ship bread, unknown to the of- 
 ficers of the transport, they must have perished for want of 
 food. We cannot pass over one anecdote. Some fish were 
 caught by our own people on the passage, in common with 
 the crew, but they were compelled to deliver them all to the 
 captain of the ship, who withheld them from the American 
 prisoners. Some of the prisoners had a little money, and 
 the captain of the transport was mean enough to take a dol- 
 lar for a single cod fish, from men in their situation. This 
 fact has appeared in several Boston papers, with the names 
 of the persons concerned, and has never been contradicted 
 or doubted. We give this as the common report; and as 
 the Boston newspapers circulated freely through Nova Sco- 
 'ia and Canada, we infer, that had the siory been void of 
 truth, it would have been contradicted. This has been am- 
 ply confirmed. 
 
 Those Americans who have no other knowledge of the 
 English character, but what they gather from books made in 
 London ; and from their dramatic productions, and from their 
 national songs, would believe, as I myself once did, that 
 John Bull, (by which name Uean Swift personified the 
 whole nation) was a humane, tender-hearted, generous 
 gentleman ; but let him be once in the power of an Eng- 
 lishman, or what is stiil worse, of a Scotchman, and if 
 will correct his erroneous notions. An Englishman is 
 strongly attached to his king and country; ad thinks noth- 
 
JOURNAL. -1 
 
 tug on earth can equal them, while he holds all the rest of 
 the w r orld in comparative contempt. Until the days of Bo- 
 naparte, the people of England really believed that one Eng- 
 lishman could flog six Frenchmen. They, at one time, had 
 the same idea of us, Americans ; but the late w r ar has cor- 
 rected their articles of belief. The humanity of the British 
 is one of the most monstrous impositions, now afloat in the 
 world. 
 
 The most glaring feature in the English character is a 
 vain glorious ostentation, as ia exhibited in their elegant 
 and costly steeples, superb hospitals, useless cathedrals, 
 lying columns; such as the monument near London bridge, 
 which as Pope says of it, 
 
 " Lifts its tall head and lies." 
 
 But if you wish to learn their real character, look at their 
 bloody code of laws, read their wars with Wales, with Scot- 
 land, and with Ireland. Look at India, and at their own 
 West India Islands. Look at the present " border war" 
 carried on by associating themselves with our savages; 
 look into this very prison, ask the soldiers just brought into 
 it, what they think of British humanity or British bravery. 
 A reliance on British veracity and honour caused these poor 
 fellows lo surrender, when they found them worse than the 
 Indians. These things may be forgiven, but they ought 
 never to be forgotten. 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA, or New Scotland, was formerly called Che- 
 Ittcto by the native Indians. It is a dreary region. The 
 country, for many miles west of Halifax, is a continued 
 range of mountains, rising one over the other, as far as the 
 eye can reach. The winters are severe, and the springs 
 backward. The trees appeared to be as bare on the 20Ui 
 of May as the same kind of trees do in the middle of March, 
 with us in Massachusetts. To us there was something hid- 
 eous in the aspect of their mountains ; but this may have beea 
 partly owing to our own hideous habitation, -and low spirits, 
 The same objects may have appeared charming in the eyes 
 >f a Scotch family, just arrived from the fag-end of the Isl- 
 and of Great Britain. 
 
 The capital, Halifax, was settled by a number of British 
 subjects in 1749. His situated on a spacious and commo- 
 dious bay or harbour, called Chebucto, of a bold and easy 
 
22 .5 or: SNA;. 
 
 entrance, where a thousand of the largest ships might ride 
 with safety. The town is built on the west side of the har- 
 bor, arid on the declivity of a commanding hill, whose sum- 
 mit is two hundred and thirty-six feet perpendicular from 
 the level of the sea. The town is laid out into oblong 
 squares; the streets parallel and at right angles. The town 
 and suburbs are about two miles in length ; and the general 
 width a quarter of a mile. It contained in 1793, about four 
 thousand inhabitants and seven hundred houses. At the 
 northern extremity of the town, is the king's naval yard, 
 completely built and supplied with stores of every kind for 
 the royal navy. The harbor of Halifax is reckoned inferi- 
 or to no place in British America for the seat of government, 
 ?K;ing open and accessible at all seasons of the year, when 
 almost all other harbors in these provinces are locked up 
 with ice^ also from its entrance, situation, and its proximi- 
 ty to the bay ot Fundy, and "principal interior settlements of 
 the province. This city lying on the S coast of Nova Sco- 
 lia has communication with Pictou, sixty-eight miles to the 
 NE on the gulf of St. Lawrence, by a good cart road finish- 
 ed in 1792. It is twelve miles northerly of Cape Sambro, 
 which forms in part the entrance of the bay ; twenty-seven 
 south easterly of Windsor, forty N by E of Truro, eighty N 
 K by E of Annapolis, on the bay of Fundy, and one hun- 
 dred and fifty-seven SE of St. Ann, in New Brunswick, 
 measuring in a straight line. N lat. 44, 40, W Ion. 63, 15. 
 
 It was settled chiefly by Scotchmen; and since the rev- 
 olutionary war, which secured our independence, they have 
 received considerable additions from the United States, of a 
 :.Jass of men denominated refugees, who exiled themselves, 
 n account of our republicanism, and of their own attach- 
 ment to the best of kings. They show too often their 
 hatred to us. To this day they call us " rebels /" and they 
 }>er.k to us in a style and tone as if they were sorry they 
 could not murder us without the risk of being hanged. 
 
 In 1757 to 1759, when the British were engaged in a war 
 with the French and Indians, and were in possession of 
 Halifax with a large land and naval force, they were oblig- 
 ed to fetch their wood for fuel from Boston, as they could 
 not venture, (says Capt. Knox, their military historian) be- 
 > or.i! their walls and breastworks ; and yet "tkinkinr Jonny 
 BwV seiit a land and naval force to conquei us, in 1814 ! 
 of all " thinking" beings, of which we have ever had an ac- 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 liouut this Mr. Bull is the strangest ! Peradventure much 
 thinking has had the same effect on this poor gentleman thai 
 mich learning has had on another. 
 
 It is strange, it is passing strange, that a whole people 
 should be so strongly attached to the honor, crown and dig- 
 nity of their conquerors, as the Scotch are to the present roy- 
 al family of England, whose ancestor was, in fact, an usurper 
 of the crown and dignities of the Scotch race of kings, the 
 self sufficient Stewarts. The most remarkable thing in the 
 reign of George the 3d (besides that of loosing America) is the 
 perfect conciliation of the Scotch. Whether this was owing 
 to my Lord Bute, or to his relation, I am unable to say ; but 
 it is a singular thing in the history of nations, when we take 
 into consideration the cruel treatment of the Scotch so low 
 down as the year ,1745. As there is no new thing under 
 the sun, arid what has been may be again, who knows but 
 that the Cherokccs and Choclarvs, the Chipptwas, the Hurons, 
 the Patlowalomies and Kickapoos, may hereafter become 
 most attached to our government, and afford us Judges, Se- 
 cretarif.s of State, Admirals, Generals, Governors of Provin- 
 ces, Grooms of the Poet's Stool, and Historians ? Who knows 
 but the day will come, when there shall spring up from the 
 mud and ooze of our own trifling lakes, another Waller Scott, 
 who shall sing as sublimely the story of our border-wars ; 
 and who shall be able to trace a long and illustrious line of 
 ancestry, up to the renowned chief Split-log, Walk in-thc- 
 natcr, Hanging-maw, or to Tecumsch ? Who knows but that 
 among these American Highlanders, we may find another 
 Ossian and another Fingal ? for what has been, under similar 
 circumstances, may be again. 
 
 Earjy in the month of July, we were not a little disturb- 
 ed by the arrival of the crew of our ill omened, ill fated 
 Chesapeake 
 
 The capture of this American frigate by the British fri- 
 gate Shannon of equal force, was variously related. From 
 all that I could gather, she was not judiciously brought into 
 action, nor well fought after Capt. Laurence fell. It is too 
 much like the British to hunt up every possible excuse for a 
 defeat ; but we must conclude, and 1 have since found it a 
 general opinion in the United States, that the frigate was by 
 HO means in a condition to go into action. The captain 
 was a stranger to his own crew ; his ship was lumbered up 
 with her cables and every thing else. She ought to huv<- 
 
7 
 
 24 JOURNAL; 
 
 cruised three or four days before she met the fthanuen, ssa 
 that, it seems, was the opinion of the brave captain of the 
 British frigate; who was every way prepared for the ac- 
 tion. 
 
 The rapid destruction of the British sloop of war Peacock, 
 gave Lawrence high reputation ; and he felt as if he must 
 act up to his high character. He seemed like an hero im- 
 pelled, by high ideas of chivalry, to fight, conquer or die, 
 without attending to the needful cautions and preparations. 
 His first officer he left sick on shore, who died a few days 
 after the battle; his next officer was soon killed; soon i-fler 
 which he fell himself, uttering the never to be forgotteii 
 words, " DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP," which has since be- 
 come a sort of national motto. While- the British captain 
 prudently dressed himself in a short jacket and round hat, 
 so as not to distinguish himself from the other officers, our 
 Capt. Lawrence, who was six feet and upwards tall, was in 
 his uniform and military hat, a fair and inviting mark for the 
 enemy's sharp shooters. No one doubted his bravery, but 
 some have called his prudence in question. 
 
 This heroic man and his Lieutenant, Liullmv, were three 
 times buried with great military pomp ; first at Halifax 
 then at Salem, and last of all at New-York. The name of 
 Lawrence is consecrated in America, while his ever unlucky 
 ship is doomed to everlasting ignominy ; for this was the ves- 
 sel that preferred allowing the British ship Leopard to muster 
 her crcrv, instead of sinking;, with her colors flying. 
 
 In the month of AugusF, Halifax WKS alarmed, or pretend- 
 ed to be alarmed, by a rumor that the prisoners on Melville 
 Island, which is al out three miles, or less, from the town, 
 meditated a sally, with the determination of seizing the cap- 
 ital of iSTova Scotia. They immediately took the most se- 
 rious precautions, and screwed up their municipal regulations 
 to the highest pitch. All the loyal citizens entrusted with 
 arms, were ordered to keep themselves in readiness to march 
 at a minute's warning to repel the meditated attack of about 
 a thousand unarmed Yankees, rendered formidable by a re- 
 inforcement of a few dozen half starved soldiers, who were 
 taken ;y the Indians and B^tish, and sent from Quebec 
 down the river St. Lawrence, to the formidable American 
 post on Melville Island, uMer the command of turnkey 
 Grant ! who was himself under the command of Lieut. Gen- 
 eral Mr. Agent Miller ! 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 It \vas reported and believed by many in Halifax, that the 
 prisoners had made arrangements for the attack, and had 
 sworn to massacre every man, woman and child. When we 
 found that they really believed the ridiculous story, we must 
 confess that we enjoyed their terror, and laughed, inwardly, 
 at their formidable precautions of defence. They placed a 
 company of artillery, with two pieces of cannon on a height 
 south of the prison; and cleared up a piece of land, and sta- 
 tioned another corps of artillery with a cannon so placed as 
 to rake our habitation lengthwise, while centries were placed 
 at regulated distances on the road, all the way into the town 
 ef Halifax. An additional number of troops were station- 
 ed on the island, who bivouacked* in the open air near to the 
 officers' dwellings ; in other words, they were placed therfc 
 to prevent us from cutting the officers' throats with clan* 
 shells, or oyster shells, for we had nothing metallic for the 
 purpose. 
 
 When we saw these formidable preparations, and reflect- 
 ed on our own helpless condition, without any means of of- 
 fence, beside our teeth and nails, we could not but despise 
 eur enemies ; and we did not omit to increase their ridicu- 
 lous alarm, by whispering together, pointing our fingers 
 sometimes E. and sometimes W. and sometimes N. and 
 sometimes S. and rubbing our hands and laughing, and af- 
 fecting to be in high spirits. The conduct of the agent at 
 Ihis threatening crisis of his affairs, did not diminish our con- 
 tempt of him. He would often mount Ins rostrum, the head 
 of the stair-case, to address us, and assure us, that we should 
 soon be delivered from our confinement, ami be sent home. 
 He said that he did not expect to see any of us in prison six 
 weeks longer; and that our detention was then only owing 
 to some delay of orders from admiral Warren ; but that he 
 expected them every moment. He therefore entreated us 
 to remain contented and quiet a little longer, aud not ob- 
 struct the kind intentions 4hat were in train for our deliver- 
 ance from captivity ; and he assured us, upon his honour, 
 that every thing should be do,uej|gtig power to expedite our 
 return home; that I here were ttiKthree cartels getting 
 ready to convey us u\vay. In tmHfcan time every thing 
 said andJoneatflHRHB^PKi us satisfied and quiet. 
 
 ., * ? * 
 
 * T&vouackea- iy layir; eating, and drinking on the {Around 
 
 -with their amis, v/ithoul tents, or any covering, and is only volunta? 
 fcarily reported to, when the greatest danger is apprehended, 
 
26 JOURNAL. 
 
 While the agent was making: h : s declarations of frieud- 
 ship, and protesting upon his honour, tl- it AV- should be sent 
 home, he knew full well that the gmu- si part of the prison- 
 ers were to be sent across the Atlantic, to suffer the punish- 
 ment of a British prison. The policy of the English gov- 
 ernment was, it sffima, to discourage the enlistment of sol- 
 diers into our service by sending the prisoners, taken on the 
 frontiers, to England. They meant also to distress us by 
 acumulating our seamen in their prisons ; and this they im- 
 agined would disenable us from manning our men of war, or 
 sending out privateers. They preferred every mode of dis- 
 tressing us to that of fair fighting; for, in fair fight and equal 
 numbers, we have always beat them by sen, and by land. 
 
 We were in good humor and high spirits, at the prospect 
 of leaving our loathsome den, and once more returning home 
 our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and 
 school-fellows, and the old jolly companions of our happy 
 days. We smiled upon Mr. Agent Miller, and he upon us. 
 We greeted our turnkey, the now and then sinooth tongued 
 Mr. Grant, with a good morrow, and ell feelings of hostility 
 were fast subsiding; and one told him that lie should be 
 very glad to see him in Boston; another said be should be 
 very glad to see him in Marblehead, and another at New- 
 York, and Baltimore, and so on. 
 
 Towards the close of the month of August, and after Mr. 
 Agent Miller and the military had taken the most effectual 
 method to provide against the possibility of resistance from 
 the prisoners, reports now and then reached us, that the ex- 
 pected exchange was unhappily broken off, and that it wa* 
 the fault of the American government. These things were 
 hinted with great caution, as not entitled to entire credit ; 
 the next day it was said, that the business o exchange was 
 in a prosperous train. All this was done by way Of feefing 
 the pulse of the most respectable of the prisoners; those 
 most likely to take the lead in an insurrection. We cuuki 
 easily trace all these different stories tg the cunning Mr. 
 Miller, through his subordinate agents. 
 
 On the first day oi^lhfdrer, 1813, an hundred of us 
 prisoners were selecteBpcin different crews, and ordered to 
 Set our baggage read} rml be at the patent a certain hour, 
 On enquiring of our 1 : i wan the ij 
 
 of this order, he replied with hfc habitual dupfltit 
 
joi RNAL. 
 
 were " to be sent hotne" "When Mr. Miller was aslicd tli<* 
 :.!icd, that he had a particular reason for 
 not answering the question ; hut now: of UB doubted, from 
 ? he selection from different CP-WH, hnt (hat we were about t< 
 to our beloved country and natal homes. \V If ft 
 Ihe prison with li'j;ht hearts, not without pitying our com- 
 prmiony, v.ho were doomed to wait a while longer before 
 rhcy could lie mad** HO happy as we then felt. We stepped 
 on board the boats with smiling countenances. The barge 
 men told us that the ships we were going to wen earl- 
 
 I laving arrived among the shipping, the officer of Ihe 
 boat \vns asketl \v)ii<;h of these several ships was the cartel 
 " Tlit-rc" said lie, point.intr to an old ^14, u is the xhi/t 
 n-'nn;h is to lake i/ou Lo old England." Heaven* above! 
 What a stroke oflhuHtlcr was this ! We looked at each oth- 
 er with horror, with dismay, and stupef.irtion, before our 
 lej)ressl souls recoiled willi indignation ! such a change <i 
 .i;inee I never beheld ! Had we been on tli<- d--ek o[ 
 rt sbi|), and l>eeji informed that a match was just about be- 
 ing touched to her magazine of powder, we should not have 
 exhibited such a picture of paleness and dismay. The de- 
 ception was cruel ; the duplicity was infamous. The whole 
 trick from beginning to end, wan an instance- of cowardice, 
 jueanw.s.s and villainy. It prov<& that cowards are cruel; 
 Uial barbarity and Hnccrity never meet in the same bosom. 
 
 We now saw that the rumor of our rising upon our keep- 
 ers, and marching to Halifax was ;t miserable falsehood, 
 spread abroad for no other purpose than to double our guards, 
 and prevent the imagined consequences of desperation, 
 should it be discovered that we we're to be s'-nt across the 
 Atlantic. It is possible we might have succec (led in disarm- 
 ing the M>:<li< !.-, .,n the island, and taken their cannon; hufc 
 lor want of more arms we could have done but little. Had 
 v\e all been armed, we could have entered Halifax, and put 
 to the test the bravery of these loyalists: but an unarmed 
 multitude arc nothing before an eighth part of their num- 
 ber of regular soldiers. ;Mi!ii-..-\ nn n in Halifax, could nev- 
 er liave had a moment'.-* serious appr-huision from Die pris- 
 
 ieUilh; hluud. It is my fjim O])inion, ho- 
 
 that bad v,e ben ap;jr/-d of our cruel ' Hination, we 
 
 en upon Ihe boi cape, 
 
 "i-ly. H< nl desperation have 
 
 done wontte; and botli would have steeled the heart and 
 
28 JlfRNAL. 
 
 nerved the arm of our little band of sufferers. Had we not 
 been beguiled with the lies of the agent and his turnkey, 
 we should have given our enemies a fresh proof of Ameri- 
 can bravery, if not imprudence. Had Miller been on board 
 the boat with us, we should most certainly have thrown 
 him overboard. His base and dishonourable artifice, first 
 to raise our hopes and expectations to the height of joy, 
 and then to sink us in despair, was an infamous deed, wor- 
 thy such a reward. Speaking for myself, I declare, that my 
 heart sunk within me, and I came near fainting, and it was 
 some time before tears came to my relief; then in a burst 
 of indignation, I cursed the perfidious enemy, and felt iy 
 soul wound up to deeds of desperation. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HAD the agent informed us of the orders of his govern- 
 ment, and made us acquainted with our destination, we 
 should have braced our minds up to the occasion, and sub- 
 mitted to our hard fate like men. We should have said to 
 each other in the language of S hakespeare " if these things 
 be necessities, leCs meet them like necessities ;" but to be de- 
 ceived and duped, and cajoled into a state of great joy and 
 exultation, and then, in an instant, precipitated into the 
 dark and cold regions of despair, was barbarous beyond ex- 
 pression. As much resentment as I feel towards Miller 
 and his subalterns, I cannot wish either of them to sutler 
 the pangs I felt at the idea of this floating dungeon. 
 
 The .late Governor GERRY, in one of his communica- 
 tions to the legislature of Massachusetts, when speaking of 
 thft impressment and ill usage of our seamen by the Eng- 
 lish, calls a British man-of-war " a floating Pandemonium" 
 I never felt the force of that expression until I entered on 
 board this floating hell. 
 
 After some difficulty and delay we got ourselves and bed- 
 ding up the side of the ship.; and as our names were called 
 over, our bedding was served out to us. We inform* 8-th 
 officer that there were but seventy blankets for an hundred 
 men ; to which he replied, that he bad orders to servo enl 
 
JOURNAL. 29 
 
 blankets in the same proportion as they served out our pro- 
 visions. To understand this, the reader must know that 
 the British have been in the habit, all the Avar, of giving to 
 their prisoners a less quantity of food than to their own 
 men. They uniformly gave to six of us the same quantity 
 which they gave iofour of their own sailors. If what they 
 allowed to their own men was barely sufficient, what they 
 gave to us could not be enough to satisfy the cravings of 
 hunger ; and this w r e all found to be the case. 
 
 The crew of the man of war sleep on the deck which is 
 next under the gun deck, while our destination was on the 
 deck under that. It was to the ship what the cellar is to a 
 house. It was under water, and of course, without win- 
 dows, or air holes. All the air and light came through the 
 hatch way, a sort of trap door or cellar way. In this float- 
 ing dungeon, we miserable young men spent our first night, 
 in sleepless anguish, embittered with the apprehension of 
 our suffering cruel death by suffocation. Here the black 
 hole of Calcutta rose to my view in all its horrors ; arid the 
 very thought stopped my respiration, and set my brain on 
 fire. In my distress, I stamped with my feet, and beat my 
 head against the side of the ship in the madness of despair. 
 I measured the misery of those around me by what I my- 
 self suffered. Shut up in the dark with ninety-nine dis- 
 tressed young men, like so man}'- galley slaves, or Guinea 
 negroes, excluded from the benefit of the common air, with- 
 out one ray of light or comfort, and without a single word 
 expressive of compassion from any officer of the ship. I 
 never was so near sinking into despair. We naturally cling 
 to life, but now I should have welcomed death. To be 
 confined, and even chained any where in the light of the 
 sun, is a distressing thing, especially to very young men, 
 but to be crowded into a dirty hole in the dark, where there 
 was no circulation of air is beyond expression horrible. Per- 
 haps my study of the human frame, and my knowledge of 
 the vital property of the air, and of the philosophy of the 
 vital functions, may have added to my distress. I remem- 
 bered what I had read and learnt in the course of my edu- 
 cation, viz : that every full grown person requires forty-eight 
 thousand cubic inches of aft in an hour, or one million, one 
 hundred and fifty-two thousand cubic inches in the cowrse of 
 a day ; and that if this is once received into the lungs and 
 breathed out again, it cannot be breathed a second time, till 
 3 
 
30 JOURNAL. 
 
 it is mixed with the common atmospheric air. When I con- 
 sidered that our number amounted to an hundred, I could 
 not drive from my mind this calculation, and the result of it 
 nearly deprived me of my reason. The horrors of the Black 
 Hole of Calcutta have been long celebrated, because English- 
 men suffered and perished in it. Now the English Kive'more 
 than a thousand black holes into which they unfeelingly 
 thrust their impressed men, and their prisoners of war, 
 Their tenders that lay in the Thames, off Tower- wharf, are 
 so many black holes into which they thrust their own peo- 
 ple, whom their press gangs seize in the streets of London, 
 and crowd into them like so many live rabbits or chickens 
 carrying in a cart to market. My reflections on these things 
 have greatly changed my opinion of the English character 
 in point of humanity. 
 
 After passing a wretched night, one of the petty officers 
 came down>to us, by which event we learnt that it was 
 morning. I found myself much indisposed ; my tongue was 
 dry and coated with a furr; my head ached violently, and 
 I felt no inclination to take any thing but cold w r ater. A 
 degree of calmness, however, prevailed among my fellow 
 prisoners. They found lamentations unavailing, and com- 
 plaints useless. Few of them, beside myself, had lost their 
 appetites, and several expressed a wish for some breakfast. 
 Preparations were soon made for this delicious repast. The 
 first step was to divide us into messes, six in a mess. To 
 each mess was given a wooden kid, or piggin, as our form- 
 ers call them, because it is out of such wooden vessels that 
 they feed their pigs that are fatting for the market. At 8 
 o'clock one was called from each mess, by the whistle of 
 the boatswain's mate, to attend at the galley, the nautical 
 name for the kitchen and fire place, to receive the break- 
 fast for the rest. But what was our disappointment to find 
 instead of cofTee, which we were allowed by our own gov- 
 ernment at Melville prison, a piggin of srviil, for we farm- 
 ers' sons can give no other name to the disgusting mess they 
 brought us. This breakfast was a pint of liquid which they 
 call Burgoo, which is a kind of oatmeal gruel, about the 
 consistence of the swill which our farmers give their hogs, 
 and not a whit better in its quality. It is made of oatmeal, 
 which we Americans very generally detest. Our people 
 consider ground oats as only fit for cattle, and it is never 
 eaten by the human species in the United States. It is 
 
JOURNAL. 31 
 
 Said that this oatmeal porridge was introduced to the Brit- 
 ish prisons by the Scotch influence, and \ve think that none 
 but hogs and Scotchmen ought to eat it. A mess more re- 
 pellant to a Yankee's stomach could not well be contrived. 
 It is said, however, that the high landers are very fond of it, 
 and that the Scotch physicians extol it as a very wholesome 
 and nutritious food, and very nicely calculated for the se- 
 dentary life of a prisoner: but by what we have heard, we 
 are led to believe, that oatmeal is the staple commodity of 
 Scotland, and that the highly favoured Scotch have the ex- 
 clusive privilege of supplying the miserable creatures whom 
 the fortune of war has thrown into the hands of the English, 
 with this national dish, so delicious to Scotchmen, and so 
 abhorrent to an American. 
 
 Excepting this pint of oatmeal porridge, we had nothing 
 more to eat or drink until dinner time; when we were 
 served with a pint of pca-tvater. Our allowance for the 
 week, for it is difficult to calculate it by the day, was four 
 and a half pounds of bread, two and a quarter pounds of beef 
 or pork, one and a quarter pounds of flour, and the pea- 
 water, which they called " soup" five diiys in every week. 
 Now let any man of knowledge and observation judge, 
 whether the portion of food here allotted to each man was 
 sufficient to preserve him from the exquisite tortures of hun- 
 ger; and perhaps there is no torture more intolerable to 
 young men not yet arrived to their full growth. We had 
 been guilty of no crime. We had been engaged in the ser- 
 vice of our dear country, and deserved applause, and not 
 torture. And be it forever remembered, that the Ameri- 
 cans always feed their prisoners well, and treat them with 
 humanity. 
 
 The Regulus, for that is the name of the ship we were in, 
 is, if I mistake not, an old line of battle ship, armed en flute, 
 that is, her lower deck was fitted up with bunks, or births, 
 so large as to contain six men in a birth. The only pas- 
 sages for light or air were through the main and fore hatch- 
 es, which were covered with a grating, at which stood, day 
 and night, a sentinel. The communication between our 
 dungeon and the upper deck was only through the rnaiti 
 hatch way, by means of a rope ladder, that could be easily 
 cut away at a moment's warning, should the half starved 
 American prisoners ever conclude to rise and take the ship, 
 which the brave British tars seemed eonstantly apprehen- 
 

 32 JOURNAL. 
 
 sive of. You may judge of their apprehensions by their 
 extraordinary precautions they 'had a large store of niua- 
 kets in their tops to be ready for their marines and crew, 
 should we Yankees drive them from the hull to seek safety 
 above. They had two carronades loaded with grape and 
 canister shot on the poop, pointing forward, with a man at 
 each ; and strict orders were given not to hold any conver- 
 sation with the Americans, under the penalty of the severest 
 chastisement. However improbable the thing may appear, 
 we discussed the matter very seriously and repeatedly 
 among ourselves, and compared the observations we made 
 when on deck, in our council chamber under water. It 
 seems that the British are apprized of the daring spirit of the 
 Americans ; they watch them with as much dread as if they 
 were so many tigers. 
 
 Just before we sailed, our old friend, Mr. Miller, came 
 on board, and we were all called upon deck to hear his last 
 speech, and receive his blessing. We conceited that 
 lie looked ashamed, and felt embarrassed. It is probable 
 that (he consciousness of having told us things that were not 
 true, disconcerted him. He, however, in a milder manner 
 and voice than usual, told us that we were going to England 
 to be exchanged, while there were some in another ship go- 
 ing to England to be hanged. Beside this enviable differ- 
 ence in our situation, compared with those traitorous Irish- 
 men, who had been fighting against their king and country, 
 we were very fortunate in being the first selected to go, as 
 \ve should of course, be the first to be exchanged and sent 
 home. He told us that he thought it probable, that we 
 should be sent home again before spring, or at farthest in 
 the spring ; he therefore exhorted us to be good boys during 
 the passage, and behave well, and obey orders, and that 
 would ensure us kind and humane treatment ; but that if 
 we were mutinous, or attempted to resist the authority of 
 the officers, our treatment would be less kind, and we should 
 lose our turn in the course of exchange, and that our com- 
 fort and happiness depended entirely on our own submissive 
 behaviour. He every now and then gave force to his as- 
 sertions, by pledging his lionor\ that what he said was true, 
 and no deception. 
 
 As this was probably the last time we should have an op- 
 portunity of a personal communication with Mr. Agent .IVIil- 
 Jer, we represented to him, that there were several of jtbr 
 
J0VRNAL. 33 
 
 prisoners destitute of comfortable clothing ; that the clothes 
 of some were not even decent to cover those parts of the 
 body that even our savage Indians conceal, and he promis- 
 ed to accommodate them : but we never heard any more of 
 him or the clothing. However it may be accounted for, 
 we saw this man part from us with regret. It semed to be 
 losing an old acquaintance, while we were going we knew 
 not where to meet we knew not what. 
 
 Previous to our sailing we had applied to Mr. Miicliell^ 
 the American agent, for a supply of clothing; but from some 
 cause or other, he did not relieve the wants of our suffering 
 companions. Mr. Mitchell may be a very good man ; but 
 every good man is not tit for every station. We had rather 
 see old age, or decrepitude, pensioned by the government 
 \ve support, than employed in stations that require high 
 health and activity. Disease and infirmity may check, or 
 impede the benevolent views of our government, and cast 
 an odium on the officers of administration. After all, we 
 may find fault where we ought to praise. It is possible 
 that we may not have made due allowance for Mr. Miller, 
 the British agent, and we may sometimes have denounced 
 him in terms of bitterness, when he did not deserve it. Hi 
 general conduct, however, we could not mistake. 
 
 On the third of September, 1813, we sailed from Halifax 
 in company with the Melpomene^ a man of war transport, 
 armed en flute. On board this ship were a number of Irish- 
 men, who had enlisted in our regiments, and were captured 
 in Upper Canada, fighting under the colours of the United 
 States of America ! or, in the language of the English gov- 
 ernment, found fighting against their king and country. 
 The condition of these Irishmen was truly pitiable. Una- 
 ble to live in their own oppressed country, they, in imita- 
 tion of our fore-fathers, left their native laud to enjoy the 
 liberty, and the fruits of their labor in another. They 
 abandoned Ireland, where they were oppressed, and chose 
 this country, where they were protected and kindly treated. 
 Many of them had married in America, and considered it 
 their home. Here they chose to live, and here they wish- 
 ed to die. As few of them had trades, they got their living 
 as laborers, or as seamen. The embargoes aad the war 
 threw them out of business, ami many of them enlisted in 
 our army ; that is, in the army of the country which they 
 had chosen, and had a right to choose. Their consciences 
 
 a* 
 

 forbade them not to fight for us against the English and 
 their allies the Indians. In their eyes, and in the eye of 
 our laws, no imputation of crime could be attached to their 
 conduct ; yet were these men seized from among other pris- 
 oners, taken in battle, and sent together in one ship, as trai- 
 tors and rebels to their country. We fled from our native 
 land, said these unfortunate men, to avoid the tyranny and 
 oppression of our British taskmasters, and the same tyran- 
 nical hand has seized us here, and sent us back to be tried, 
 and perhaps executed as rebels. Beside the privations, 
 hunger and miseries that we endured, these poor Irishmen 
 had before their eyes, the apprehension of a violent and ig- 
 nominious death. While we talked among ourselves of the 
 hard fate of these brave Hibernians, we were ashamed to 
 lament our own. 
 
 I cannot help remarking here, that the plan of retaliation 
 determined by President Madison, merits the respect and 
 gratitude of the present and future generations of men. It 
 was this energetic step that saved the lives, and insured the 
 'usual treatment of ordinary prisoners of war to these Ameri- 
 can soldiers of Irish birth. This firm determination of the 
 American executive arrested the bloody hand of the British. 
 They remembered Major Andre, and they recollected Sir 
 James Asgill, under the administration of the great WASH- 
 INGTON, and they trembled for the fate of their own officers. 
 IV! ay eternal blessings here, and hereafter, be the reward of 
 MADISON, for his righteous intention of retaliating on the ene- 
 my any public punishment that should be executed on these 
 American soldiers, of Irish origin. While we feel gral'i- 
 tutle and respect to the head of the nation for his scheme 
 of retaliation, we cannot suppress our feelings of disgust to- 
 wards the faction in our own country, who justified the Brit- 
 ish government in their conduct towards these few Irishmen, 
 and condemned our own for protecting them from an igno- 
 minious death. I speak it with shame for my country the 
 ablest writers of the oppositionists, and the oldest and most 
 celebrated ministers of religion, employed their venal pens 
 and voices to condemn Mr. Madison, and to justify the Brit- 
 ish doctrine. This is a deep stain on the character of our 
 clergy; and the subsequent conduct of the British, may 
 serve to shew these ever meddling men, that our eiicmk.s 
 despised them, and respected Madison-* 
 
-HX'MNAL. 35 
 
 Our voyage across the Atlantic afforded but few incidents 
 Cor remark. Every day brought the sume distressed sensa- 
 tions, and every night the same doleful feelings, arising 
 from darkness, stench, increased debility and disease. The 
 general and most distressing in the catalogue of our miseries 
 was the almost unceasing torment of hunger. Many of us 
 would have gladly partaken with our father's hogs, in their 
 hog-troughs. This barbarous system of starvation reduced 
 several of our hale and hearty young men to mere skeletons. 
 What with the allowance of the enemy, and the allowance 
 from our own government, in which was good hot coffee for 
 breakfast, we were generally robust and hearty at Melville 
 Island. Some of our companions might well be called fine 
 looking fellows, when we came tirst on board the Regulus; 
 but before we arrived on the coast of England, they were so 
 reduced and weakened, that they tottered as they walked. 
 It was the opinion of us all, that one young man absolutely 
 tiied for want of sufficient food ! Yes ! Christian reader, a 
 young American, who was carried on board the Regulus 
 man of war transport, perished for want of sufficient to eat. 
 I si this insufficiency of food, complaint was made to the cap- 
 tain of the Regulus. but it produced no increase of the scanty 
 allowance; and had the common sailors* possessed no more 
 humanity than their officers, we migfnrall have perished 
 with hunger. You who never felt the agonizing torture of 
 hunger can have no idea of our misery. The study of my 
 profession had acquainted me, that when the stomach is 
 empty and contracted to a certain degree, that it, in a mea- 
 sure, acts upon itself, and draws all the neighbouring organs 
 into sympathy with its distress : this increases to an agony 
 that ends in distraction; for it is well known that those who 
 are starved to death, die raving distracted! Some of us in 
 the course of this horrid voyage could have eaten a puppy 
 erkitte, 1 ;, could we have laid hands upon either. 
 
 The manner in which the English generally treat their 
 poor in their work-houses, in England, is infinitely worse 
 than the treatment cf our convicts in our state prisons. 
 There are no very heavy chains, huge blocks, or iron staun- 
 eheons in our prisons, as there are in the receptacles of the 
 poor in England. We treat them with tenderness, as unfor- 
 tunate fellow creatures, and not with harshness, ;;s criminals. 
 
 Our constitutions, mind and body united, were so con- 
 stantly impressed and worried with the desire of eating, that 
 
I 
 
 30 JOURNAL. 
 
 the torment followed us in our sleep. We were constantly 
 dreaming of tables finely spread with a plenty ,;f us I those 
 good and savoury things with which we used to be regaled 
 at home, when we would wake smacking our lis)s, and groan- 
 ing with disappointment. I pretend not to say that the al- 
 lowance was insufficient to keep some men pretty comforta- 
 ble; but it was not half enough for some others. It is well 
 known in common life, that one man will eat three times as 
 much as another. The quality of the bread served out to us 
 on board the Regulus, was not fit and proper for any human 
 being. It was old, and more like the powder of rotten wood 
 than bread stuff; and to crown all, it was full of worms. 
 Often have I seen our poor fellows viewing their daily al- 
 lowance of bread, with mixed sensations of pain and plea- 
 sure; with smiles and tears; not being able to determine 
 whether they had best eat it all up at once, or eat it in small 
 portions through the day. Some would devour all their 
 bread at once, worms and all, while others would be eating 
 small portions through the day. Some picked out the worms 
 and threw them away ; others eat them, saying, that they 
 might as well eat the worm as his habitation. Some 
 reasoned and debated a long time on the subject. Prejudice 
 said, throw the njsty Jhing away, while knawing hunger 
 held his hand. Birds, said they, are nourished by eating 
 worms ; and if clean birds eat them, why may not man ? 
 Who feels any reluctance at eating of an oysier, with all its 
 parts : and why not a worm ? 
 
 One day while we were debating the subject, one of our 
 jack tars set us a laughing, by crying out: " Retaliation, by 
 G , these d d worms eat us when we are dead, and so we 
 will eat them first" This shews that misery can sometimes 
 laugh. I have observed that a sailor has generally more 
 laughter and good humour in him than is to be found among 
 any other class of men: They have, beside, a greater share 
 of compassion than the soldier. We had repeated instances 
 of their generosity : for while the epauletted officers of this 
 British ship treated us like brutes, the common sailors would 
 now and then give us of their own allowance ; but they took 
 care not to let their officers know it. 
 
 The Regulus had brought British soldiers to America, 
 and among the rags and filth left behind them were myriads 
 of fleas. These were at first a source of vexation, but at 
 length their destruction became an amusement. We 
 
JOURNAL. 37 
 
 could not, however, overcome them; like the persecuted 
 Christians of old times, when you killed one, twenty vvouid 
 seem to rise up in his place. Had I have known wsiat I 
 have since learnt, and had been provided with the essential 
 oil of pennyroyal, we should have conquered all thess light 
 troops in a few days. A few drops of this essential oil, 
 dropped here and there upon the blankets infested with fleas, 
 and they will abandon the garment. The effluvium of it des- 
 troys them. 
 
 Confined below, we knew little of what was going on 
 upon deck; some of us, however, were more or less there 
 every day. Nothing occurred worthy of notice tluring our 
 passage to England, excepting the retaking of a brig cap- 
 tured a few hours before on the Grand Bank, by the frigate 
 President, commodore Rodgers. From information obtain- 
 ed frorh the midshipman who commanded the prize, we 
 learnt the course of the President, whereupon we altered 
 ours to avoid being captured. A few hours after this we fell 
 in with the BeUerophon, a British seventy-four, who went, 
 from our information, in pursuit of the President. We could 
 easily perceive that the fame of our frigates had inspired 
 these masters of the ocean with a degree of respect border- 
 ing on dread. We overheard the sailors say that they had 
 rather fall in with two French frigates than one American. 
 We thought, or it might be conceit, that we were spoken to 
 with more kindness at this time. I have certainly hud oc- 
 casion for remarking, that prosperity increases the insults 
 and hard hear ted ness of the British ; and that we never re- 
 ceived so much humane Attention as when they apprti.cnd- 
 ed an attack from us, as in the case of alarm at Halifax. I 
 am more and more convinced that cowardice is the mother 
 of cruelty. Were I to draw the picture of cruelty, 1 would 
 paint him with a feminine faintness. The free and horri- 
 ble use of iheJialter in London, is from fear. I was brought 
 up, all my life, even until I left my father's house, and came 
 off without calculation, or reflection on this wild adventure 
 in a privateer, in the opinion that the English were an hu- 
 mane, generous, and magnanimous people, and that none 
 but Turks, Frenchmen, and Algerines, were cruel; but rny 
 experience for three years past has corrected my false no- 
 notions of this proud nation. If they do not impale men as 
 the Algerines and Turks d, or roast a man as the Indians 
 I HB the Inquisitors do, they will leave him to starve, 
 
38 JOURNAL. 
 
 and linger out his miserable days in the hole of a ship, or in 
 a prison, where the blessed air is changed into a poison, and 
 where the articles given him to eat are far worse in quality 
 than the swill with which the American farmer feeds his 
 hogs. How can an officer, how can any man, holding in 
 society the rank of a gentleman, sit down to his meal in his 
 cabin, when he has a hundred of his fellow creatures, some 
 of them brought up with delicacy and refinement, and with 
 the feelings of gentlemen : I say, how can he sit composedly 
 down to his dinner, while men, as good as himself, are suffer- 
 ing for want of food. There is in this conduct either a bold 
 cruelty, or a stupidity and want of reflection, that does no 
 honour to that officer, or to those who gave him his com- 
 mand. 
 
 It happened when some of us were allowed in our turn to 
 be on deck, that we would lay hold and pull or belay a rope 
 when needed. When w r e arrived at Portsmouth, which was 
 the 5th of October, we were visited by the health officer; 
 and when we again weighed anchor to go to the quarantine 
 ground, the boatswain's mate came to tell us that it was the 
 captain's order that we should tumble up and assist at the 
 capstan. Accordingly three or four went to assist ; but one 
 of our veteran tars bid him go and tell his captain that hun- 
 ger and labour were not friends, and never w r ould go togeth- 
 er; and that prisoners who subsisted three days in a week 
 n pea-water, could only give him pea-water assistance. 
 This speech raised the temper of the officer of the deck, 
 who sent down some marines, who drove us all up. There 
 was t*mong us a Dutchman, who was very forward in com- 
 plying with the officers' request ; but being awkward and 
 careless withall, he suffered himself to be jambed between 
 the end of the capstan-bar and the side of the ship, which 
 hurt him badly. Some of the prisoners collected round 
 their wounded companion, when the officer of the deck or- 
 dered them to take the d d blunderheaded fellow below, and 
 let some American take his place ; but after this expression of 
 brutality towards the poor jambed up Dutchman, not a man 
 would go near the capstan, so one of their own crew filled 
 up the vacancy made by the wounded Hollander. 
 
 A Mr. S , who had some office of distinction in New- 
 foundland, if I mistake not he was the first in command of 
 that dreary island. This gentleman, who I think they called 
 general Smith, was passenger on board the Reguius. One 
 
JOURNAL. 39 
 
 cJay when I was upon deck, he asked me how many of the 
 hundred prisoners could read and write. I told him that it 
 was a rare thing to find a person, male or female, in New- 
 England, who could not write as well as read. Then, said 
 he, New England must be covered with charity schools. 
 I replied, that we had no charity schools, or very few; at 
 which he looked as if he thought 1 had ctteredan absurdity. 
 I then related in a fe\v words our school system. I told 
 him, that the primary condition or stipulation in the incor- 
 poration of every town in Massachusetts, and which was a 
 "sine qua non" of every town, \uis a reserve of land, and a 
 bond to maintain a school or schools, according to the num- 
 ber of inhabitants ; that the teachers were supported by a tax, 
 in the same way as we supported our clergy ; that such 
 schools were opened to every child, from the children of the 
 first magistrate down to the children of the constable ; and 
 that there was no distinction, promotion or favour, but what 
 arose from talent, industry and good behaviour. 1 told him 
 that the children of the poorest people, generally went to 
 school in the winter, while in the spring and summer they 
 assisted their parents. 
 
 He walked about musing awhile, and then turning back, 
 afeked me if the clergy did not devote much of their time to 
 the instruction of our youth very seldom, sir our young 
 students of divinity, and theological candidates very often 
 instruct youth ; but when a gentleman is once ordained and 
 settled as a parish minister, he never or very rarely keeps a 
 school. At which the general appeared surprised. I added 
 that sometimes episcopal clergymen kept a school, but never 
 the presbyterian, or congregational ministers. He asked 
 why the latter could not keep school as well as the former; 
 I told him, because they were expected to write their owa 
 sermons, at which he laughed. Besides, parochal visits con- 
 sume much of their time, and when a congregation have 
 stipulated with a minister to fill the pulpit, and preach two 
 sermons a week, visit the sick and attend funerals, they 
 think he can have not too much time for composing sermons. 
 They moreover consider it derogatory to the honor of his 
 flock to be obliged to keep a school when 1 told him that 
 our clergymen bent all their force to instructing youth in mr- 
 rality and religion, he said, then they attempt to raise a 
 structure before they lay a foundation for it. F!e seemed 
 very strenuous that our priests should be employed i. t|ie 
 
40 JOURNAL. 
 
 education of youth, as he conceived that hired school mas- 
 ters had not the ^ioLs zt<l that the priest would have. I 
 suspect Said General S. that your ministers are too proud 
 and too lazy. I perceived his idea was, that a school mas- 
 ter, hired to undergo the druggery of teaching hoys, \vas too 
 much of an hireling to till u;> to the full the important duties 
 of a teacher ; but he judged of them by the numerous Scotch 
 school masters here and there in Canada, Nova Scotia, the 
 "W est India islands and every where else, teaching for money 
 merely. He did not know that our New England school mas- 
 te'-s were men of character, and consequence. Some of our 
 very first men in these United States, have been teachers of 
 youth. At this present time some of the sons of some of the 
 first men in Massachusetts are village school masters; that 
 is, they keep a school in the winter vacations of the Univer- 
 sity ; and some of them for the first year after leaving col- 
 lege. 
 
 I was much pleased with the general ; and have since 
 learnt, that he was a very worthy and benevolent man ; and 
 that he had paid great attention to the education of youth in 
 Newfoundland ; and that it was, in a degree, his ruling pas- 
 sion.* I wish I had then known as much of our school 
 system, and of our system of public education at our Univer- 
 sities, as I do now; for I might have gratified his benevo- 
 lent disposition by the recital. The ignorance of English 
 gentlemen of the people of America, and of their education, 
 is indeed surprising as well as mortifying. By their treat- 
 ment of us, it is evident they consider us a sort of white 
 savages, with minds as uncultivated, and dispositions as fe- 
 rocious as their own allies, with their tomahawks and scalp- 
 in-: knives. After conversing with this worthy Englishman, 
 about the education of the common people in America, I 
 could not but say to myself, little do you, good sir> and your 
 haughty, and unfeeling captain imagine, that there are those 
 among the hundred miserable men whom you keep confined 
 in the hold of your ship, like so many Gallipago turtles, and 
 who you allow to suffer -for want f/ sufficient fcod ; little do 
 you think that there are among them those who have sufficient 
 learning to lay the whole story of their sufferings before the 
 
 * By what i have just .een in the newspapers, I have reason fo 
 believing that Nova Scotia is like to be blessed with thi 
 a governor. 
 
 or 
 
JOURNAL. 41 
 
 American and English people; little do you imagine that 
 the inhumane treatment of men every way as good as your- 
 selves, is now recording, and will in due time be displayed 
 to your mortification. 
 
 Our sailors, though half starved, confined and broken down 
 by harsh treatment, always kept up the genuine Yankee 
 character, which is that of being grateful and tractable by 
 kind usage, but stern, inflexible and resentful at harsh treat- 
 ment. One morning as the general and the captain of the 
 Regulus were walking as usual on the quarter deck, one of 
 our Yankee boys passed along the galley with his kid of 
 " burgoo." He rested it on the edge of the hatchway, while 
 he was adjusting the rope ladder to descend with his " swill." 
 The thing attracted the attention of the general, who asked 
 the man, how many of his comrades eat of that quantity for 
 their breakfast ? " Six Sir" said the man, " but it is fit food 
 only for hogs" This answer affronted the captain, who 
 asked the man, in an angry tone, " what part of America he 
 came from?" "near to BUNKER HILL, Sir if you ever 
 heard of thai place. They looked at each other and smiled, 
 turned about and continued their walk. This is what the 
 English call impudence. Give it what name you please, it 
 is that something which will, one day, wrest the trident from 
 the hands of Brittannia, and place it with those who have 
 more humanity, and more force of musele, if not more culti- 
 vated powers of mind. There was a marine in the Regulus, 
 who had been wounded on board the Shannon in the battle 
 with the Chesapeake, who had a great antipathy to the 
 Americans, and was continually casting reflections on the 
 Americans generally. He one day got into a high dispute 
 with one of our men, which ended in blows. This man had 
 served on board the Constitution, when she captured the 
 Gucrrierc and afterwards the Java. After the two wrang- 
 lers were separated, the marine complained to his officer, 
 that he had been abused by one of the American prisoners, 
 and it reaching the captain's ears, he ordered the American 
 on the quarter deck, and inquired into the cause of the 
 quarrel. When he had heard it all, he called the American 
 sailor a d d coward for striking a wounded man. " I am 
 " no coward, Sir? said the high spirited Yankee; " I was 
 " cc'vUdn of a gun on board tfie Constitution when she captur- 
 " td the Guemere, and afterwards when she took the Java. 
 " Had I been a coward I should not have been there" The 
 4 
 
42 JOURNAL. 
 
 captain called him an insolent scoundrel, and ordered him to 
 his hole again. What the British naval commanders call 
 insolence, is no more than the undaunted expression of their 
 natural and habitual independence. When a British sailor 
 is called by his captain, in an angry tone, on to the quarter- 
 deck, he turns pale and trembles, like a thief before a coun- 
 try justice ; but not so the American; he, if he be innocent, 
 speaks his mind with a firm tone and steady countenance; 
 and if he feels himself insulted, he is not afraid to deal in 
 sarcasm. In the instances just mentioned, Jonathan knew 
 full well that the very name of Bunker Hill, the Chterriere* 
 and the Java, was a deep mortification to John Bull. Ac- 
 tuated by this sort of feeling, the steady Romans shook the 
 world. 
 
 From this digression, let us return, and resume our Jour- 
 nal. We arrived off Portsmouth the fifth of October, 1813; 
 and were visited by the health officer, and ordered to the 
 Mother-bank, opposite that place, where vessels ride out their 
 quarantine. The next day the ship was fumigated, and 
 every exertion made by the officers to put her in a condition 
 for inspection by the health-officer. Letters were fumigated 
 by vinegar, or nitrous acid, before they were allowed to go 
 out of the ship. Their attention was next turned to us, mis- 
 erable prisoners. We were ordered t wash, and put on 
 clean shirts. Being informed that many of us had not a 
 second shirt to put on, the captain took down the names of 
 such destitute men, but never supplied them with a single 
 rag. 
 
 The prisoners were now as anxious to go on shore, and to 
 know the extent of their misery, as the captain of the Regu- 
 lous was to get rid of us. The most of us, therefore, joined 
 heartily in the task of cleansing the ship, and in white-wash- 
 ing the lower deck, or the place we occupied. Some, either 
 through laziness or resentment, refused to do any thing 
 about it ; but the rest of us said, that it was always customary 
 in America, when we left a house, or a room we hired, to 
 leave it clean, and it was ever deemed disreputable to leave 
 an apartment dirty. The officers of the ship tried to make 
 them, and began to threaten them, but they persisted in 
 their refusal, and every attempt to force them was fruitless. 
 I do not myself wonder that the British officers, so used to 
 prompt and even servile obedience of their own men, wer<> 
 ready to knock some of our obstinate, saury fellows, on the 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 head. This brings to my mind the concise but just observa- 
 tion of an English traveller through the United States of 
 America. After saying that the inhabitants south of the 
 Hudson were a mixed race of English, Irish, Scotch, Dutch, 
 Germans and Swedes, among whom you could observe no 
 precise national character ; he adds, " but as to New-Eng- 
 u land, they are all true English ; and there you see one uni- 
 " form trait of national manners, habits and dispositions. 
 " The people are hardy, industrious, humane, obliging, ob- 
 <: stinate and brave. By kind and courteous usage, mixed 
 " with flattery, you can lead them, like so many children, 
 " almost as you please ;" but, he adds, " the devil from h /, 
 " with fire in one hand, and faggots in the other, cannot drive 
 " them" Neither Caesar, nor Tacitus ever drew a more 
 true and concise character of the Gauls, or Germans, than 
 this. Here is seen the transplanted Englishman, enjoying 
 4 Indian freedom," and therefore a little wilder than in his 
 native soil of Albion; and yet it is surprising that a people, 
 whose ancestors left England less than a century and a half 
 ago, should be so little known to the present court and ad- 
 ministration of Great Britain. Even the revolutionary war 
 was not sufficient to teacli John Bull, that his descendants 
 had improved by transplantation, in all those qualities for 
 which stuffy John most values himself. The present race 
 of Englishmen are puffed up, and blinded by what they have 
 been, while their descendants in America are proud of what 
 they are, and what Ihey know they shall be. 
 
 After the ship had been cleansed, fumigated and partially 
 white-washed, so as to be fit for the eye and nose of the 
 health officer, she was examined by him, and reported free 
 from contagion! Now I conceive this line of conduct not 
 very reputable to the parties concerned. When we arrived 
 off Portsmouth, our ship was filthy, and I believe contagious ; 
 \ve miserable prisoners, were mcrusted with the nastiness 
 common to such a place, as that into which we had been in- 
 humanly crowded. It was the duty of the health officers 
 and the surgeon of the Regulus, to have reported her con- 
 dition when she first anchored ; and not to have cleaned 
 her up, and altered her condition for inspection. In th 
 American service the captain, surgeon and health officer 
 would have all been cashiered for such a dereliction of hon- 
 our and duty. This is the way that the British board of 
 admiralty, the transport board, the parliament, and the peo~ 
 
44 JOURNAL. 
 
 pie are deceived, and their nation disgraced ; and this corrup- 
 tion, which more or less pervades the whole transport ser- 
 vice, will enervate and debase their boasted navy. We 
 cannot suppose that the British board of admiralty, or the 
 transport board would justify the cruel system of starvation 
 practised on the brave Americans who were taken in Can- 
 ada, and conveyed in their floating dungeons down the river 
 St. Lawrence to Halifax. Some of these captains of trans- 
 ports deserve to be hanged for their barbarity to our men ; 
 and for the eternal haired they have occasioned towards 
 their own government in the hearts of the surviving Ameri- 
 cans. We hope, for the honor of that country whence we 
 derived our laws and sacred institutions, that this Journal 
 will be read in England. 
 
 The Regulus was then removed to the anchoring place 
 destined for men of war; and the same night, we were taken 
 out, and put on board the Malabar store ship, where we 
 found one hundred and fifty of our countrymen in her hold, 
 with no other bed to sleep on but the stone ballast. Here 
 were two hundred and fifty men, emaciated by a system of 
 starvation cooped up in a small space, with only an aperture 
 of about two feet square to admit the air, and with ballast 
 stones for our beds ! Although in harbor, w r e were not sup- 
 plied with sufficient water to quench our thirst, nor with 
 sufficient light to see our food, or each other, nor of sufficient 
 air to breathe; and what aggravated the whole, was the 
 stench of the place, owing to a diarrhoea with which several 
 were affected. Our situation was indeed deplorable. Im- 
 agine yourself, Christian reader ! two hundred and fifty men 
 crammed into a place too small to contain one hundred with 
 comfort, stifling for want of air, pushing and crowding each 
 other, and exerting all their little remaining strength to push 
 forward to the grated hatch-way to respire a little fresh air. 
 The strongest obtained their wish, while the weakest were 
 pushed back, and sometimes trampled under foot. 
 
 Out stretch' d he lies, and as he pants for breath, 
 Receives at every gasp new draughts of death. TASSO. 
 
 God of mercy, cried I, in my agony of distress, is this a 
 sample of the English humanity we have heard and read so 
 much of from our school boy years to manhood ? If they be 
 a merciful nation, they belong to that clas? of nations 
 *' whose tender inereies are cruelty," 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 llepresentations were repeatedly made to the captain of the 
 Malabar, of our distressed situation, as suffering extremely 
 by iieal and stagnant air; for only two of us were allowed 
 to come upon deck at a time ; but he answered that he had 
 given orders for our safe treatment, and safe keeping; and he 
 was determined not to lose his ship by too much lenity. In 
 a word, we found the fellow's heart to be as hard as the bed 
 we slept on. Soon after, however, our situation became so 
 dangerous and alarming, that one of the marine corps in- 
 formed the captain that if he wished to preserve us alive, he 
 must speedily give us more air. If this did not move his 
 compassion, it alarmed his fears; and he then gave orders to 
 remove the after hatch, and iron bars fixed in its place, in 
 order to prevent us from forcing our way up, and throwing 
 him into the sea, a punishment he richly deserved. This 
 alteration rendered the condition of our " black hole" more 
 tolerable; it was nevertheless a very loathsome dungeon; 
 for our poor fellows were not allowed to go upon deck to re- 
 lieve the calls of nature, but were compelled to appropriate 
 one part of our residence to this dirty purpose. This, as 
 may be supposed, rendered our confinement doubly disgust- 
 ing, as well as unwholesome. 
 
 I do not recollect the name of the captain of the Malabar, 
 and it may be as well that I do not; I only know that he 
 was a Scotchman. It may be considered by some as illib- 
 eral to deal in national reflections, I nevertheless cannot help 
 remarking that I have received more ill-treatment from men 
 of that nation than from individuals of any other ; and this 
 is the general impression of my countrymen. The poet tell 
 us, that 
 
 44 Cowards are cruel, but the brave 
 " Love mercy, and delight to save. 17 * 
 
 * The Emperor Maurice being, says Montaigne, advised by 
 dreams and several prognostics, that one Phoeas, an obscure soldier, 
 should kill him, questioned his son-in-law, Philip, who this Phoeas 
 was, and what was his nature, qualities, and manners ; and as soon 
 as Philip, amongst other things, had told him that he was u cowardly 
 and timorous," the Emperor immediately thence concluded that he 
 was cruel and a murdcrtr. \Vhat is it, says Montaigne, that make* 
 tyrants so bloody ? v f is the solicitude for their own safety, and their 
 faint hearts can furnish them with no other means of securing them- 
 selves, than in exterminating those who may hurt them. See his Essay 
 entitled, Cowardice the Mother of Cruelty, Vol. 2d, chap, 
 4* 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 The Scotch are brave soldiers, but we, Americans, have 
 found them to be the most hard hearted and cruel people we 
 have ever yet met with. Our soldiers as well as sailors 
 make the same complaint, insomuch, that, " cruel as a 
 Scotchman^ has become a proverb in the United States. 
 The Scotch officers have been remarked for treating our 
 officers, when in their power, with insolence, and expres- 
 sions of contempt; more so than the English. It is said 
 that a Scotch officer, who superintends the horrid whippings 
 so common in British camps, is commonly observed to be 
 more hard hearted than an English one. It is certain that 
 they are generally preferred as negro-drivers in the West- 
 India islands. It has been uniformly remarked that those 
 Scotchmen who are settled on the Canada frontiers are re- 
 markable for their bitterness towards our men in captivity. 
 ^We speak here of the vagrant Scotch, the fortune-hunters 
 01 the Caledonian tribe; at the same time we respect her 
 philosophers and literary men, who appear to us to compose 
 the first rank of writers. Without mentioning their Ossian, 
 Thompson and Burns, we may enumerate their prose wri- 
 ters, such as Hume, and the present association of truly learn- 
 ed and acute men, who write the Edinburgh Review. A 
 Scotchman may be allowed to show pride at the mention of 
 this celebrated work. As it regards America, this northern 
 constellation of talent, shines brightly in our eyes. The an- 
 cient Greeks, who once straggled about Rome and the Ro- 
 man empire, were not fair specimens of the refined Athen- 
 ians. 
 
 Our peasantry, settled around our own frontier, and around 
 the shores of our lakes, have a notion that the "Scotch High- 
 landers were, not long since, the same kind of wild, half-nak- 
 ed people compared with the true English, that the Ghb&arvs, 
 Cherokees, Pottonatdmies and Kickapoo Indians are to the 
 common inhabitants of these United States ; and that less 
 than an hundred years ago, these Scotchmen were in the 
 habit of making the like scalping and tomahawking excur- 
 sions upon the English farmer, that the North American 
 savage makes upon the white people here. This is the gen- 
 eral idea which our common people have of what W alter Scott 
 calls " the border wars" Some of them will tell you that 
 the Scotch go half naked in their own country wear a 
 blanket, and kill their enemies, with a knife, just like In- 
 dians. They say their feature a differ from the English as 
 
.sOlRNAL, 47 
 
 much as theirs do from the Indian. In a word, they suppose 
 the Scotch Highlanders to be a race who have t;een con- 
 quered by the English, who have taught them the use of 
 lire arms, and civilized them, in a degree, so as to form them 
 into regiments of soldiers, and this imperfect idea of the halt" 
 savage Sawney will not soon be corrected ; and we must say 
 that the general conduct of this harsh and self-interested 
 race towards our prisoners, will not expedite the period of 
 correct ideas relative to the comparative condition of the 
 Scotch and English. The Americans have imbibed no 
 prejudice against the Irish, having found them a brave, gen- 
 erous, jovial set of fellows, full of fun, and full of good, kind 
 feelings; the antipodes of Scotchmen, who, as it regards 
 these qualities, are cold, rough and barren; like the land 
 that gave them birth. 
 
 We moved from Portsmouth to the Ncre or Noah, for I 
 know not the meaning of the word, or how to spell it. The 
 place so called is the mouth of the river Thames, which runs 
 through the capital of the British nation. We were three 
 days on our passage. Here we were transferred to several 
 lenders in order to be transported to Chatham. We soon 
 entered the river Mcdrvay, which rises in Sussex, and passes 
 by Tunbridge, Maidstone and Rochester, in Kent ; and is 
 then divided into two branches, called the east and west 
 passage. The chief entrance is the west ; and is defended 
 by a considerable fort, called Sheemess. In this river lay a 
 number of Russian men of war, detained here probably by 
 way of pledge for the fidelity of the Emperor. What gives 
 most celebrity to this river is Chatham, a naval station, where 
 the English build and lay up their first rate men of war. It is 
 but about thirty miles from London ; or the distance of New- 
 port, Rhode Island, fronj the town of Providence. We pass- 
 ed up to where the prison ships lay, after dark. The pros- 
 pect appeared very pleasant, as the prison ships appeared to 
 us illuminated. As we were all upon deck, we enjoyed the 
 sight as we passed, and the commander of the tender appear- 
 ed to partake of our pleasure. We were ordered on board 
 the Crown Prince prison ship; and as our names were called 
 over, we were marched along the deck between two rows of 
 emaciated Frenchmen, who had drawn themselves up to re- 
 view us. We then passed on to that part of the ship which 
 was occupied by the Americans, who testified their curiosi- 
 ty at knowing ail about us ; and sticking to iheir u; 
 
4t> JOVIINAL. 
 
 characteristic, put more questions to us in tee minutes, thaa 
 \ve could well answer in as many hou;s. We i.a&^d the 
 evening and the first part of the night in mutual communica- 
 tions ; and we went to rest with more pleasure than for many 
 a night before. 
 
 Our prison ship was moored in what they called GillJng- 
 ham reach. We would here remark, that the river, and 
 Thames, and Medway make, like all other rivers near to 
 their outlets, many turnings or headings; some tormina; a 
 more obtuse, and some a more acute angle with their banks. 
 This course of the river compels a vessel to stretch along in 
 one direction, and then to stretch along in a very different 
 direction. What the English call reaching, we in America 
 call stretching. Each of these different courses of the river 
 they call "reaches" They have their long reach and their 
 short reach, and a number of reaches, under local, or less ob- 
 vious names. Some are named after some of their own pi- 
 rates, which is here and there designated by a gibbet ; a sin- 
 gular object, be sure, to greet the eye of a stranger on enter- 
 ing the grand watery avenue of the capital of the British 
 empire. But there is no room for disputing concerning our 
 tastes. The reach where our prison was moored was about 
 three miles below Chatham ; and is named from the village 
 of Gillinghain. Now whether reach or stretch be the most 
 proper term for an effort to sail against the wind, is left to be 
 settled by those reverend monopolizers of all the arts and 
 sciences, the London Reviewers ; who, by the way, and we 
 mention it pro bono publico, would very much increase their 
 siock of knowledge and usefulness, if they would depute a few 
 missionaries, for their own reverend body, to pass and repass 
 the Atlantic in a British transport, containing in its black 
 hole an hundred or two of Yankee prisoners of war : We do 
 wish that the London Quarterly Reviewers particularly would 
 take a hi}) in the Malabar ; it would, if they should be so 
 fortunate as to survive the voyage, make them better judges 
 of the character of the English nation, and of the American 
 cation, and of that nearly lost tribe, the Caledonian nation. 
 
 There were thirteen prison ships beside our own, all ships 
 of the line, and one hospital ship, moored near each other. 
 They were filled, principally, with Frenchmen, Danes and 
 Italians. We found on our arrival twelve hundred Ameri- 
 cans, chiefly men who had been impressed on board British 
 men of war, and who had given themselves up, with a de- 
 
JOURNAL. 49 
 
 c.laraliou that they would not fight against tlheir own coun- 
 trymen, and they were sent here and confined, without any dis- 
 tinction made between them and those who had been taken 
 in arms. The injustice of the thing is glaring. During the 
 night the prisoners were confined on the lower deck and on 
 the main deck; but in the day time they were allowed the 
 privilege of the "pound," so called, and the fore-castle; 
 which was a comfortable arrangement compared with the 
 black holes of the Regulus and Malabar. There were three 
 officers on board our ship, a lieutenant, a sailing master, and 
 a surgeon, together with sixty marines and a few invalids, 
 or superannuated seamen to go in the bouts. The whole 
 were under the command of a commodore, while captain 
 Hutchinson, agent for the prisoners of war, exercised a sort of 
 controul over the whole ; but the butts and bounds of their 
 jurisdiction I never knew. The commodore visited each of 
 the prison ships every month, to hear and redress complaints, 
 and to correct abuses, and to enforce wholesome regulations. 
 All written communications, and all intercourse by letter 
 passed through the hands of captain Hutca'mson. If the 
 letters contained nothing of evil tendency, they were suffer- 
 ed to pass ; but if they contained any thing which the agent 
 deemed improper, they were detained. 
 
 We found our situation materially altered for the better. 
 Our allowance of food was more consonant to humanity ttrin 
 at Halifax, much more to the villanous scheme of starvation 
 on board the Regulus, and the still more execrable Malabar. 
 Our allowance of food here was half a pound of beef arid a 
 gill of barley, one pound and a half of bread, for five days in 
 the week, and one pound of cod fish, and one pound of po- 
 tatoes, or one pound of smoked herring, the other two days ; 
 and porter and small beer were allowed to be sold to us. 
 Boats with garden vegetables visited the ship daily; so that 
 we now lived in clover compared with our former hard fare 
 and cruel treatment. Upon the whole, I believe that we 
 fared as well as could be expected, all things considered ; 
 and had such fare as we could do very well with ; not that 
 we fared so well as the British prisoners fare in America. 
 Rich as the English nation is, it cannot well afford to feed 
 us as we feed the British prisoners ; such is the difference in 
 the two countries in point of cheap food. On thanksgiving 
 days, and on Christinas days, and such like holy days, we, 
 m America, used to treat these European prisoners with 
 
50 JOURNAL. 
 
 geese, turkies, and plumb pudding. Many of these fellows 
 declared that they never in their lives sat down to a table to 
 a roasted turkey, or even a roasted goose. It is a fact, that 
 vfhen the time approached for drafting the British prisoners 
 in Boston harbor, to send to Halifax to exchange them for 
 our own men, several of the patriotic Englishmen, and many 
 Irishmen, ran away ; and when taken showed as much cha- 
 grin as our men would have felt, had they attempted to de- 
 sert and run home from Halifax prison, and had been seized 
 and brought back ! This is a curious fact, and worthy the 
 attention of the British politician. An American, in Eng- 
 land, pines to get home ; while an Englishman and an Irish- 
 man longs to become an American citizen ! Ye wise men of 
 England ! the far famed England ! the proud island whence 
 we originally sprang, ponder well this fact ; and confess that 
 it will finally operate a great change in our respective coun- 
 tries ; and that your thousand ships, your vast commerce, 
 and your immense (facticious) riches cannot alter it. This 
 inclination, or disposition, growing up in the hearts of that 
 class of your subjects who are more disposed to follow the 
 bent of their natural appetites than to cultivate patriotic 
 opinions, will one day hoist our " bits of striped bunting" 
 over those of your now predominating flag, and you long 
 sighted politicians, see it as well as I do. The hard fare of 
 your sailors and soldiers, the scouridrelism of some of your 
 officers, especially those concerned in your provision de- 
 partments ; but above all, your shocking cruel punishments 
 in your navy and in your army, have lessened their attach- 
 ment to their native country. England has, from the be- 
 ginning, blundered most wretchedly, for want of consulting 
 the human heart, in preference to musty parchments ; and 
 the equally juseless books on the law of nations. Believe 
 me, ye great men of England, Scotland, Ireland and Ber- 
 wick uj>on Tweed ! that one chapter from the Law of Hu- 
 man Nature, is worth more than all your libraries on the law 
 of nations. Beside, gentlemen, your situation is a new one. 
 No nation was ever so situated and circumstanced as you 
 are, with regard to us, your descendants. The history of 
 nations does not record its parallel. Why then have recourse 
 to books, or maritime laws, or written precedents ? In the 
 code of the law of nations, you stand in need of an entirely 
 New Chapter. We Americans, we despised Americans, are; 
 accumulating, asfastas we well can, the materials for that chap- 
 
JOURNAL. 51 
 
 ter. Your government began to write thischapf er in blood; and 
 for two years pasture co-operated with you in the same way. 
 Nothing" stands still within the great frame of nature. On 
 every sublunary thing mutability is written. Nothing can 
 arrest the destined course of republics and kingdoms. 
 
 u WESTWARD the course of empire takes its way." Dean Berkley. 
 
 It is singular that while the Englishman and Irishman 
 are disposed to abandon their native countries to dwell with 
 us in this new world, the Scotchman has rarely shown that 
 inclination. No Sawney is J-vyai, and talks as big of his 
 kins:, and his covntry, as would an English country squire, 
 surrounded by his tenants, his horses, and his dogs. It is 
 singular that the Laplander, and the inhabitant of Iceland, 
 are as much attached to their frightful countries, as the in- 
 habitant of Italy, France or England; and when avarice, 
 and the thirst for a domineering command leads the Scotch- 
 man out of his native rocks and barren hills, and treeless 
 country, he talks of it as a second paradise, and as the an- 
 cient Egyptians longed after their onions and garlics, so 
 these half-dressed, raw-boned-mountaineers, talk in raptures 
 of their country, of their bag-pipes, their singed sheep's head, 
 and their " haggiss" The only way that I can think of, 
 (by way of preventing the hearts blood of Old England from 
 being drained off into America,) is to people Nova Scotia 
 and Newfoundland with Scotchmen; where' they can raise a 
 few sheep, for singing, and for hoggins ; and where they 
 can wear their Gothic habit, and be indulged in the luxury 
 of the hag-pipe, enjoy over again their native fogs, and 
 howling storms, and think themselves at home. Nature 
 seems to have fixed the great articles of food in Nova Sco- 
 tia to fish and potatoes ; this last article is of excellent qual- 
 ity in that country. Then let these strangers, these trans- 
 planted Scotchmen, these /totfes, these antipodes to the Amer- 
 icans, man the British fleet ; and fill up the ranks of their 
 armies, and mutual antipathy will prevent the dreaded co- 
 alition. 
 
 But I hasten to return from these people to my prison 
 ship. Among other conveniences, we had a sort of a shed 
 erected over the hatch-way, on which to air our hammocks. 
 This v, as grateful to us ail, especially to those whose learning 
 had taught them the salutiferous effects of a free circulation 
 of the vital air. It is surprising, that after what the English 
 
52 .NAL. 
 
 philosophers have \vrilteii concerning the ^n>Vif-rfI^? nf the 
 
 atmospheric air; after what Bo;. Males and 
 
 ".'./ ].':.> \\rilten on this sn'riccl : and after uh.it they 
 
 have learn! from the history of tin - i.lack hole ; and 
 
 after what Howard has taught them concerning prisons and 
 
 hospitals, i( is siisyrlsin:!; that in 1<J 13, i : >" commanders of 
 
 al ships in ihe English seivice, slionld he allowed to 
 
 a crowd of r. hideous l>: , situ- 
 
 : the bottom of their ships, far i:el >w t!i ' surl'.iceof the 
 
 ! have sometimes pleased myself with (lie hope that 
 
 what is hire \\rii!ru may contribute to the nhnlition of a 
 
 practi' aerful to a nation ; a nation which has the 
 
 honor of first teaching mankind the true properties of the 
 
 air; and of ihe philosophy of the healthy construction of 
 
 prisons and hospitals ; and one would suppose of healthy and 
 
 convenient ships, for the prisoner, as well as for their own 
 
 >en. 
 
 Our situation, in the day time, was not unpleasant for 
 prisoners of war. Co:i!i:ie!:;ent is disagreeable to all men, 
 and v* 1 ! 1 }- irksome to us, Y ankccs, who have rioted, .;s it 
 were, from our infancy, in a sort of Indian freedom. Our 
 situation was the most unpleasant during the night. It was 
 the practice, every night at sun-set, to count the prisoners 
 as they went down below; and then the hatdi-Avays were 
 all barred down and locked, and I he ladder of co:ir.u. : n:c.ation 
 drawn up; and every other precaution that fear inspires, 
 d, to prevent our escape, or our rising upon our prison 
 's; for they never had half the apprehension of the 
 French as of the" Americans. They said the French were 
 always busy in some little mechanical employment, or in 
 gaming, or in playing the fco! ; but that the Americans 
 seemed to be on (he rack of m\ rnli:Mi to escape, or to elude 
 some of the Ier.it agreeable ofthe's. i is. In a. word, 
 
 they cared hut little for the Frenchmen; but were in con- 
 stant dread of the increasing contrivance, and persevering 
 efforts of us Americans They had built around the sides 
 of the ship, and little above I!:-:" surface of the water, a 
 or flooring, on which th; walked during the whole 
 
 night, singing out, oveiy half hour, ' 
 
 se.ntries marching around the ship, they h;u' 
 guard in boats, rowing around all the. ships, durr 
 long night. Whenever thes< l.oats rowed post a sentinel, 
 - his duty to challenge them, and theirs ;. :nd 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 this was done to ascertain whether they were French or 
 American boats, come to surprise, and carry by boarding, 
 the Crown Prince! We used to laugh among ourselves at 
 this ridiculous precaution. It must be remembered, that we 
 were then up a small river, \vithin thirty-two miles of Lon- 
 don, and three thousand miles from our own country. How- 
 ever, " a burnt child dreads the fire," and an Englishman's 
 fears may tell him, that what once happened, may happen 
 again. About one hundred and fifty years ago, viz. in 1 1)07, 
 the Dutch sent one of their admirals up the river Mtdway, 
 three miles above where we now lay, and singed the beard 
 of John Bull. He has never entirely got over that fright, 
 but turns pale and trembles ever since,at the sight, or 
 of a republican. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OUR prison ship contained a pretty well organized com- 
 munity. We were allowed to establish among ourselves an 
 internal police for our own comfort and self government. 
 And here we adhered to the forms of our own adored con- 
 stitution ; for in place of making a King, Princes, Dukes, Earls, 
 and Lords, we elected a PRESIDENT, and twelve Counsel- 
 lors; who, having executive as well as legislative powers, 
 we called Committee mm. But instead of four yeara, they 
 were to hold their offices but four weeks ; at the end of 
 which a new set was chosen, by the general votes of all the 
 prisoners. 
 
 It was the duty of the President and his twelve counsel- 
 lors, to make wholesome laws, and define crimes, and award 
 punishments. We made laws and regulations respecting 
 personal behaviour, and personal cleanliness ; which last we 
 enforced with particular care ; for we had some lazy, lifeless-, 
 slack twisted, dirty fellows among us, that required attend- 
 ing to, like children. They were like hogs, whose <! 
 it is to eat, sleep and wallow in the dirt, and never work. 
 We had, however, but very few of this low cast ; and they 
 were, in a great measure, pressed down by some chronical 
 disorder. It was the duty of the President and the twelve 
 5 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 committee men, or common council, to define, precisely 
 every act punishable by fine, whipping, or confinement in 
 the black hole. I opposed, with all my might, this last mode 
 of punishment, as unequal, inhuman, and disgraceful to our 
 national character. I contended that we, who had suffered 
 *o much, and complained so loud of the Hack hole of the 
 Hegulus, Malabar, and other floating dungeons, should reject, 
 from an humane principle, this horrid mode of torment. I 
 urged, as a medical man, that the punishment of a confined 
 black hole, was a very unequal mode of punishment ; for 
 that some men of weak lungs and debilitated habit, might 
 die under the effects of that which another man could bear 
 without much distress. I maintained that it was wicked, a 
 sin against human nature, to take a well man, put him in a 
 place that should destroy his health, and, very possibly, 
 shorten his days, by engrafting on him some incurable dis- 
 order. Some, on the other side, urged, that as we were in 
 the power of the British, we should not be uncivil to them ; 
 and that our rejection of the punishment of the Hack hole 
 might be construed into a reflection on the English govern- 
 ment ; so we suffered it to remain in terrorem, with a strong 
 recommendation not to have recourse to it but in very ex- 
 traordinary cases. This dispute plunged me deep into the 
 philosophy of crimes and punishments ; and I am convinced, 
 on mature reflection, that we, in America, are as much too 
 mild in our civil punishments, as the British are too severe. 
 May not our extreme lenity in punishing theft and murder, 
 lead, in time, to the adoption of the bloody code of England, 
 with their horrid custom of hanging girls and boys for petty 
 thefts ? Is it not a fact, that several convicted murderers 
 have escaped lately with their lives, from a too tender mer- 
 cy, which is cruelty ? By what I have heard, I have infer- 
 red, that the Hollanders have drawn a just line between both. 
 We used to have our stated, as well as occasional courts, 
 Beside a bench of judges, we had our orators, and expound- 
 ers of pur laws. It was amusing and interesting, to see a 
 sailor, in his round short jacket, addressing the committee, 
 or bench of judges, with a phiz as serious, and with lies as 
 specious as any of our common lawyers in Connecticut. 
 They would argue, turn and twist, evade, retreat, back out, 
 renew the attack, and dispute every inch of the ground, or 
 rather the deck, with an address that astonished me. The 
 surgeon of the ship said to me, one day, after listening to 
 
JOURNAL. S3 
 
 some of our native salt water pleaders, " these countrymen 
 * of yours are the most extraordinary men I ever met with. 
 " While you have such fellows as these, your country will 
 " never lose its liberty." I replied, that this turn for legis- 
 lation arose from our being all taught to read and write. 
 " That,, alone, did not give them," said he, " this acuteness 
 " of understanding, and promptness of speech. It arises," 
 said he, with great justness, " from fearless liberty." 
 
 I have already mentioned that we had Frenchmen in this 
 prison-ship. Instead of occupying themselves with forming 
 a constitution, and making a code of laws, and denning 
 crimes, and adjusting punishments, and holding courts, and 
 pleading for, and against the person arraigned, these French- 
 men had erected Mlliard tables, and romtetts, or wheels of 
 fortune, not merely for their own amusement, but to allure 
 the Americans to hazard their money, which these French- 
 men seldom failed to win. 
 
 These Frenchmen exhibited a considerable portion of in- 
 genuity, industry and patience, in their little manufactories 
 of bone, of straw, and of hair. They would work incessant- 
 ly, to get money, by selling these trifling wares ; but many 
 of them had a much more expeditious way of acquiring cash, 
 and that was by gaming at the billiard tables and the wheels 
 of fortune. Their skill and address at these, apparent, 
 games of hazard, were far superior to the Americans. They 
 seemed calculated for gamesters; their vivacity, their read- 
 iness, and their everlasting professions of friendship, were 
 nicely adapted to inspire confidence in the unsuspecting 
 American Jack-Tar; who has no legerdemain about him. 
 Most of the prisoners were in the way of earning a little 
 money ; but almost all of them were deprived of it by the 
 French gamesters. Our people stood no chance with them ; 
 but were commonly stripped of every cent, whenever they 
 set out seriously to play with them. How often have I seen, 
 a Frenchman capering, and singing, and grinning, in conse- 
 quence of his stripping one of our sailors of all his money ? 
 while our solemn Jack-Tar was either scratching his head, 
 or trying to whistle, or else walking slowly off, with both 
 hands stuck in his pocket, and looking like John Bull, after 
 concluding a treaty of peace with Louis Baboon. 
 
 I admire the French, and wish their nation to possess and 
 enjoy peace, liberty and happiness; but I cannot say that I 
 Jove thsse French prisoner Beside common sailors, there 
 
56 JOURNAL. 
 
 are several officers of the rank of captains, lieutenants, ai 
 I believe, midshipmen ; and it is these that are the 
 adroit gamesters. We have all tried hard to respect them ; 
 but there is something in their conduct so much like swind- 
 ling, that I hardly know what to say of them. When they 
 knew that we had received money for the work we had been 
 allowed to perform, they were very attentive, and complai- 
 sant, ami flattering. Some had been, or pretended to have 
 Leen, in America. They would come round and say, "ah! 
 " Boston fine town, very pretty Cape Cod fine town, very fine. 
 " Town of Rhode-Island superb. Bristol-ferry very pretty. 
 " General Washington ires grand homme ! General Madison 
 " brave homme /" With these expressions, and broken Eng- 
 lish, they would accompany, with their monkey tricks, ca- 
 pering and grinning, and patting us on the shoulder, with 
 "the Americans (ire brave menfight like Frenchmen:" and 
 by their insinuating manners, allure our men, once more, to 
 their wheels of fortune and billiard tables; and as sure as 
 'hey did, so sure did they strip them of all their money. I 
 must either say nothing of these Frenchmen, officers and 
 oil ; or else I must speak as I found them. I hope they were 
 not a just sample of their whole nation ; for these gentry 
 would exercise every imposition, and even insinuate the 
 iliing that was not, the more easily to plunder us of our hard 
 earned pittance of small change. Had they shown any gen- 
 erosity, like the British tar, 1 should have passed over their 
 conduct in silence ; but after they had stripped our men of 
 ;very farthing, they would say to them "Monsieur, you 
 c ' have won all our money, now lend us a little change to get 
 " us some coffee and sugar, and we will pay you when we shall 
 " earn more.' 1 '' " Ah, Mon Ami" says Monsieur, shrugging 
 p bis shoulders, " I am sorry, very sorry, indeed; it w U 
 "fortune du guerre. If you have lost your money, you must 
 " win it back again ; that is the fashion in my country we 
 u no lend ; that is not the fashion" 1 have observed that 
 these Frenchmen are fatalists. Good luck, or ill luck is all 
 fate with them. So of 'their national misfortunes ; they shrug 
 up their shoulders, and ascribe all to the inevitable decrees 
 of fate. This is very different from the Americans, who 
 ascribe every thing to prudence or imprudence, strength or 
 weakness. Our men say, that if the game was wrestling, 
 playing at ball, or foot-ball, or firing at a mark, or rowing, or 
 running a race, they should be on fair ground with them. 
 
JOURNAL. 57 
 
 Our fellows offered to institute this game with them ; that 
 there should be a strong canvass bag, with two pieces of 
 cord four feet long; and the contest should be, for one man 
 to put the other in the bag, with the liberty of first tying his 
 hands, or his feet, or both if he chose. Here would be a 
 contest of strength and hardihood, but not of cunning or le- 
 gerdemain. But the Frenchmen all united in saying, " No ! 
 No! No! It is not the fashion in our country to tie gentlemen 
 up in sacks" 
 
 There were here some Danes, as well as Dutchmen. It 
 is curious to observe their different looks and manners, which 
 I can hardly believe to be owing, entirely, to the manner of 
 bringing up. Here we see the thick skulled plodding Dane, 
 making a wooden dish ; or else some of the most ingenious 
 making a very clumsy ship : while others submitted to the 
 dirtiest drudgery of the hulk, for money ; and there we see 
 a Dutchman, picking to pieces tarred ropes, which, when 
 reduced to its original form of hern:>, they call oakum ; or 
 else you see him lazily stowed away in some corner, with 
 his pipe, surrounded with smoke, and " steeping his senses 
 in forge (fulness ;" while here and there, and every where, 
 you find a lively singing Frenchman, working in hair; or 
 carving out of a bone, a lady, a monkey, or the central fig- 
 ure of the crucifixion ! Among the specimens of American 
 ingenuity, I most admired their ships, which they built from 
 eight inches to five feet long. Some of them were said by 
 the navy officers, to be perfect, as regarded proportion, and 
 exact, as it regarded the miniature representation of a mer- 
 chantman, sloop of war, frigate, or ship of the line. By the 
 specimens of ingenuity of these people, of different nations, 
 you could discover their respective ruling passions. 
 
 Had not the French proved themselves to be a very brave 
 people, 1 should have doubted it, by what I observed of 
 them on board the prison-ship. They would scold, quarrel 
 and fight, by slapping each other's chops with the flat hand, 
 and cry like so many girls. I have often thought that one 
 of our Yankees, with his iron fist, could, by one blow, send 
 monsieur into his nonentity. Perhaps such a man as Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte, could make any nation courageous ; but 
 there is some difference between courage and bravery. I 
 have been amused, amid captivity, on observing the volatile 
 Frenchman singing, dancing, fencing, grinning and gamb- 
 ling, v^hiie the American tar lifts his hardy front and weath- 
 5* 
 

 JOURNAL. 
 
 er beaten countenance, despising them all', but the dupe of 
 them all ; just about as much disposed to squander his money 
 among girls and fiddlers, as the English sailor ; but never 
 so in love with it, as to study the arts, tricks and legerde- 
 main to obtain it. I have, at times, wondered that the hard 
 fisted Yankee did not revenge impositions on the skulls of 
 some of these blue-skinned sons of the old continent. Is 
 there not a country, where there is one series or chain of 
 impositions, from the Pope downwards ? There is no such 
 thing in the United States. That is a country of laws ; 
 and their very sailors are all full of rights" and "wrongs ;" 
 of "justice and injustice;" and of defining crimes, and as- 
 certaining " the butts and bounds" of national and individ- 
 ual rights. 
 
 It was a pleasant circumstance, that I could now and 
 then obtain some entertaining books. I had read most of 
 D. n ,an Swift's works, but had never met with his celebrated 
 allegory of John Bull, until I found it on board this prison- 
 ship. I read this little work with more delight than I can 
 express. I had always heard the English nation, including 
 kings, lords, commons, country squires, and merchants, call- 
 ed "John Bull," but I never before knew that the name 
 originated from this piece of wit of Dean Swift's. Now I 
 learnt, for the first time, that the English king, court and 
 nation, taken collectively, were characterized under the 
 name of John Bull ; and that of France under the name of 
 Louis Baboon ; and that of the Dutch of Nick Frog ; and 
 that of Spain under Lord Strut ; that the church of England 
 was called John's mother ; the parliament his WIFE ; and 
 Scotland his poor, ill-treated, raw-boned, mangy Sister Peg, 
 While I was shaking my sides at the comical characteristi- 
 cal painting of the witty Dean of St. Patrick, the French- 
 men would come around me to know what the book con- 
 tained, which so much tickled my fancy ; they thought it 
 was an obscene book, and wished some one to translate it 
 to them : but all they could get out of me was the words 
 >c John Bull and Louis Baboon .'" 
 
 It is now the 30th of November, a month celebrated to a 
 proverb in England, for its gloominess. We have had a 
 troubled sky and foggy for several weeks past. The pleas- 
 -ant prospect of the surrounding shores has been obscured a 
 sreat portion of this month. The countenances of our com- 
 panions partake of our dismal atmosphere, It has even so- 
 
JOURNAL. 59 
 
 bered our Frenchmen ,* they do not sing and caper as usual ; 
 nor do they swing their arms about, and talk with strong 
 emphasis of every trifle. The thoughts of home obtrude 
 upon us ; and we feel as the poor Jews felt on the bank* 
 of the Euphrates, when their task-masters and prison-keep- 
 ers insisted upon their singing a song. We all hung wp our 
 fiddles, as the Jews did their harps, and sat about, here and 
 there, like barn-door fowls, when molting. 
 
 Our captivity on the banks of the river Medway, border- 
 ed with willows, brought to my mind the plaintive song of 
 the children of Israel, in captivity on the banks of the river 
 Euphrates, which psalm, among others, I used to sing with 
 my mother and sisters, on Sunday evenings, when an inno- 
 cent boy, and long before the wild notion of rambling, from 
 a comfortable and plentiful home, came into my head. It 
 is the 137th Psalm, Tate and Brady's version. 
 
 When we our weary limbs to rest 
 
 Sat clown by proud Euphrates' stream, 
 We wept, with doleful thought* opprest, 
 
 And Salem was our mournful theme. 
 
 Our harps, that, when with joy we sung, 
 
 Were wont their tuneful parts to bear, 
 With silent strings, neglected hung, 
 
 On willow trees, that wither'd there. 
 
 Meanwhile our foes, who all conspir'd 
 
 To triumph in our slavish wrongs, 
 Music and mirth of us required, 
 
 il Come, sing us one of Zion's songs." 
 
 How shall we tune our voice to sing ? 
 
 Or touch our harps with skilful hands ? 
 Shall hymns of joy to GOD, OUR KING, 
 
 Be sung by slaves in foreign lands ? 
 
 O, SALEM ! Our once happy seat, 
 
 When I of thee forgetful prove, 
 Let then my trembling hand forget 
 
 The speaking strings with art to move h 
 
 If I, to mention thee. forbear, 
 
 Eternal silence seize my tongue ! 
 Or if I sing one cheerful air, 
 
 Till my deliverance is my song". 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I COME now to a delicate subject ; and shall speak ae* 
 cordingiy, with due caution ; I mean the character and con- 
 duct of Mr. Beasly, the American Agent for prisoners. He 
 resides in the city of London, thirty-two miles from this 
 place. There have been loud .And constant complaints 
 made of his conduct towards his oimtrymen, suffering con- 
 finement at three thousand mrte*' distance from all they hold 
 most dear and valuable; and /He but half a day's journey 
 from us. Mr. Beasly knew that there were some thousands 
 of his countrymen imprisoned in a foreign land for no crime ; 
 but for defending, and fighting under the American flag, 
 that emblem of national independence, and sovereignty ; if 
 he reflected at all, he must have known these countrymen 
 of his were, in general, thinking men ; men who had homes, 
 end "nre places."* He kuew they had, some of them, fa- 
 thers and mothers, wives and children, brothers and sisters, 
 in the United States, who lived in houses that had "fire 
 places" and that they had, in general, been brought up in 
 more ease and plenty than the same class in England ; he 
 knew they were a people of strong affections to their rela- 
 tives, anu strong attachments to their country ; and he might 
 have supposed that some of them had as good an education 
 as himself ; he must, or ought to have thought constantly 
 that they were suffering imprisonment, deprivations and oc- 
 casionally sickness in a foreign country, where he is spe- 
 " daily commissioned, and placed to attend to their comforts, 
 relieve, if practicable their wants, and to be the channel of 
 communication between them arid their families. The 
 British commander, or commodore of all the prison ships in 
 this river visited them ail once a month ; and paid good at- 
 tention to all their wants. 
 
 When we first arrived here, we wrote in a respectful style 
 to Mr. Beasly, as the Agent from our government for the 
 prisoners in England. We glauced at our sufferings at 
 
 * Fire places gave rank among the Romans. It was a privilege to 
 fee a Roman soldier, and in the best days of Rome no man was al- 
 Jovved to be in the ranks of their army, \vho had not a Jire place in 
 his house. In the reign prior to Queen Elizabeth, there were scarcely 
 any beds, or brick fire places in the houses of thy common people of 
 London, 
 
5 
 
 JOURNAL. 61 
 
 Halifax ; and stated our extreme sufferings on the passage 
 to England, and until we arrived in the river Medway. We 
 remarked that we expected that the government of the 
 United States intended to treat her citizens in captivity in 
 foreign land all equally alike. We represented to him 
 hat we were, in general, destitute of clothing, and many 
 conveniences, that a trifling sum of money would obtain ; 
 that we did not doubt the good will, and honopble inten- 
 tions of our government ; and that he doubtless knew of 
 their kind intentions towards us all. Rut he never returned 
 a word of answer. We found that all those prisoners, wko 
 had been confined here at Chatham, from the commence- 
 ment of the war, bore Mr. Beasly an inveterate hatred. 
 They accuse him of an unfeeling neglect, and disregard to 
 1 heir pressing wants. They say he never visited them but 
 once ; and that then his conduct gave more disgust, thaa 
 Iiis visit gave pleasure. " Where there is much smoke 
 there must be some fire." The account they gave is this- 
 that when he came on board, he seemed fearful that they 
 would come too near him ; he therefore requested that ad- 
 ditional sentries might be placed on the gangways, to keep 
 the prisoners from coming aft, on the quarter deck. He 
 then sent for one of their number, said a few words to him 
 relative to the prisoners ; but not a word of information in 
 answer to the questions repeatedly put to him ; and of 
 which we were all very anxious to hear. He acted as if 
 lie was afraid that any questions should be put to him ; so 
 that without waiting to hear a single complaint, and with- 
 out waiting to examine into any thing respecting their situ- 
 ation, their health, or their wants, he hastily took his de- 
 parture, amidst the hooting and hisses of his countrymen, as 
 he passed over the side of the ship. 
 
 Written representations of the neglect of this (nominal) 
 agent for us prisoners, were made to the government of the 
 United States, which we sent by different conveyances ; 
 but whether they ever reached the person of the Secretary 
 of State, we never knew. Several individuals among the 
 prisoners wrote to Mr. Beasly for information on subjects in 
 which their comfort and happiness were concerned, but re- 
 ceived no answer. Once, indeed, a letter was received 
 from his clerk, in an imperious style, announcing that no 
 notice would be taken of any letters from individuals; 
 (which was probably correct) but those only that were writ- 
 

 2 JOURNAL. 
 
 tea by the committee collectively. The committee accor- 
 dingly wrote ; but their letter was treated with the same 
 silent neglect. This desertion of his countrymen, in their 
 utmost need, excited an universal expression of disgust, if 
 not resentment. Cut off from their own country, surround-* 
 ed only by enemies, swindled by their neighbors, winter 
 coming on, and no clothing proper for the approaching sea- 
 son, and tUfe American agent for themselves and other pris- 
 oners, within three or four hours journey, and yet abandon- 
 ed by him to the tender mercies of our declared enemies, it 
 is no wonder that our prisoners detested, at length, the name 
 of Beasly. We made every possible allowance for this gen- 
 tleman ; we said to each other, he may have no funds ; he 
 may have the will, but not the power to help us ; his com- 
 mission, and his directions may not extend so high as our 
 expectations ; still we could make no excuse for his not 
 visiting us, and enquiring, and seeing for himself our real 
 ituation. He might have answered our letters ; and en- 
 couraged us not to despair, Uut to hope for relief; he might 
 have visited us as often as did the English Commodore, 
 which was once in four weeks ; but he should not have in- 
 sulted our feelings, the only time he did visit us, and hum- 
 ble and mortify us in the view of the Frenchmen, who saw, 
 and remarked that our agent considered us no more than so 
 many hogs. The Emperor Napoleon has visited some of 
 his hospitals in cog. has viewed the situation of the sick and 
 wounded ; examined their food, and eaten of their bread ; 
 and once threw a cup of wine in the face of a steward, be- 
 cause he thought it not good enough for the soldier ; but 
 some of our agents are men of more consequence, in their 
 own eyes, than Napoleon ! 
 
 During the war it was stated to our government thatm' 
 thousand two hundred andfifiy-se ve?i seamen had been press- 
 ed and forcibly detained on board British ships of war. 
 Events have proved the correctness of this statement ; and 
 this slavery has been a subject of merriment, and a theme 
 for ridicule among the "federalists" They say it makes no 
 more difference to a sailor what ship he is on board, than 
 it does to a hog v/hat stye he is in. Others not quite so 
 brutal, have said " hush 1 it may be so ; but we must 
 " bear it ; England is mistress of the Ocean ; and her ex- 
 " istence depends on this practice of impressment ; her na- 
 " val power must be submitted to give us, merchant*, 
 
JOURNAL. 63 
 
 i 
 
 commerce, and these Jack Tars will take care of tliem- 
 ** selves ; for it is not worth while to lose a profitable trade 
 " for the sake of a few ignorant sailors, who never liad any 
 " rights ; and who have neither liberty, property or homes, 
 " but what we merchants give to them." 
 4 The American Seamen on board the Crown Prince, were 
 chiefly men wlio had been impressed into ike British Navy 
 previous to the war ; but who, on hearing of the Declaration 
 of War against Great Britain by the people of the United 
 States, gave themselves up as prisoners of war ; but instead 
 of being directly exchanged, the English Government 
 thought it proper to send them on board these prison ships 
 to be retained there during the war ; evidently to prevent 
 them from entering into our own navy. It should be re- 
 membered that they w r ere all citizens of the United States, 
 sailing in merchant ships ; and yet the merchants, at least 
 those of Boston, and the other New-England seaports, have, 
 very generally, mocked the complaints of impressed sea- 
 men, and derided their representations, and have even de- 
 nied the story of their impressment. Even the Governor 
 of Massachusetts (Strong) has affected in his public speeches 
 to the Legislature to represent this crying outrage, as the 
 mere groundless clamor of a party opposed to his election ? 
 Whether groundless or not, I will venture to assert, that 
 the names of many of the leading federalists in Massachu- 
 setts, and a few others will never be forgotten by the inhab- 
 itants of the prison ships at Chatham, at Halifax, and in the 
 West Indies. 
 
 We are now at peace, and the tide of party has so far 
 slackened, that we^can tell the truth without the suspicion 
 of political, or party designs. I shall relate only what I 
 have collected from the men themselves, who were never in 
 the way of reading our newspapers, or of "hearing of the 
 speeches of i\\e friends of the British in Congress ; or in our 
 State Legislatures. I think I ought, however, here to pre- 
 mise, that my family were of that party in Massachusetts 
 called Federal, that is, we voted for Governor Strong, and 
 federal Senators and Representatives; our clergyman was 
 also federal, and preached and prayed federally ; and we 
 read none but federal newspapers, and associated with none 
 but federalists ; of course we believed all that Governor 
 Strong said, and approved all that our Senators and Repre- 
 sentatives voted, and believed all that was printed ia the 
 

 JOURNAL. 
 
 Boston federal papers. The whole family, and myself with 
 them, believed all that Colonel Timothy Pickering had 
 written about impressment of seamen, and about the weak- 
 ness, and wickedness of the President and administration ; 
 we believed them all to be under the pay and influence < 
 Bonaparte, who we knew was the first Lieutenant of Sa- 
 tan. We believed all that was said about " Free trade and 
 sailors' 1 rights," was all stuff and nonsense, brought forward 
 by the Republicans, whom we called Democrats and Jaco- 
 fans to gull the people out of their liberty and property, in 
 order to surrender both to the Tyrant of France. We be- 
 lieved entirely that the war was " unnecessary" and wick- 
 ed" and declared with no other design but to injure Eng- 
 land and gratify France. We believed also that the whole 
 of the administration, and every man of the Republican par- 
 ty from Jefferson and Madison, down to our was either 
 fool or knave. If we did not believe that every republican 
 was a scoundrel, we were sure and certain that every scoun- 
 drel was a republican. In some points our belief was 
 ctrong and as fixed as any in the papal dominions ; for e 
 ample we maintained stiffly that Governor Strong, Lieut. 
 Governor Phillips, H. G. Otis, and John Lowell and Fran- 
 cis Blake, Esqrs. were, for talents, knowledge, piety and 
 virtue,the very first men in theUnited States, and ought to be 
 at the head of the nation : or-to express it all in one word, 
 as my sister once did, Federalism is the polities of a GEN- 
 TLEMAN, and of a LADY; but Republicanism is thf low cant 
 of the vulgar; of such men as your Tom Jeffersons, Jim 
 Madisons, and John Adams', and Col. Monroes. 
 
 With these expanded and enlightened ideas of men a 
 thin-s,"did I, Pmgrthtw Amcricanus, quit my fathers house 
 easJVml plenty, to make a short trip in a Privateer, more 
 for a frolic than for any thing serious, being very \ 
 cerned whether I was taken or not, provided my captui 
 would be the means of carrying me among the people whan 
 I had long adored for their superior bravery, magnanimity, 
 religion, knowledge, and justice; which opinions I nail 
 bibed from their own writers, in verse and prose. 
 the federal newspapers,! had dipped into ^ posthumoos 
 works of Fisher Ames, enough to inspire me with adora 
 of England, abhorrence of France, and a contempt >r 
 own country; or to express ail in a fewer words I * 
 eralist of the Boston stamp. These are the outline 
 
JOURNAL. t 
 
 preconceived opinions, which I carried with me into Mel- 
 ville Prison, at Halifax. I was not the only one by many, 
 who entered that abode of misery with similar notions. How 
 often have I wished that Governor Strong, and his princi- 
 pal supporters, were here with us, learning wisdom, and ac- 
 quiring just notions of men, things and governments. 
 
 But to return from the Governor and Council, and other 
 great men of Massachusetts, to the British prison ship at 
 Chatham. The British had been in the habit of pressing 
 the sailors from our merchant ships, ever since the year 
 1755. The practice was always abhorred, and often resist- 
 ed, and sometimes even unto death. We naturally inferred 
 that, with our independence, we should preserve the persons 
 of our citizens from violence and deep disgrace ; for, to an 
 American, a whipping is a degradation worse than death. 
 Since the termination of the war with England, which guar- 
 anteed our independence, the British never pretended to 
 impress American citizens ; but pretended to the right of 
 entering our vessels, and taking from them the natives of 
 Britain or Ireland, and this was their general rule of con- 
 duct ; they would forcibly board our vessels, and the board- 
 ing-officer, who was commonly a lieutenant, completely 
 armed with sword, dirk, and loaded pistols, would muster 
 the crew, and examine the persons of the sailors, as a plan- 
 ter examines a lot of negroes exposed for sale ; and all the 
 thin, puny, or sickly men, he allowed to be Americans but 
 all the stout, hearty, red cheeked, iron fisted, chesnut col- 
 ored, crispy haired fellows, were declared to be British ; and 
 if such men showed their certificates of citizenship, and 
 place of birth, they were pronounced forgeries, and the un- 
 fortunate men were dragged over the side into the boat, and 
 forced on board his floating hell ! Not a day in the year, 
 but there occurred such a scene as this, somewhere on the 
 seas ; and to our shame be it spoken, we endured this out- 
 rage on man through the administration of Washington, 
 Adams* and Jefferson, before we declared war to revenge 
 the villany. If an high spirited man, thus kidnap'd, refused 
 to work, he was first deprived of victuals ; and if starvation 
 did not induce him to work, he was stripped, and tied up, 
 
 * What Mr. Adams has written on this subject, has put impress* 
 ment, or man-stealing, beyond all future controversy. His masterly 
 pamphlet was a warlike trumpet in the ears of our nation, 
 
 6 
 
6 JOURNAL. 
 
 and whipped like a thief ! and many a noble spirited fel- 
 low suffered this accursed punishment. If he seized the 
 first opportunity, as he ought, to run away from his tyrants, 
 and was taken, he was severely whipped ; and for a second 
 attempt the punishment was doubled, and for the third he 
 was hanged, or shot. 
 
 It happened on our declaration of war, chiefly on account 
 of this atrocious treatment of the sailors, that thousands of 
 our countrymen had been impressed into the British navy, 
 and more or less were found in almost every ship ; most of 
 these informed their respective captains, that being Ameri- 
 can citizens, they could not remain in the service of a na- 
 tion, to aid them in killing ttoeir brethren ; and in pulling 
 down the flag of their native country. They declared firm- 
 ly, that it was fighting against nature for a man to fight 
 against his native land, the only land to which he owed a 
 natural duty. Some noble British commanders admired 
 their patriotic spirit, and permitted them to quit their ships, 
 and go to prison : while other captains, of an opposite and 
 ignoble character, refused to hear their declarations, and or- 
 dered them to return to what they called their duty ; which 
 they accompanied with threats of severe punishment if they 
 disobeyed. But some, whose noble spirits would have hon- 
 ored any man, or station, adhered to their first determina- 
 tion, not to fight against their own brothers ; or aid in pulling 
 donm the flag of their nation. These were immediately put 
 in irons, and fed on scanty allowance of bread and water ; 
 for if any thing can bring down the high spirit of an hearty 
 young man, it is the slow torture of hunger and thirst ; when 
 it was found that this had not the effect of debasing the 
 American spirit, the young sufferer was brought upon deck, 
 and stripped to his waist, and sometimes lower, and Oh ! 
 iny pen cannot write it for indignation ! resentment, and a 
 righteous revenge shakes my hand with rage, while I at- 
 tempt to record the act of villany. Yes, my countrymen 
 and my countrywomen, our noble minded young men, brought 
 up in more ease and plenty than half the officers of a Brit- 
 ish man of war, are violently stripped, and tied fast and im- 
 moveable by a rope, to a c-annon, or to the iron railing of 
 what is called the gang-way, and when he is so fixed as to 
 stretch the skin and muscles to the utmost, he is whipped by 
 a long, heavy and hard knotted whip, four times more for- 
 midable and heavy than the whip allowed to be used by th* 
 
JOURNAL. 07 
 
 carters, truck, or carmen, on their horses. With this heavy 
 and knotted scourge, the boatswain's mate, who is generally 
 selected for his strength, after stripping off his jacket, that 
 he may strike the harder, lashes this youn% man, on his del- 
 icate skin, until his back is cut from his shoulders to his 
 waist ! Few men, of ordinary feelings of humanity, could 
 bear to see, without great emotion, even a thief, or a rob- 
 ber, so severely punished. But what must be the feelings 
 of an American, to see such a cruel operation upon the body 
 of his countryman, of his mess-mate and companion ? We 
 will venture to say, that if a dog, or an horse, were tied fast 
 to a post, in any street of any town in America, and lashed 
 with such an heavy knotted whip, swung by the strong 
 arm of a vigorous man, although their skins were covered 
 and defended by their hair, or fur, we do not believe that 
 the inhabitants would see it inflicted on the poor beast, 
 without carrying the whipper before a magistrate, to answer 
 for his cruelty. Yet what is the whipping of a beast, de- 
 void of reason, and covered with fur, to this severe opera- 
 tion upon the delicate skin and flesh of one of our young 
 men ? And all, for what ? For nobly maintaining and up- 
 holding the first and great principle of our nature. Yet 
 has this heroism of our enslaved seamen been overlooked ; 
 and even derided by the federal merchant and the federal 
 politician, and the federal member of congress, and the fed- 
 eral clergyman! Some of our brave fellows have been 
 brought upon deck, every punishing day, and undergone 
 this horrid punishment, three or four times over, until the 
 crews of the men of war were disposed to cry out shame, 
 upon their own officers! Some of our poor fellows could 
 not sustain these repeated tortures, which is not to be won- 
 dered at, and have finally gone to work as soon as they 
 recovered from their barbarous usage. Others, of firmer 
 frames and firmer minds, have wearied out their persecutors, 
 whose infernal dispositions they have defied, and triumphed 
 over; such have been sent out of the ship into our prison- 
 ships ; and here they are, to tell their own story, to show to 
 iheir countrymen the everlasting marks of their tormentors, 
 the British navy officers. With what indignation, rage and 
 horror, have I seen our brave fellows actuated, while one of 
 these heroes of national rights, and national character, has 
 been relating his sufferings, and showing his degrading scars, 
 made QH his body by the accursed whip of a boatswain's 
 
8 JOURNAL. 
 
 mate, by order of an infamous captain of the British navy t 
 You talk of peace, friendship and cordiality with the nation 
 from whom most of us sprang ! It is well, perhaps, that the 
 two nations should be at peace politically ; but can you ev- 
 r expect cordiality to subsist between our impressed and 
 cruelly treated sailor, and a British navy officer. It is next 
 to impossible. Our ill treated sailor, lacerated in his flesh, 
 wounded in his honor, and debased by the slavish hand of a 
 boatswain's mate, never can forget the barbarians ; nor ever 
 can, nor ever ought to forgive them. The God of nature 
 has ordained that nations should be separated by a difference 
 of language, religion, customs, and manners, for wise purposes ; 
 but where two great nations, like the English and Ameri- 
 can, have the same language, institutions and manners, he 
 may possibly have allowed the devil to inspire one with a 
 portion of his own infernal spirit of cruelty, in order to effect 
 a separation, and keep apart two people, superficially resem- 
 bling each other. 
 
 It may be for good and wise purposes, in the order of 
 Providence, that there should be a partition wall between 
 us and Britain. We have had to deplore that three thou- 
 sand miles of oeean is not half enough ; for avarice, fashion 
 and folly, are continually drawing us together ; and these 
 often drown the still small voice of patriotism, whose lan- 
 guage is, " Come out of her, O my people .'" There is nothing 
 that tends so strongly to keep us asunder, as the different 
 dispositions of the two people. The Americans are a kind, 
 Siumane, tender-hearted people, as free from cruelty as any 
 nation upon earth 5 and possessing as much generosity to- 
 wards an enemy they have vanquished, and who is at their 
 mercy, as any people to be found on the records of the hu- 
 man kind. Their laws express it ; the records of their 
 courts prove it ; the history of the war illustrates it ; and I 
 hope that all our actions declare it. We may change, and 
 become as hard hearted and cruel as the English. It may be 
 that we are now in the chivalrous age, or that period of our 
 political existence, which is the generous, youthful stage of 
 a nation's life ; this may pass away, and we may sink iiato 
 the cold, phlegmatic, calculating cruelty of the present Bri~ 
 tons ; and become, like them, objects of hatred to our own 
 descendants. Whatever we may, in the course of degene- 
 ration, beeome, we assert it, as an incontrovertible fact, 
 that the Britons are now, and have been for many gent 1 r-v- 
 
JOURNAL. 69 
 
 tions past, vastly our inferiors on the score of polished hu- 
 manity. On this subject, we would refer the reader to the 
 History of England, written by eminent Englishmen and 
 Scotchmen, and to Shakespeare's historical plays ; and to 
 the records of their courts, the annals of Newgate, and of 
 the Tower ; and to their penal code, generally ; but above 
 all, to their horrid ?nililary punishments, in their army, and 
 in their navy ; and then contrast the whole with the his- 
 tory of America ; of her courts, and of her army, and navy 
 punishments. 
 
 We would not indulge invective, nor lightly give vent to 
 the language of resentment; but truth and utility compels 
 us to speak of the English as they really are. Their whole 
 history marks them a hard hearted, cruel race, and such we 
 prisoners have found them. We will not have recourse to 
 so early a period as the reign of Richard the 3d, or Harry 
 the 8th, or his cruel daughter Mary, but we refer to the lat- 
 ter part of Charles 2d, a reign of mirth, frolic and unusual 
 gaiety of heart, and not a period of austerity and gloom. 
 The iusiance we here adduce, was not the furious cruelty 
 of a mob, or of exasperated soldiery storming a town ; but of 
 courtiers, privy counsellors, and advisers of the good humor- 
 ed Charles the 2d. 
 
 William Carstares, confidential Secretary to King Wil- 
 liam, during the whole of his reign ; afterwards Principal of 
 the University of Edinburgh, was a sincere and zealous 
 friend both to religious and civil liberty, and he lived in 
 reputation and honor till Dec. 28th, 1715, This worthy 
 man was put to the torture before the privy council, in the 
 latter end of the reign of Charles the Second. The Rev. 
 Joseph JVrCormick, D. D. ^\ho has written his life, and de- 
 tailed an account of his fortitude and sufferings in the cause 
 of liberty, says, " that all his objections and remonstrances 
 being over-ruled by the majority of the privy counsel, the 
 public executioner was called upon to perform his inhuman 
 office. A thumb-screw had been prepared on purpose, of a 
 peculiar construction. Upon its being applied, Mr. Carsta- 
 res maintained such a command of himself that, whilst the 
 sweat streaming over his braw, and down his cheeks, with 
 the agony he endured, lie never betrayed the -smallest incii- 
 naiion to depart from his first resolution. The Earl of 
 eueens'ierry was so- affected, that, after telling the chari 
 cellor, that he saw that the poor inaa would rather die 
 
70 
 
 JOURNAL,, 
 
 than confess, he stepped out of the council, along- witli the 
 duke of Hamilton, into another room, both of them being un- 
 able longer to witness the scene ; whilst the inhuman Perth 
 sat to the very last, without discovering the least symptom 
 of compassion for the sufferer. On the contrary, when the 
 executioner, by his express order, was turning the screw 
 with such violence, that Mr. Carstares, in the extremity of 
 bis pain, cried out, that now he had squeezed the bones in 
 pieces, the chancellor, in great indignation, told him, that, 
 if he continued longer obstinate, he hoped to see every bone 
 of his body squeezed to pieces. At last, finding all their efforts 
 by means of this machinery fruitless, after he had continued no 
 less than an hour and an half under this painful operation, 
 they found it necessary t<5 have recourse to a still more in- 
 timidating species of torture. The executioner was order- 
 ed to produce the iron boots, and apply them to hia legs ; 
 but happily for Mr. Carstares, whose strength was now al- 
 most exhausted, the fellow, who was only admitted of late 
 to this office, and a novice in his trade, after having attempt- 
 ed iri vain to fasten them properly, was obliged to give it 
 over ; and the counsel adjourned for some weeks." 
 
 If to this shameful account we add their cruelty to the 
 vanquished Scotch, in 1745, and of late years towards the 
 brave Irish, together with what we have known of them in 
 the revolutionary war, and in the present one, we can feel 
 no pride in claiming kindred with them. They are a slug- 
 gish, cold, hard-fibred race of men, on whom soft and delicate 
 airs of music make no agreeable impression. Loud and thun- 
 dering sounds, such as the ringing of heavy bells, beating of 
 drums, and firing of cannon, and the goihie kourza are requi- 
 site to move the phlegm that surrounds the tough heart 
 f old John Bull. 
 
 When the Algerines captured some of our vessels, and 
 made slaves of the crew, a very high degree of sensibility 
 was excited. It was the theme of every newspaper and 
 ration, and the subject of almost every conversation. The- 
 borror of Algerine slavery was considered as the ne plus 
 ultra of human misery ; but it has so happened, that we have 
 many sailors returned again to their country, who have been 
 enslaved at Algiers ; and have been impressed and detain- 
 ed on. board British men of war, and afterwards thrown into 
 Sxek osrison-sibins* The united opinion of these people is, 
 .Ibat the Algeriee slavery is muck more tolerable than ike 
 
JOURNAL. 71 
 
 British slavery. The Algerines make the common sailors 
 work from six to eight hours in the day ; but they give them 
 very goood vegetable food, and enough of it ; and lodge 
 them in airy places ; and always dispose the officers accord- 
 ing to their rank ; whereas the British seem to take a de- 
 light in confounding and mixing together, the officers \vith 
 their men. As to their punishments among themselves,. 
 they will cut off a man's head ; and strangle him with a bow- 
 string, in a summary manner; but a Turk, or Algerine, 
 would sicken at the sight of a whipping in the navy ; and 
 in the army of the Christian king of England. There is no 
 nation upon this globe of earth that treats its soldiers and 
 eailors with that degree of barbarity common to their camps, 
 garrisons and men of war; for what they lack in the num- 
 ber of lashes on board a ship, they make up in the severity 
 of infliction, so as to render the punishment nearly equal to 
 the Russian knout. 
 
 If any one is curious to see British military flogging treat- 
 ed scientifically, I would refer him to chapter xii, vol. 2d, 
 of Dr. R. Hamilton's Duties of a Regimental Surgeon, from 
 page 22 to 82. The reading of it is enough to spoil an hun- 
 gry man's dinner. We there read of the suppuration, and 
 stench that follow after seven or eight hundred lashes ; and 
 that some men have complained that its offensiveness was 
 almost equal to the whipping. We there read of the sur- 
 geon discharging a pound and a half of matter from an ab- 
 scess, formed in consequence of a merciless punishment.- 
 The reader may also be entertained with the discussion, 
 whether it is best to wash the cats clear from the blood, (for 
 the executioners lay on twenty -five strokes, and then ano. 
 ther twenty -five, and so on, till the nine hundred or a thou- 
 sand, ordered, are finished) or whether it is best to let the 
 blood dry on the knots of the whip, in order to make it cut 
 the sharper. There, too, you may learn the advantage of 
 having the naked wretch tied fast and firm, so that he may 
 not wring and twist about to avoid the torture, which, hef 
 says, if not attended to, may destroy the sight, by the whip 
 cutting his eyes ; or his cheeks and breasts may be cut for 
 want of this precaution. He says, however, that in those 
 regiments, who punish by running the gauntlet, it is almost 
 impossible to prevent the man from being cut from the nape 
 of the neck to his hams. You will there find a description 
 of a neat contrivance* used at Gibraltar, which was com- 
 
712 
 
 pounded of the stocks and the pillory. The seldiers legs 
 were held firm in two apertures of a thick plank, while his 
 body and head were bent down to a plank placed in a per- 
 pendicular direction, to receive the man's head, and two 
 more apertures to confine his arms. In this immoveable 
 posture, human beings, Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotchmen, 
 have had their flesh lacerated for more than half an hour I 
 But the Doctor informs us, that the men did not like this 
 new contrivance, as it checked their vociferation and in- 
 jured their lungs ; so it was discontinued ; and they return- 
 ed again to the halherts, where their hands were tied up over 
 their heads. Some of these poor wretches have been known 
 .to gnaw the flesh of their own arms, in the agonies of tor- 
 ture ; and many of them have died with internal impost umes. 
 
 AMERICANS ! think of these barbarities, and bless the 
 memories of those statesmen and warriors, who have sepa- 
 rated you, as a nation, from a cruel people, who have nei- 
 ther bowels of compassion, nor any tenderness of feeling, for 
 the soldier, or the sailor. They value them, and care for 
 them on the same principle that we value a horse, and no 
 more, merely as an animal that is useful to them. I have for 
 some time believed that America would be the grave of the 
 British character. Our free presses dare speak of their mili- 
 tary whippings, without fearing the punishment inflicted on 
 the Editor of their Political Register, as drawn by one of 
 themselves.* 
 
 Those pressed men liberated from the British men of war, 
 and sent on board this ship, the Crown Prince, that is, sent 
 from one prison to another, are large, well made, fine look- 
 ing fellows, for such they usually select as Englishmen. 
 Same of them were men of colour. The following anec- 
 dote does honor to the character of Sir Sidney Smith, as 
 well as to that of our brave tars. Sir Sidney was then ofT 
 Toulon. On the news reaching the crew that the UNITED 
 STATES had declared war against England, all the Ameri- 
 cans on board had determined not to fight against their coun- 
 try, or aid in striking its flag ; they therefore asked permis- 
 sion to speak with Sir Sidney, who permitted them to come 
 altogether on the quarter deck ; they told him they were all 
 
 * If any man wishes to eee the true character of the English, let 
 him read the 3th chapter of HUME'S History of England, especially 
 wliLi-e it treats of severities and barbarities toward the virtuous Mr, 
 PRYM. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 Americans by birth, and impressed against their will into 
 the British service ; and forcibly detained; that although 
 they had consented to do the duty of Englishmen on board 
 his ship, they could not fight against their own country. 
 " Nor do I wish you should? was the answer of this gallant 
 knight. On being reminded by one of his officers, that they 
 were nearly all petty officers he observed to them, that 
 they had been promoted in consequence of their good be- 
 haviour; and that if they could, as he hoped they would, 
 reconcile themselves to the service, he should continue to 
 promote them, and reward their good behaviour. They 
 thanked him; but assured him that it was against their 
 principles, as- Americans, and against a sense of duty towards 
 their beloved country, to fight against their brethren, or to aid 
 in pulling down the emblem of their nation's sovereignty. He 
 promised to report the business to his superiors ; and turning 
 to one of his officers, said, " I wish all Englishmen were as 
 strongly attached to their country, as these Americans are to 
 theirs^ 
 
 Another instance of a British commander, the opposite of 
 this, is worth relating. I give it as the sufferer related it to 
 us all ; and as confirmed by other testimony beside his own. 
 The man declared himself to be an American, and as such, 
 asked for his discharge. The captain said he lied; that he 
 was no American, but an Englishman ; and that he only 
 made this declaration to get his liberty ; and he ordered him 
 to be severely whipped ; and on every punishing day, he 
 was asked if he still persisted in calling himself an Ame- 
 rican, and in refusing to do duty ? The man obstinately 
 persisted. At length the captain became enraged to a high 
 degree ; he ordered the man to be stripped, and tied up to 
 the gratings, and after threatening him with the severest 
 flogging that was in his power to inflict, he asked the man 
 if he would avoid the punishment, and do his duty ? " Yes," 
 said the noble sailor, " I will do my duty, and that is to blow 
 iip your ship the very first opportunity in my power" This 
 was said with a stern countenance, and a corresponding 
 voice. The captain seemed astonished, and first looking 
 over his larboard shoulder, and then over his starboard 
 shoulder, said to his officers, " this is a damn'd queer fellow ! 
 I do not believe lie is an Englishman. I suppose he is crazy ; 
 so you ?nay unlash him, boatswain :" and he was soon after 
 ent out of that ship into this prison-ship. This man will 
 carry tiie marks of the accursed cat to his grave ! 
 

 74 JOURNAL. 
 
 O, ye Tories ! ye Federalists, ye every thing but what 
 you should be, who have derided the sufferings of the sailor, 
 and mocked at his misery had you one half of the heroic 
 virtue that filled and sustained the brave heart of this noble 
 sailor, you would cease to eulogize these tyrants of the 
 ocean, or to revile your own government for drawing the 
 sword, and running all risks to redress the wrongs of the op- 
 pressed sailor. The cruel conduct of the British ought to 
 be trumpeted through the terraqueous globe ; but we would 
 feign cover over, if possible, the depravity of some few of 
 our merchants and politicians, who regard a sailor in the 
 same light as a truckman does his horse. 
 
 Several of these impressed men have declared, that m 
 looking back on their past sufferings, on board English men 
 of war, and comparing it with their present confinement at 
 Chatham, they feel themselves in a Paradise. The ocean, 
 the mirror of heaven, is as much the element of an Ameri- 
 can as an Englishman. The gr^at Creator has given it to 
 us, as well as to them ; and we will guard its honor accord- 
 ingly, by chasing cruelty from its surface, whether it shall 
 appear in the habit of a Briton or an Algerine. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 IT is now the last day of the year 1813; and we live 
 pretty comfortably. Prisoners of war, confined in an old 
 man-of-war hulk, must not expect to sleep on beds of down ; 
 or to fare sumptuously every day, as if we were at home 
 with our indulgent mothers and sisters. All things taken 
 into consideration, I believe we are nearly as well treated 
 here, in the river Medway, as the British prisoners are in 
 Salem or Boston; not quite so well fed with fresh meat, and 
 a variety of vegetables, because this country does not ad- 
 mit of it. We nevertheless do suffer as we did at Halifax; 
 and above all, we suffered on board the floating dungeons, 
 the transports, and store-ship Malabar, beyond expression. 
 
 All the Frenchmen are sent out of the ship, excepting 
 about forty officers; and these are all gamblers, ready and 
 willing, aud.able to fleece us all, had we ever so much m 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 ney. I wonder that the prison-ship-police has not put down 
 this infamous practice. It is a fomenter of almost all the 
 evil passions ; of those particularly which do the least hon- 
 or to the human heart Our domestic faction have uttered 
 a deal of nonsense about a French influence in America. 
 By what I have observed here, I never can believe that the 
 French will ever have any influence to speak of, in the 
 United States. We never agreed with them but in one 
 point, and that was in our hatred to the English. There we 
 united cordially ; there we could fight at the same gun ; and 
 there we could mingle our blood together. The English 
 may thank themselves for this. They, with their friends 
 and allies, the Algerincs and the Savages of our own wild- 
 erness, have made a breach in that great Christian family, 
 whose native language was the English ; which is every 
 year growing wider and wider. 
 
 January, 1814. We take two or three London newspa- 
 pers, and through them know a little what is going forward 
 in the world. We find by them that Joanha Southcote, 
 and Molenaux, the black bruiser, engross the attention of 
 the most respectable portion of John Bull's family. Not 
 only the British officers, but the ladies wear the orange col- 
 ored cockade, in honor of the Prince of Orange, because the 
 Dutch have taken Holland. The yellow, or orange color, 
 is all the rage; it has been even extended to the clothing 
 of the prisoners. Our sailors say that it is because we are 
 under the command of & yellow Admiral, or at least a yellow 
 Commodore, which is about the same thing. 
 
 About this time there came on board of us a recruiting; 
 sergeant, to try to enlist some of our men in the service of 
 the Prince Regent. He offered us sixteen guineas ; but he 
 met with no success. Some of them " bored" him pretty 
 well. We had a very good w:ll to throw the slave over- 
 board ; but as we dare not, we contented ourselves with 
 telling him what a flogging the Yankees would give him 
 and his platoon, when they got over to America. 
 
 About five hundred prisoners have recently arrived in this 
 "ra/c/*,"from Halifax. There are between one hundred 
 and fifty and two hundred of Colonel Boestler's men, who 
 were deceived, decoyed, and captured near Beaver Dams, 
 on the twenty-third of June, 1813. These men were prin- 
 cipally frum Pennsylvania and Maryland. It is difficult to 
 describe their wretched appearance; and as difficult to nar- 
 
7 6 JOURNAL* 
 
 rate their suffering on the passage, without getting into a 
 rage, inconsistent with the character of an impartial jour- 
 nalist. 
 
 To the everlasting disgrace of the British government, 
 and of a British man of war, be it known, that these misera- 
 ble victims to hardheartedness, were crowded together in 
 the black hole of a ship, as we were, just like sheep in a 
 sheep-fold, "they allowed but two to come upon deck at a 
 time. They were covered with nastiness, and overrun with 
 vermin ; for these poor creatures were not allowed to wash 
 their clothes, or themselves. O, how my soul did abhor the 
 English, when I saw these poor soldiers ! It is no wonder 
 that people who only see and judge of the Americans by 
 the prisoners, that they conceive us to be a horde of sava- 
 ges. They see us while prisoners, in the most degraded and 
 odious light that we ever before saw or felt ourselves in. ^ I 
 can easily conceive how bad and scanty food, dirt, vermin, 
 and a slow chronical disease, or low spirits, may change the 
 temper and character of large bodies of men. I would ad- 
 vise all my countrymen, should it ever be their hard lot to be 
 again in British bondage, to exert themselves to appear as 
 clean and smart in their persons, as their situation will pos- 
 sibly admit. That I may not be accused of pronouncing 
 the English a cruel people, without proving my assertions, I 
 will here ask my reader to have recourse to the speech of 
 Sir Robert Heron, made in Parliament, in April, 1816, where 
 he recites the treatment of the poor in the alms-houses at 
 Lincoln. After a painful recital of the miserable state of the 
 work-house in that city, he mentioned " that there were five 
 cells strongly guarded with iron bolts, not for the reception 
 of lunatics, but for the punishment of such poor persons as 
 might fall into any transgression. In each of these were 
 strong iron staples in the wall and floor, to which the/wor 
 delinquent was chained. Among several instances of cruel- 
 ty, the worthy Baronet mentioned that a Chelsea pensioner, 
 seventy years of age, and totally blind, had been for a whole 
 fortnight chained to the flocr, because he had been drunk! 
 "That a very young girl, having contracted a certain disease, 
 had been chained in a similar manner to the floor, lest she 
 should contaminate others. Would it be believed, said Sir 
 Robert to the House, that one chain fixed round her body, 
 had been weighed, and was found no less than twenty-eight 
 pounds weight!" From what I have heard of the generous 
 
mURNAtr, 
 
 turn of the Prince Regent, his sympathetic heart would be 
 I moved to compassion for these two frail mortals, the one very 
 old, the -other very young. But what are we to think of 
 his master, the magnanimous John Bull ? I believe a sol- 
 dier feels more of the martial spirit when in uniform, than in 
 a loose drab coat. The same feeling may extend to a judge 
 , in his robes, and to a parson in his gown. They all may 
 i feel braver, wiore consciencious, and pious, for this " out- 
 1 ward and visible sign," of what the inward ought to be. 
 
 These poor soldiers were, of all men among us, the most 
 ! miserable ; they had suffered greatly for want of good and 
 fufficient food ; as six of them had to feed on that quantity 
 Which the British allowed to four of their own men. By 
 what we could gather, the most barbarous, the most unfeel- 
 ing neglect, and actual ill treatment, was experienced on 
 board the Nemesis. This ship seems, like the Malabar, to 
 be damned to everlasting reproach. I forgot to enquire 
 whether her Captain and her Surgeon were Scotchmen. 
 
 We turn with disgust and resentment from such ships as 
 ihe Regulus, the Malabar, and the Nemesis, and mention 
 with pleasure the P&ictiers, of 74 guns. The captain and 
 officers of this ship behaved to the prisoners she brought, 
 with the same kindness and humanity, as I presume the cap- 
 tain, officers and crew of an American man of war would 
 towards British prisoners. They considered our men as liv- 
 ing, sensitive beings, feeling the inconveniences of hunger 
 and thirst, and the pleasure of the gratifications of these in- 
 stinctive appetites i they seemed to consider, also, that we 
 were rational beings ; and it is possible they may have sus- 
 pected that some of us might have had our rational and im- 
 provable faculty increased by education ; they might, more- 
 over, have thought we had, like them, the powers of remi- 
 nescence, and the same dispositions to revenge ; or they 
 might not have thought much on the subject, but acted 
 from their own generous and humane feelings. I wish it 
 were in my power to record the names of the officers of the 
 Poictiers. Of this ship we can remark, that she had long 
 Ucr-n on the American station } long enough to know the 
 | American character, and to respect it. Her officers had a 
 I noble specimen of American bravery and humanity, when 
 <he American sloop Wasp took the British sloop Frolic, 
 aad both were soon after taken by the Poictiers, The hu- 
 mane, and we dare say, brave Capt. Btrcsfard, has the hom- 
 
19 JOURNAL. 
 
 age of respect for his proper line of conduct towards those 
 Americans whom the fortune of Avar put under his com- 
 mand. We drank the healths, in the best beer we could 
 get, of the captain, officers and crew, of his Britannic Ma- 
 jesty's line of battle ship, Poicticrs. 
 
 That we may not be thought to accuse the British of 
 barbarity without proof, we shall give an instance of their 
 shocking inhumanity towards the inhabitants of Canada, in 
 the year 1759, when their army was under the command of 
 a Wolfe, extracted from Knox's historical journal of the 
 British campaign in Canada, p. 322, vol. 1st, dedicated by 
 permission to Gen. Anchers. " Yesterday Capt. Starks 
 brought in two prisoners, one of them a lad of fifteen years 
 of age, the other a man of forty, who was very sullen, and 
 who would not answer any questions. This officer also 
 took two male children, and, as he and his party were re- 
 turning, they saw themselves closely pursued by a much su- 
 perior body, some of whom were Indians, (probably the fa- 
 ther and mother of the young children, and other relatives, and 
 a fen humane Indians] he wished to be freed from the chil- 
 dren, as, by their innocent cries and screeches, they directed 
 the pursuers where to follow. Capt. Stark's lieutenant 
 made many signs to them to go away and leave him, but 
 they not understanding him, still redoubled their lamenta- 
 tions, and finding them hard pressed, he gave orders that the 
 infants should be taken aside and KILLED, which was 
 clone" ! ! ! What is the reason, this diabolical barbarity was 
 never before condemned in print ? The reason is plain 
 tlicy were the children of Frenchmen. This shocking deed 
 was perpetrated by the officers of General Wolfe's army, ;md 
 published by one of his captains, under the sanction of Lord 
 Amherst ! 
 
 It may be tedious to our readers, especially if they be 
 British, but we cannot yet leave the subject of the inhuman 
 treatment of the American prisoners of war, while on their 
 passage from Halifax to Chatham The condition of the 
 soldiers was the most deplorable. Some of these men were 
 born in the interior, and had never seen the salt ocean ; 
 they enlisted in Boestler's regiment, and were taken by the 
 British and Indians, somewhere between fort Geprge and 
 York, the capital of Upper Canada. They were preth 
 much stripped of their clothing, soon after they were lu!;<.-;i. 
 and their march to Montreal was conducted with very little 
 
JOURNAL 
 
 regard to their feelings ; but when sick, they were well at- 
 tended to by the medical men of the enemy ; their passage 
 from Quebec to Halifax, down the river St. Lawrence, 
 
 : was barbarous. They suffered for victuals, clothes, and ev- 
 ry other conveniency. The men say that they had more 
 instances of real kindness from the Indians, than from the 
 
 ' British. But on their passage across the Atlantic, their 
 situation was horrible, as may be well supposed, when it is 
 considered that these soldiers had never been at sea, and of 
 course could not shift, and shirk about, as the sailors call it, 
 as could the seamen ; they were of course, sea sick ; and 
 were continually groping and tumbling about in the dark 
 prison of a ship's hold. They suffered a double portion of 
 misery compared with the sailors, to whom the rolling of 
 the ship in a gale of wind, and the stench of bilge-water, 
 were matters of no grievance ; but were serious evils to 
 these landsmen, who were constantly treading upon, or run- 
 ning against, and tumbling over each other. Many of them 
 were weary of their lives; and some layed down dejected 
 in despair, hoping never to rise again. Disheartened, and 
 of course sick, these young men became negligent of their 
 persons, not caring whether they ever added another day to 
 their wretched existence; so that when they came on board 
 the prison ship, they were loathsome objects of disgust. A 
 mother could not have known her own son; nor a sister her 
 brother, disguised and half consumed as they were, with a 
 variety of wretchedness. They were half naked, ami it 
 was now the middle of winter, and within thirty miles of 
 London, in the nineteenth century ; an era famous for bible 
 societies, for missionary and humane societies, and for all 
 proud boastings of Christian and evangelical virtue; under 
 the reign of a king and prince, renowned for their liberality 
 and magnanimity towards French catholics; (but not Irish 
 ones,) and towards Ferdinand the bigot, his holiness the 
 
 i Pope, and the venerable institution of the hob) Inquisition. 
 
 ; Alas! poor old John Bull! though art in thy dotage, with 
 
 I thy thousand ships in the great salt ocean; and thy half a 
 dozen victorious ones in the Serpentine River, alias the 
 splendid gutter, dug out in Hyde Park, for the amusement 
 of British children six feet high ! Can the world wondev 
 
 | that AMERICA, in her present age of chivalry, should knock 
 over these doating old fellows, and make them the derision of 
 the. 
 
80 JOURNAL. 
 
 I can no otherwise account for this base treatment of the 
 Americans, than by supposing that the British government 
 had concluded in the summer and autumn of 1813, that 
 America could not stand the tug of war with England ; that 
 MADISON was unpopular ; and that the federalists, or British 
 faction in America, were prevailing, especially in New-Eng- 
 land ; and that, being^ sure of conquest, they should com- 
 mence the subjugation of the UNITED STATES by degrading 
 its soldiery and seamen ; as they have the brave Irish. 
 They may have been led into this error by our federal 
 newspapers, which are generally vehicles of misinformation. 
 The faction may impede, and embarrass for a time ; but 
 they never can long confine the nervous arm of the Amer- 
 can Hercules. 
 
 Candor influences me to confess, that there were more 
 attempts than one, to rise and take these men of war trans- 
 ports. I find that several experiments were made, but that 
 they were always betrayed, by some Englishman, or Irish- 
 man, that had crept into American citizenship. I hope the 
 time is not far off, when we shall reject from our service ev- 
 ery man not known absolutely to have been born in the 
 United States. Whenever these foreigners get drunk, they 
 betray their partiality to their own country, and their dis- 
 like of ours. 1 hope our navy never will be disgraced or 
 endangered by these renegadoes. Every man is more or 
 less a villain, who fights against his own country. The 
 Irish are so ill treated at home, that it is no wonder that 
 they quit their native soil, for a land of more liberty and 
 plenty ; and they are often faithful to the country that adopts 
 them ; but never trust an Englishman, and above all a Scotch- 
 man. It is a happy circumstance that America wants nei- 
 ther. She had rather have one English manufacturer than 
 :m hundred English sailors. We labor under the inconven- 
 ience of speaking the same language with the enemies of our 
 rising greatness, I know by my own personal experience, 
 that English books, published since our revolutionary war, 
 iiave a pernicious tendency in anglifying the American 
 character. I Lave been amused in listening to the wrang- 
 ling conversation of an English, Irish and American sailor, 
 when all three were half drunk; and this was very often the 
 case during this month of January, as many of our men who 
 had been in the British naval service, received payment 
 tsora government; and this filled our abode with noise, rio*.-. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 Confusion, and sometimes fighting. The day was spent in 
 gambling, and the night in drunkenness; for now all would 
 attempt to forget their misery, and steep their senses in for- 
 geifuiness. The French officers among us, seldom indulged 
 in drinking to excess. Our men said they kept sober in or- 
 der to strip the boozy sailor of his money, by gambling. 
 
 While the Frenchmen keep sober, the American and Eng- 
 lish sailor would indulge in their favorite grog. In tins re- 
 spect, I see no difference between English and American. 
 Over the can of grog, the English tar forgets .ill his hardships 
 and his slavery yes, slavery ; for where is there a greater 
 slavery among white men, than that of impressed English- 
 men on board of one of their own men of war ? The Ameri- 
 can, over his grog, seems equally happy, and equally forget- 
 ful of his Inrsh treatment. The Englishman, when hisskin. 
 is full of grog, glows with idolatry for his country, and his fa- 
 vorite lass ; and so does the American : The former sings 
 the victories of Bembow, How, Jervase and Nelson ; while 
 
 | the latter sing the s^me songs, only substituting the names of 
 Treble, Hull, Decatur and Bainbridge, Perry and Maedon- 
 
 , ough. Our men parodied all the English national songs. 
 " Rule Britannia^ rule the waves" was " Rule Columbia" &c, 
 *' God save great George, our Ring" was sung by our boys, 
 44 God save great Madison ;" for every thing like federalism 
 was banished from our hearts and ears ^ whatever, wcr were 
 before, we were all staunch Madisonians in a foreign land. 
 The two great and ruling passions among the British sailor* 
 and the American sailorsj seemed, precisely the same, viz. 
 love of their country -, and love uf the fair sex. These two sub- 
 jects alone entered into all their songs, and seemed to be the 
 only deae objects of their soub, when half drunk.. On these 
 two strings hang all our nation's glory ,\ while, to my, surprize, 
 I found, or thought 1 found, that the love of money was that 
 string which vibrated oftenest in a Frenchman's heart ; but 
 I may be mistaken ; all the nation may not be gamblers.- 
 Rememl er, politicians, philosophers, admirals, and generals,, 
 that Love and Patriotism are the two, and I almost said, the 
 
 I only two passions of that class of men, who are destined to 
 carry your flag in triumph ajound the terraqueous gtobe, by 
 skillfully controlling the powers of the winds, and of vapor. 
 
 One word more, before I quit this national trait *The 
 English naval muse, which I presume must be & Mermaid, 
 fcaif woman and half fasb, has, by her simpkyaud hail' the 
 f* 
 
llm^, nonsensical songs, done more for the British dag 
 all her gunnery , or naval discipline and tactics. This in- 
 spiration of the tenth muse, with libations of grog, have ac- 
 tually made the English believe they were invincible on the 
 ocean, and, what is still more extraordinary, the French and 
 Spaniards were made to believe it also. This belief con- 
 stituted a magical circle, that secured their ships from destruc- 
 tion, until two American youths, -Isaac Hull, from Connecti- 
 cut, and Oliver H. Perry, from Rhode-Island, broke this 
 spell by the thunder of their cannon, and annihilated the 
 delusion. Is not this business of national songs a subject of 
 some importance ? Love and Patriotism^ daring amplifica- 
 tion, with here and there a dash of the supernatural, are all 
 that is requisite in forming this national band of naval music, 
 We all know that " Yankee Doodle?* is the favorite national 
 tune of America, although it commenced with the British 4 
 officers and Tories, in derision, in the year 1775. When 
 that animating tune is struck up in our Theatres, it electri- 
 fies the pit and the upper galleries. When our soldiers are 
 
 hig to that tune, they " tread the air." " With that 
 time," said general M , the same gallant officer, who took 
 nine pieces of cannon from the British, planted on an emi- 
 
 , at the battle of Bridgewater "nith that tune tiuse 
 tvcidd follow me into hell, and pull the devil by the 
 nose." For want of native compositions, we had sung Brit- 
 ish songs until we had imbibed their spirit, and the feelings 
 and sentiments imbibed in our youth, are apt to stick to us 
 through life. It is high time we 'had new songs put in our 
 mouths. 
 
 Unless we attend to the effects of these early impressions, 
 it is almost incredible, the number of false notions that we im- 
 
 aml carry to our graves. A considerable party in the 
 
 .1 Lilts have sung Nelson's victories, until those vie- 
 toi-li s seemed to be their own. Even on the day of the cele- 
 ?)ration of the Peace, the following Ode was sung in the hall 
 of tm 1 University cf Cambridge ;i captain and a lieutenant 
 of the navy being among the invited guests. It was writ- 
 ten by the son of the keeper of the States Prison, hi Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 ODE. cCtfo 
 
 COLUMBIA and Britannia 
 
 1 TO,.. \< ; rfai'fc r ,vilcT; 
 iSo more in battle's rage they meet, 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 The parent and the child. 
 Each gallant nation now lament 
 The heroes who have died. 
 
 But the brace, on the wave, 
 
 Shall yet in friendship ride, 
 
 To baar BRITANNIA'S ancient name, 
 
 J).nd swell COLUMBIA'S pride* 
 
 The flag-staff of COLUMBIA 
 
 Shall be her mountain Pine ; 
 
 Her Commerce on the foaming sea 
 
 Shall be her golden mine. 
 
 Her wealth from every nation borne, 
 
 Shall swell the ocean wide, 
 
 *4nd the brave, o?i the wave, &c. fcc- 
 
 To Britain's Failh and Prowefs, 
 
 Shall distant nations bow, 
 
 The Cross upon her topmast head, 
 
 The Lion at her prow. 
 
 No haughty foe shall dare insult, 
 
 No bifidd deride ; 
 
 For the brave, on the wave, c. &C, 
 
 For now the kindred nations 
 Shall wage the fight no more ; 
 No more in dreadful thunder da. c h 
 The billows to the shore: 
 Save when in firm alliance bound 
 Some common foe defied ; 
 
 Then the brave, on the leave, kc. &c. 
 
 This captivity in a foreign land, has been to me a season 
 of thoughtfulness. Sometimes I thought 1 was like a des- 
 pised Jew, among the sons of the modern Babylon", which I 
 mi^ht have sunk under, but for the first principles of a se- 
 rious education ; for I was born and educated in the state of 
 Massachusetts, near an hundred miles from Boston. The 
 subject of education has greatly occupied my mind, and I 
 rejoiced that 1 was born in that part of the United States, 
 where it is most attended to. It is an injury to our national 
 character, that most of the books we read in early life, were 
 written by Englishmen ; as with their knowledge we imbibe 
 their narrow prejudices. The present war, has, in a degree, 
 corrected this evil; but time alone can effect al! we wish. 
 
 A dispute arose between us a ml our commander, relative 
 to th.e article of bread, which served to show Englishmen 
 how tenacious we, Americans, are on what we consider to 
 be our rights. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 Whenever the contractor omitted to send us off soft breadg. 
 provided the weather did not forbid, the said contractor for- 
 feited half a pound of bread to each man. The prisoners 
 were not acquainted with this rule, until they were informed 
 of it by the worthy captain Hutchinson ; and they determined 
 to enforce the regulation on the next act of delinquency of 
 the contractor. This opportunity soon occurred. He omit- 
 ted to send us otf soft bread in fair weather; our commander, 
 Mr. O. thereupon ordered us to be served with hard ship 
 bread. This we declined accepting, and contended that the 
 contractor was bound to send us oif the soft bread, with an. 
 additional haif pound, which he forfeited to us for his breach 
 of punctuality. Now the contractor had again and again-, 
 incurred this forfeiture, which went into Mr. O's pocket, in- 
 stead of our stomachs, and this mal-practice we were resolved 
 to correct. Our commander then swore from the teeth out- 
 wards, that if we refused his hard bread, we should have none; 
 and we swore from the teeth, inwardly, that we would adhere 
 to our first declaration, and maintain our rights. Finding us 
 obstinate, he ordered us all to be driven into the pound by 
 the marines, and the ladder drawn up. Some of the prison- 
 ers, rather imprudently, cast some reflections on Mr. O. and 
 his family ; in consequence of which, he ordered us all to be 
 driven below, and the hatches closed upon us; and i:e rep- 
 resented to the commodore that the prisoners xvere in a state- 
 of mutiny. He was so alarmed that he sent the female part 
 of his family on shore for safety, and requested a reinforce- 
 ment of marines. At the same time we made a representa- 
 tion to the commodore, and stated our grievances, in our own 
 way, and we demanded the extra half pound of soft bread, 
 forfeited by the contractor. In all this business we were as 
 fierce and as stuoborn, and talked as big as a combination o 
 collegians, to redress bad commons. We remained in this 
 situation two days ; one from each mess going o deck for a 
 supply of water, was all the intercourse we hud with our su- 
 periors. During all thi& time, we found we had'- got hold o 
 the heaviest end of the timber. We found it very hard con- 
 tending against increasing hunger, and should have been- 
 very glad of a few hard biscuit. Some began to- grow slack 
 in their resistance-; arid even the most obstinate allowed 
 their ire to cool a tittle.. To lay such an embargo* on our 
 own bowels was, be sure, a pretty tough piece of self-denial ; 
 for we found,, in all our sufferings, thut bread was ? the 
 
JOURNAL. 85 
 
 >f life. We were about taking the general opinion by a vote, 
 whether it was best to eat hard biscuit, or starve ? Just as 
 we were about taking this important vole, in which, I sus- 
 pect, we should have been unanimous, the commodore and 
 capt. Hutchinson came on board to inquire into the cause of 
 the dispute ; and this luck} 7 , and well timed visit, saved our 
 credit ; and established the Yankee character for inflexibility, 
 beyond all doubt or controversy. These two worthy gen- 
 tlemen soon discovered that Mr. O. had made representations 
 not altogether correct. They therefore ordered the hatches 
 to be taken off, arid proper bread to be served out, and so 
 the dispute ended. 
 
 What added to our present satisfaction was, that Mr. 
 my Lord Beady was to allow us two pence half penny sterl- 
 ing per day, for coffee, tobacco, &C** We now, to use the 
 sailor's own expressive phrase, looked up one or two points 
 nearer the wind than ever. 
 
 That Mr. O. had been in the royal navy from his infancy, 
 and now, at the age of fort}' five, ranks no higher than alieu- 
 tennant. He once commanded a sloop, and had the char- 
 acter of severity. He had an amiable wife and many child- 
 ren, who lived in the prison ship. Lieut. O. was not the 
 wisest man in all England. He exercised his cunning, it 
 was said, in making money out of his station ; but lie was 
 under the immediate controul of two honorable gentlemen, 
 otherwise, it is probable, we should have felt more instances 
 ef his revenge than he dared, at all times,, show, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IT Is now the last day of February, 1814. The severity 
 of an English winter, which is generally milder than the 
 winters of New-England, is past; and we are as comforta- 
 ble as can be expected on board a prison ship ; we have a 
 few cents a day to buy coffee, sugar or tobacco ; add to these, 
 we have the luxury of newspapers, which is a high gratifi- 
 cation to the well known curiosity of a genuine Yankee, by 
 which cant term we always mean a New-England man. We 
 have been laughed at, by the British travellers, for our inat 
 
6 JOURNAL., 
 
 iahle curiosity ; but such should remember, that their great 
 moralist, Johnson, tells us that curiosity is the thirst of the 
 soul, and is a never-failing mark of a vigorous intellect. The 
 Hottentot has no curiosity the woolly Africafi has no curi- 
 osity the vacant minded Chinese lias no curiosity but the 
 brightest sons of Old England and New, are remarkable for 
 it ; insomuch that they are often the dupes of it. How many 
 thousand guineas a year are acquired by artful foreigners, in 
 feeding this appetite of oar relation, the renowned John 
 Bufi? and yet he is never satisfied; his mouth is open still, 
 and so wide, very lately, that Bonaparte had like to have 
 jumped into it, suit and all ! ! 
 
 We should have taken, perhaps, more satisfaction in the 
 perusal of these newspapers, had they not been so excessive- 
 
 ensive. We took the -Statesman, the Star, and BsWs 
 ITecri'if Messenger; and some part of the time, the Whig. 
 The expense of the Statesman was defrayed by the sale of 
 g;reen fish to the contractor. The Star was taken by the 
 Frenchmen ; the Whig and Bell's Weekly Messenger, by 
 individuals. We paid twenty-eight shillings sterling per 
 month, for the Statesman, which is twice the price of a news- 
 paper in Boston, for a whole year. Besides it costs us six- 
 teen shillings per month to get these papers conveyed on 
 board. The reader will probably say, in the language of 
 Dr. Franklin's allegory, that considering our destitute con- 
 dition, " we paid dear for our whistle." These newspapers 
 were smuggled, or pretended to be smuggled; our comman- 
 der's pocket was not the lighter for New-England " quid- 
 nuiiritfin.'" But every day afforded instances of meanness ; 
 
 u: misery to the bone, for a few pence. 
 
 led States is the region of all regions of the earth 
 for newsoapers. There are more newspapers printed in tlie 
 Uni;.til Stales, than in all the rest of the world besides. We 
 do not mean a greater number of copies of the same title, 
 but a greater number of different titles; insomuch, that in- 
 vention is nearly exhausted to afford them new names. In 
 "England, newspapers pay a very high tax ; in America, they 
 * rfectly free, and their transport by the mails is nearly 
 so; and this is because our government, that is to say, the 
 
 -aer reading animal f* The sums which vv 
 
JOURNAL. o7 
 
 prisoners paid tor one English newspaper a year, would have 
 paid the annual board of a man in the interior of our own 
 plentiful country. I am firmly of opinion, however, that 
 Boston has and will have reason to curse her federal news- 
 papers. They, like, the " Courier" and " Times" of Lon- 
 don have spread false principles, and scattered error amongst 
 a people too violently prejudiced to read both sides of the 
 question. 
 
 I thought that, at this time, we were as happy, or as free 
 from misery, as at any time since our captivity. The plea- 
 sant season was advancing, the days growing longer, and the 
 nights shorter, and our condition seemed improving, when a 
 dreadful calamity broke out upon us ; I mean the Small 
 pox. There are no people on the face of the earth, who 
 have such a dread of this distemper as the people of New- 
 England. Their laws and their municipal regulations prove 
 this. No person can remain in his own house with this dis- 
 order; but certain municipal officers take charge of him, and 
 convey him to the small pox hospital, provided by the laws 
 for the reception of such patients. If the disorder has pro- 
 gressed so far as to render it, in the opinion of physicians, 
 dangerous to life to remove him, then the street, where he 
 lives, is fenced up, and a guard placed so that no one can 
 pass, and a red flag is hoisted on the house. These formida- 
 ble precautions may have added to the dread of this loath- 
 gome disease. 
 
 When this alarming distemper first appeared in the ship, 
 the surgeon had all the prisoners mustered, to inquire of them 
 who had had the small pox, and who the kine pock; or, as 
 they call it in England, the cow pock. He vaccinated a num- 
 ber. But there were several instances of persons who said 
 they were inoculated with the kine pock in America, who 
 took the small pox the natural way at this time. 1 do not 
 consider this as, in any degree diminishing the value of tins 
 important discover;^ and practice. Very few 1 practitioner* 
 understand this business; and a great number of people .in 
 the United States have inoculated themselves, without 
 knowing at what period to take the matter; and without 
 knowing the true pustule from the spurious. Many of our 
 prisoners absolutely refused to be vaccinated, although they 
 believed in its efficacy of guarding them from small pox. I 
 was great iy surprised at this, until 1 found that they felt no 
 disposition to preserve their lives any longer. It seemed 
 
88 .JOURNAL. 
 
 that their misery hail so far lessened their attachment to life, 
 that they were indifferent as to any method of preserving it. 
 1 was surprized to find this in some who I had considered as 
 nmong the most cheerful. I was shocked to find among these 
 a weight of woe I little expected. Several of them told me 
 that fife was a burthen ; that pride of character kept them 
 from whining, and forced a smile on their countenance, while 
 their being penned up, like so many dirty hogs, had chilled 
 their souls, and sunk them, at times, into despondency. Some 
 said, that nothing but the hope of revenge kept them alive. 
 There are two extremes of the mind producing a disregard 
 for life. The one is, the fever or delirium of battle, aug- 
 mented and kept up by the cannon's roar, the sight of blood, 
 and military music ; here a man, being all soul, thinks noth- 
 ing of his body. The other case is, where his body is de- 
 bilitated, his spirit half extinguished, and his soul desponding, 
 and his body paralized. Here existence is a burden, arid 
 the attachment to life next to nothing. It is here that death 
 appears to open the gate of the prison. I found, to my sur- 
 prize, that several of our countrymen were in this desponding 
 
 state. 
 
 Some refused to be vaccinated, from a persuasion that the 
 kiae pock was no security against the small pox. When I 
 endeavoured to convince several of them of their error, one 
 asked me if a weak man could drive away u strong one; or 
 a small evil drive away a great one ? A man need not des- 
 pair in making a certain class of people believe any thing 
 but truth. 
 
 It is surprizing that when our countryman. Dr. \\ aterhouse, 
 first introduced this new inoculation into America, in the 
 year 1800, what an opposition the practice met with; and 
 nothing but the most persevering raid unwearied exertions, 
 and public experiments, coukl overcome the reluctance, iu 
 numbers, to receive this great blessing. The same pervers- 
 ity of judgwient was observable among individuals in this 
 
 prison ship. 
 
 As the .spring advanced, the men, contrary to my expec- 
 tation, became more desponding, and the Typlms fever, or 
 rather the jail fever, appeared among them. From four to 
 six are taken down with it every day. We have about tun 
 hundred men on board this ship ; eight hundred of us v 
 ed prisoners, and one hundred Englishmen. We are wo 
 crowded than is consistent witb health, or comfort 
 
JOURNAL.. 89 
 
 hammocks are slung one above another. It is warm and 
 offensive in the middle of our habitation ; and those who 
 have hammocks near the ports, are unwilling to have them 
 open in the night. All this impedes the needful circulation 
 of fresh air. It is a little singular, that it is the robust and 
 hearty that are seized with this fever, before those who are 
 weak in body, and, apparently, desponding in mind. 
 
 As the appropriate hospital-ship is now crowded with 
 sick, we are obliged to retain a number in the Crown Prince. 
 The sick bay of this ship is now arranged like to an hospital 
 ship; and the hospital allowance served out; and the chief 
 surgeon visits us every week. Our committee, composed of 
 the oldest and most respectable men amongst us, do every 
 thing in their power to keep the ship and the prisoners clean. 
 Men are appointed to inspect the prisoners' clothes and bed- 
 ding ; and even to punish those who refused, or were too 
 indolent to wash themselves and their clothing ; for there 
 were some who were more like hogs than men ; such is the 
 effects of situations and circumstances. Our most influential 
 men set the example of cleanliness ; and endeavoured to 
 instill into the minds of others the great importance of being 
 free from all kinds of filth. 
 
 It is now the first day of April, 1814, and the small pox 
 and typhus fever still prevail in the different ships, especially 
 on board the ship called the Bahama. One hundred and 
 sixty-one Americans were put on board her in the month of 
 January. She had been used as a prison for Danish sailors, 
 many of whom were sick of typhus fever. These Americans 
 came, like the rest of us, from Halifax ; being weary, fa- 
 tigued, and half-starved, their dejected spirits and debilitated 
 bodies, then aptly disposed to imbibe the contagion. Ac- 
 cordingly soon after they went on board, they were attacked 
 with it. AH the Danes are sent out of her ; and her upper 
 deck is converted into an hospital ; and the surgeon has 
 declared the ship to be infectious ; and no one communicates 
 with her but such as supply the ship and attend the sick. 
 
 While "sick and imprisoned? Mr. Beasly " visited us not"; 
 but sent his clerk, a Mr. Williams, to supply the most needy 
 with clothes ; and instead of applying to the committee, 
 who could have informed him correctly who most needed 
 them, he adopted the mode most liable to lead to deception 
 and injustice. This Mr. B. seems, from the beginning, to 
 have considered his countrymen as a set of cheating, lying, 
 8 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 swindling rascals ; and a mutual contempt has existed be- 
 tween them. We wish all our officers and agents would 
 bear in mind this fact, that complacency begets complacen- 
 cy ; and contempt begets contempt. 
 
 We, Americans, have seen and severely felt the highly 
 pernicious and demoralizing tendency of gambling ; and we 
 have been long wishing to break up the practice ; and our 
 electmen, or committee, were determined to effect it. We 
 accordingly took a vote, agreeably to the custom of our 
 country, and it was found to be the will of the majority to 
 prohibit the practice of it. We began with the roulette table, 
 or as our men called them, " wheels of fortune." After no 
 small opposition from the French officers, we succeeded in 
 putting them down; but we could not succeed so easily 
 against the billiard tables. It was contended by many that 
 it was an exercise, and a trial of skill ; and if confined to a 
 halfpenny, or one cent a game, it could not be dangerous to 
 the morals, or property of the community. On this a warm 
 and long dispute arose, in denning gambling. The playing 
 of billiards for a cent a game, was contended to be a muscu- 
 lar exercise, and not gambling ; w hereas cards were denoun- 
 ced, as a studied, sedentary contrivance, for the artful to 
 draw money from the pockets of the artless. 
 
 The owners of " the wheels of fortune" were, perhaps, 
 envied. They made money, and lived better than the rest; 
 and the same remark w f as made of the owners of the billiard 
 tables. In the course of debate they were tauntingly called 
 the privileged order, and rising from one degree of odious 
 epithet to another, I could not help laughing, on hearing one 
 angry orator pronounce this scheme of screwing money out 
 of the pockets of the artless, and then laughing at their pov- 
 erty and distress, to be down right FEDERALISM, Now it 
 should be known that a Federalist and Federalism, are the 
 most odious ideas that can be raised up in the minds of every 
 American prisoner in this river. A law was, therefore, pro- 
 posed, to fine any American prisoner, who should call anoth- 
 a Federalist. 
 
 This state of contention continued five or six days ; when, 
 I am sorry to say it, the gambling party increased rather 
 than lessened. At length two of the party ventured to re- 
 commence gambling one of them was immediately sent 
 for by the committee, who ordered him to be confined in th* 
 black hok. This lit up a blaze the committee little cc 
 
JOURNAL. 91 
 
 plated. The whole body of the commons cried out against 
 this summary and arbitrary proceeding This was pronoun- 
 ced to be such an alarming attack on the liberty of the pris- 
 oners, that every freeman in the prison ship was called upon 
 to rise up and resist the daring encroachment on the birth- 
 right of an American. A strong party was at once formed 
 in favor of the man who was imprisoned without a trial. 
 On this occasion the names of Hanulcn, Sidney, and Wilks, 
 were echoed from all quarters of our prison. The liberty of 
 the citizen, and false imprisonment were discanted on in a 
 loud and moving manner. Some talked of a writ of habeas 
 corpus, but others knew not what it meant ; but all agreed 
 that it was unconstitutional to confine a man in prison with- 
 out trial. One man had the imprudence to say that they 
 would have French fashions among them, of imprisoning and 
 hanging a man, and trying him afterwards. This roused 
 the ire of some of the officers of that nation, who declared 
 in a rage, that it was not the fashion in France to hang a 
 man and try him afterwards. They all agreed, however, 
 that it was an illegal act to confine the man without trial ; 
 and that this was a precedent dangerous to the liberties of 
 the prisoner, and that they ought to protest against it. This 
 was a curious scene to the surgeon, and some other pretty 
 sensible English officers ; one of whom observed to another, 
 in my hearing, these Americans are certainly the most sin- 
 gular set of men I ever met with. The man who had been 
 confined, was allowed to come from his confinement, and 
 speak for himself. He had " the gift of the gab," and a 
 species of forcible eloquence that some of our lawyers might 
 envy. He would have distinguished himsslf in any of bur 
 town meetings ; and with cultivation, might have shown in 
 history. He, however, committed that very common fault 
 among our popular orators, he talked too much. The Pres- 
 ident of the Committee was not much of a speaker; but he 
 was a man of sense and prudence. Cool as he was, he was 
 thrown a little off his guard by an intemperate phrase of the 
 culprit ; who in the ardor of his defence, accused the Presi- 
 dent of being a Federalist; and this turned the current of 
 favor against the unguarded orator, and he was from all sides, 
 hissed. When quiet was restored, the President took ad- 
 vantage of the current just turned in his favor, and said, 
 " Fellow Prisoners ! I perceive that I have committed an. 
 " error iu confining this man without a previous trial, and I 
 
92 JOURNAL. 
 
 " am sorry for it. At the time, I thought I was doing right; 
 " but I now see that I was wrong." He then proposed to 
 have the accusjed regularly tried, before the full committee, 
 which he hoped would prove themselves the real represen- 
 tatives of the community, collected in course of events 
 within the planks of an enemy's prison ship. He exhorted 
 the committee not to be influenced by party, prejudice, or 
 > local attachment, but to act justly and independently. The 
 accused was allowed to speak for himself. He was not an 
 old Jack Tar, but the son of a respectable New England 
 yeoman, with a clear head, and not destitute of learning, nor 
 was he ignorant of the law. He defended himself with real 
 ability, and the spirit of Emmet spoke with him. Among 
 other things, he said " What have I done to bring, down 
 44 upon me the resentment of the committee, and the ven- 
 * geance of its President ? In attempting to establish the 
 " rights of this little community, I have suffered the ignominy 
 * of a close confinement, by the order of my own country- 
 " men. While we are suffering oppression, degradation and 
 ** insult, from the external enemy, shall we redouble our 
 " misery, by wrongfully oppressing one another ? I thought 
 <* it my duty to exert myself in favor of an equality of rights 
 among us. I could not bear to hear the domineering lan- 
 " guage, and see the overbearing conduct of the purse proud 
 " among us ; of a set of cunning, tricking, slight-of-hand men, 
 * who were constantly stripping the unwary and artless 
 " American, of the small sums he had acquired, not by gam- 
 * ; ing, but by labor and good behaviour. I was an enemy 
 ' to all this ; but I was a friend to the freedom of judgment, 
 and the freedom of action, provided it did not injure the 
 * whole. If after what has been experienced, our country- 
 " men will gamble with certain Frenchmen, above the rank 
 " of common seamen, let them do it, and sndure the conse- 
 
 ** quences. It is wrong to attempt to abridge the liberty of 
 * amusement, if that amusement does riot harm, or endanger 
 " the comfort of the whole." The man was acquitted, and 
 escorted to his birth in triumph, 
 
 It is surprising what trifling things will influence a crowd ! 
 A few minutes previous to this man's bold harrangue, every 
 one, almost, was against him ; but as soon as he tickled 
 their ears with a flourishing speech, where much more ability 
 was shewn than was expected, instantly they clap their 
 hands, admire his talents, applaud his sentiment^, aud think 
 
JOUB.NAL. 
 
 -I 
 
 wheels of fortune with a serious and anxious ardor, totally 
 void of pleasantry, that seemed to me to border upon insan- 
 ity. 
 
 After the gaming tables were demolished, seme of our com- 
 panions amused themselves by running, and tumbling, and 
 scampering about the ship, disturbing those who were dis- 
 posed to read, write and study navigation. Not content 
 with this, they hollowed, ridiculed and insulted people pas- 
 sing in vessels and boats up and down the river. The com- 
 mander had no small difficulty io putting a stop to this dis- 
 graceful river-slang. 
 
 On receiving a month's pay from Mr. Beasly, our agent, 
 so called, every prisoner contributed three pence towards a 
 fund for purchasing beer. They formed themselves into 
 classes, like our collegians, and these appointed persons to 
 sell it to those who wished for it ; and each member of the 
 class shared his proportion of the profits. This answered a 
 very good purpose ; it checked the monopolizers and muck- 
 worms that infested our ship, and fattened on our wasteful- 
 ness. It also benefitted those who did not choose to drink 
 beer, or porter, as they call it in England. 
 
 Some disagreeable and very mortifying occurrences took 
 place among us in the course of this spring. Four of our 
 men agreed together to go on to the quarter-dek and offer 
 themselves to the commander, to enter into the service of 
 the British. Their intention was discovered before they 
 had an opportunity of putting it in execution. Two of them 
 were caught, and two escaped. These two were arraigned 
 and sentenced to be marked with the letter T, with Indian 
 ink, pricked into their foreheads, being the initial of the word 
 Traitor ; after which, one went aft and entered; the other 
 judged better, and remained with his countrymen. Had 
 these been Englishmen we should have applauded them ; 
 and had they been Irishmen, we had no right to blame them; 
 but we had the mortification to know that they were, by 
 birth, Americans. Some thought the punishment was too 
 severe, and which we had no right to inflict ; others thought 
 that the letter in their foreheads should have been P, for 
 FEDERALIST ; for this was the name they ever afterwards 
 were known by. 
 
 The Frenchmen were now (in the month of May) leaving 
 the reach. Many of them had been in prison ever since 
 1803, These men. are going home to live under a govera- 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 n 
 
 merit forced upon them by foreigners ! How unlike Amer 
 icans, who had rather perish under tortures, than submit to 
 the yoke of a foreigner. Our Frenchmen always spoke in 
 raptures of the emperor NAPOLEON, and with contempt of 
 Louis. When we spoke in praise of Bonaparte, they would 
 throw their arms around us, and cry out, one bon Ameri- 
 can ! But these men are all passion and no principle ; they 
 are fit for any thing but liberty. I cannot judge of the 
 whole nation ; but those I have seen here, are an abandon- 
 ed set of men. I dare not write down their incredible vices. 
 There has been a great cry of French influence by the Brit- 
 ish party in New England. I never thought it ever exist- 
 ed, and I am very certain that it never will exist, unless 
 they, and we should become a very altered people. It is a 
 happy circumstance that the wide atlantic rolls between us 
 and France, and between us and England. 
 
 Louis 18th, passed through Chatham this month, for 
 France. The tops of the carriages, only, were to be seen 
 by the prisoners. On this occasion, the cannon were firing 
 from London to Sheerness. Our Frenchmen looked black- 
 er than ever. They were, be sure, obliged to stick the 
 white cokade on their hats, but they told us they had Bo- 
 naparte's cockade in their hearts. They checked the ex- 
 pression of their feelings lest it should retard their liberation. 
 
 On the news of taking of Paris, and of the flight of Bona- 
 parte to Elba, all our prison-keepers were alive for joy. 
 " Thank God that I am an Englishman" says our comman- 
 der, lieut. O. and " thank God I am a Briton" says our 
 surgeon, who is a Scotchman. John Bull is now on the 
 very top of the steeple, hourrowing and swinging his hat, and 
 crying out to the whole universe, " I'm thinking Johnny 
 " Bull, the magnanimous John Bull, the soul of the conti- 
 " nental war, the protector of France, the restorer of his ho- 
 " liness the Pope, and of Ferdinand the Great, the terror and 
 " admiration of the whole world. I have nothing now left 
 " me to do, but to flog the yankees, and depose MADISON ; 
 " and burn the eity of Washington, disperse the Congress, 
 " establish in their place the Hartford Convention, and raise 
 " Caleb Strong to the high rank his devotion merits. After 
 
 * 4 this, I will divide the world between me and . Pre- 
 
 "vost, who is, beyond doubt, at this very moment, at the 
 " city of Hartford, in Connecticut; or at the city of Norffe 
 " Hampton, the capital of my province of Massaehuse ; 
 
JOURNAL. 99 
 
 John Bull* is, be sure, an hearty old fellow, \vith some 
 very good points in his odd character ; but, dwelling on an 
 island, he oft times betrays an ignorance of the world, and 
 of himself, so that we cannot help laughing at him, once in 
 a while, for his conceitedness. His ignorance of America, 
 and Americans, is a source of ridicule among us all. An 
 English lady said to one of the officers, who had the care of 
 American prisoners in England, " I hear, Sir, that the 
 " Americans are very ingenious in the manufactory of many 
 " little articles, and should like to have some of them." 
 The officer replied that she might herself give directions to 
 some of the Americans, whom he would direct to speak with 
 her. " 0," said she, " how can that be, I cannot speak their 
 " language /" The individuals of the navy of England, 
 have pretty correct ideas of us ; but the soldiery of Eng- 
 land have betrayed their ignorance in a manner that is 
 astonishing, and some times truly laughable, even among 
 their officers, who have taken prisoners. To this ignorance 
 of free and happy America, and to the very generally dif- 
 fused blessings of a respectable education, which we all en- 
 joy, is to be attributed the base treatment we have experi- 
 enced in some periods of our painful captivity. Who could 
 have entertained any respect, or good opinion of a set of 
 miserable looking, half naked dirty men, such as we all were 
 when we arrived in the different ships from America ? Our 
 own parents, our brothers and sisters, would not have recog- 
 nized us as their relatives. The soldiers taken under Boest- 
 ler, were the verriest looking vagabonds I ever saw. They 
 resembled more the idea I have formed of the lowest ten- 
 ants of St. Giles', than American citizens, born and bred 
 up in a sort of Indian freedom, and living all their lives in 
 plenty, and never knowing, until they came jnto the hands 
 of the English, what it was to be pinched for food, or to be 
 infested by vermin. This short, severe, and for America, 
 most glorious war, has given all ranks of the British nation 
 more correct ideas of that people, who have vanquished 
 them in every contest, the ill-omened frigate Chesapeake 
 alone excepted. During this short war, the British have 
 learnt this important truth, that the Americans are a brave 
 
 *Our youngest readers need not be told, that by John Bull, we 
 ,nean the English nation personified. See Dean 'Swift's admirable 
 history of John Butt } his u*ife t auid his mother, aud his mangy sister 
 
100 JOURNAL. 
 
 and skilful people, who, though they appear to differ amocg 
 themselves, are all united against any attack from the Eng- 
 lish; and on our side,we have learnt, that to carry on a war, 
 tts we have done, is pretty expensive. 
 
 The surgeon of this ship, who is a clever Scotchman, 
 speaks of the English nation as in a state of starvation in 
 the midst of her great power, and abounding wealth, and 
 matchless glory ; for the late capture of Paris, by the Eng- 
 lish, with a trifling assistance of the allies, has absolutely 
 intoxicated the whole nation, so that every man of them 
 talks as if he were drunk. He told me, " that although the* 
 " ship carpenters, at Chatham, received two guineas a week, 
 (which, by the way, is not so much as our carpenters re- 
 ceive in America) they were always poor, and could lay 
 " up nothing against the accidents of sickness ; but that 
 " when such misfortunes came upon them, they, in common 
 " with the manufacturers of England, with their families, 
 " went upon the parish, or into some hospitals. He said, 
 " such laboring people laid out too much in flesh meat, and 
 " in porter; which was not the custom in Scotland; and 
 " that there it was considered an indelible disgrace to a 
 family to be maintained by the parish; but that it was so 
 *' common in England, that no disgrace was attached to it. 
 " We, in Scotland, said he, would work our hands off, be- 
 " fore any of our family should ask the parish for assistance 
 to live. 1 ' It appears from authentic documents, published 
 in London, that, young and old, there are little short of two 
 millions of paupers in England, including common beggars, 
 and persons in alms-houses ; that is, upon an average, about 
 one pauper, or beggar, to every four who are not paupers or 
 
 In the parish of St. Sepukhcr, which is in the heart of the 
 city of London, there were last January, (1816,) 
 
 Paupers in the work-house, -------- 227 
 
 Children at nurse, --- - - 25 
 
 Insane poor, ------ ^ -,---- 
 
 Keliev'cd out of the house, 
 
 Relieved in the country, ------,-- 
 
 361 
 
 Now the number of persons rvlio pay poor rates in thit 
 parish, was at the same time, 612. The annual amount of 
 the expenses about J6,600. This is from an official account 
 
JOURNAL. 101 
 
 given by Mr. Miller and Win. Scaife. Such is the picture 
 of the prosperity of the opulent city of London, when at 
 peace with all the world ; after they had put down Bona- 
 parte, and set up the Pope, and Ferdinand the 7th, and re- 
 stored Louis 18th to the throne of the Bourbons, and reviv- 
 ed the holy inquisition, with all its fervours ! Read this, 
 Americans, and bless God that your lots (lines) have fallen 
 in pleasant places. 
 
 A century ago, a Scotch writer, Fletcher, of Saltoun, 
 gives this account of the beggarly state of Scotland. 
 " There are, says he, at this day in Scotland (besides a 
 great many poor families meanly provided for by the church 
 boxes, with others, who, by living upon bad food, fall into 
 various diseases) two hundred thousand people begging from 
 door to door. These are not only no way advantageous, 
 but a very grievous burden to so poor a country ; and 
 though the number of them be perhaps double to what it 
 was formerly, by reason of this present great distress, yet in 
 all times there have been about one hundred thousand of 
 those vagabonds (gipsies) who have lived without any re- 
 gard or subjection either to the laws of the land, or even 
 those of God and nature. 
 
 " No magistrate could ever discover, or be informed, which 
 way one in a hundred of these wretches died, or that they 
 \vn f e ever baptized. Many murders have been discovered 
 among them ; and they are not only a most unspeakable 
 oppression to poor tenants (who, if they give not bread, or 
 some kind of provisions to perhaps forty such villains in one 
 day, are sure to be insulted by them ;) but they rob many 
 poor people who live in houses distant from any neighbor- 
 hood. In years of plenty, many thousands of them meet 
 together in the mountains, where they feast and riot for 
 many days; and at country weddings, markets, burials, and 
 other the like public occasions, they are to be seen, both 
 man and woman, perpetually drunk, cursing, blaspheming, 
 and fighting together." 
 
 Among the evils imported from Britain, America has 
 never been cursed with that part of their population called 
 GIPSIES, forming in England an imperiwn in impcrio. The 
 famous " orders in council? can be clearly traced up to a 
 Gipsy origin. The Londoners imitate and follow, but ori- 
 ginate nothing. One of the monarchs of Scotland acknowl- 
 9 
 
ids 
 
 JOURNAL. 
 
 edged the Gipsies as a separate and independent race. The 
 word is a corruption of Egyptians. 
 
 The Surgeon also talked much about the poor laws ; and 
 the taxes to support the vast number of the poor in Eng- 
 land. I told him that in Massachusetts, which contained 
 about half a million of people, we had not more than a thou- 
 sand persons maintained at the public charge ; and that this 
 thousand included foreigners English, Scotch, Irish, Ger- 
 mans, Danes, Swedes, and not a few negroes. He seemed 
 surprized at this account ; but after a little pause, he said, 
 " it was just like Scotland, where they had very few poor ; 
 and of those, very few were so degraded in mind, as to go 
 into an alms-house, like an Englishman. 
 
 The Doctor observed, " that the English were full of mo- 
 *' ney ; that they gave large and long credit, and that tai- 
 " lors, shoe-makers and hatters, gave a generous credit, and 
 could afford so to do." He said, " that the ' capitalists* 
 ruled and turned the wheels of the government at their 
 " will and pleasure ; they have great influence in the nation, 
 but they have no ancestors, nor any thing to boast of but 
 their money, which gives them all their consequence ; for 
 it is true if they shut their purses, the whole machinery of 
 " the government must stop." I could have told this dis- 
 contented Caledonian a different story. I could have told 
 him that all our capitalists, merchants and monied men, es- 
 pecially in New England, had shut their purses against our 
 administration, and yet, in spite of these detestable sons of 
 mammon, our governmental machine went steadily on, while 
 we vanquished our enemy by land and by sea ; but I did not 
 wish to mortify a civil, friendly man. " In England," contin- 
 ued he, " the "merchant governs the cabinet; and the cabi- 
 " net governs the parliament ; and the sovereign governs 
 " both ; but," said he, " the capitalists, (by Which he meant 
 the mercantile interest) govern the whole." I did not 
 choose to controvert his opinions ; but, " thinks-l-to-my- 
 self," ah ! Sawney, thou art mistaken ; America, democrat- 
 ic America, has proved that the most democratical govern- 
 ment upon the terraqueous globe, has gone steadily on to 
 oreatness, to victory and to glory, with the capitalists or 
 mercantile interest, in direct opposition to its wondrous mea- 
 sures ! . 
 
 I believe that our surgeon was a good man, and 
 qualified "in his profession: but no politician, and pretty 
 
JOURNAL. 103 
 
 strongly attached to his tribe; who, from his account, never 
 spent much money in buying meat and strong beer. He 
 talked much of the machine and wheels of government ; 
 from all which I concluded, that the court of St. James's 
 was the hub, or nave, where all the spokes of the great wheel 
 of tbe machine terminated ; and that the laboring people, 
 manufacturers, and merchants were doomed, all their days, 
 to grease this wheel. It is remarkable that David, the roy- 
 al Psalmist, among the severest of the curses bestowed on 
 his enemies, expressly says, " Lord, make them like unto a 
 wheel." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE month of April, which is just past, is like our April 
 in New England, raw, cold, or as the English call it, sour. 
 But their month of May, which is now arrived, is pleasanter 
 by far, than our*. By all that I can observe, 1 conclude 
 that the vernal season of this part of the Island of Britain, 
 is full fifteen days, if not twenty, earlier than that of Bos*- 
 ion. I conjecture that this spot corresponds with Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 The Medway, though a small river in the eyes of an in- 
 habitant of the new world, is a very pleasant one. The 
 moveable picture on its surface, of ships, tenders, and barges, 
 ris very pleasing, while its banks 'are rich and beautiful. 
 T)h, what a contrast to horrid Nova Scotia, with her barren 
 ' hills, and everlasting bleak mountains ! The picture from 
 the banks of the river to the top of the landscape, is truly 
 delightful, and beyond any thing I ever saw in my own 
 country ; and this is owing to the hedges, which are novel- 
 ties in the eyes of an American. In our country, the fields, 
 meadows and pastures are divided by stone walls, or the 
 rough post-and-rail fence ; but here their fields, pastures and 
 enclosures, which are very small, compared with ours, are 
 made by hedges, or living growing vegetables, of a deep 
 *and most beautiful green. It gives a richness to the Eng- 
 lish landscape, beyond all expression fine. How happeoB 
 it, I wonder, that hedges have never been introduced into 
 New England, who has copied so closely every thiujg b<- 
 
104 JOURNAL, 
 
 longing to Old England ? Should I ever be permitted to 
 leave this Babylonish captivity, and be allowed once more 
 to see our own Canaan, the enclosures of hedge shall not be 
 forgotten. 
 
 Nearly opposite our doleful prison stands the village of 
 Gillinfrham, adorned with a handsome church ; on the side 
 next Chatham, stands the castle, defended by more than an 
 hundred cannon. These fortifications were erected soon 
 after the Dutch republicans sailed up to Chatham, and sing- 
 ed John Bull's beard ; since which it is said, he changes 
 countenance at the name of a republic, or republican. We 
 are told in the history of GiHingham, that here, the famous 
 Earl Goodwin murdered six hundred Norman gentlemen, 
 belonging to the retinue of Prince Alfred. But some such 
 shocking story is told of almost every town in England that 
 has an old castle, an old tower, or an old cathedral. This 
 village once belonged to an Archbishop of Canterbury, ves- 
 tiges of whose palace are yet to be seen. This place is also 
 noted for making what is absurdly called copperas, which is 
 the chrystalized salt of iron, or what is called in the new 
 chemical nomenclature sulphate of iron ; or in common par- 
 lance, green vitriol ; which is manufactured, and found na- 
 tive in our own country, in immeasurable quantity. 
 
 Near this village of Gillingham, is a neat house, with a 
 good garden, and surrounded by trees, which was bequeath- 
 ed by a lady to the oldest boatswain in the Royal Navy. 
 The present incumbent is eighty years of age. Within our 
 view is a shepherd attending his flock, with his canine lieu- 
 tenants, who drive them into their pen in the evening, jusfy 
 zis our shepherds do us on board the Crown Prince. In ^T 
 clear day the masts of the ships eaa be seen passing up and ' 
 down the Thames. This brings to our minds our own gal- 
 lant ships, whose decks we long, once more, to tread. 
 
 The Britons pursue a malignant policy, in confining us 
 in a loathsome prison. The Britons know, probably, that 
 a long and lingering imprisonment weakens the body, and 
 diminishes the energy of the mind ; that it disposes to vice* 
 to a looseness of thought, and a destruction of those moral 
 principles inculcated by a careful and early education. 
 Such a sink of vice I never saw, nor ever dreamt of, as I 
 have seen here. Never was a juster saying thaa this ; 
 u Evil communications corrupt good manners" One vicious 
 follow may corrupt an hundred, even if he speak anolhe? 
 
JOURNAL. 103 
 
 language. I fiave been thoroughly convinced of the wis- 
 dom of solitary imprisonment. By what I have seen and 
 heard in this ship, where there are generally from seven to 
 nine hundred men, I am convinced that such collections are 
 so many hot-beds of vice and villany. It is a college of 
 Satan, where degrees of wickedness are conferred e merito. 
 Here we have irishmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, 
 in roguery, together with Bachelors, Masters of Arts, and 
 Doctors. 
 
 Is it not a shame and a disgrace to a Christian nation* 
 that, because a man has had t*he virtue to step forward in 
 the cause of his country, in the cause of " free trade and 
 sailors' rights," or from that glow of chivalry that fills a 
 youthful bosom, or the sound of the warlike drum and trum- 
 pet, and the sight of the waving flag of his insulted country; 
 is it not a shame that such a young man of pure morals and 
 careful education, should be plunged into such an horrid 
 prison as this ? amid vice, and roguery, and every thing 
 else, debasing to the character of so moral a people as the 
 Americans really are ? 
 
 The prisoners and the commander had lived in pretty 
 good harmony, until very lately. Some of our men had ab~ 
 solutely cut a hole through the ship, near her stern, and cut 
 the copper all round the hole, excepting at the under side, 
 which enabled them to bend down the copper at their pleas- 
 ure, and open a passage into the water, and to re-close it in 
 such a manner as to escape detection. It was effected 'with 
 a great deal of art and good management, with tools which 
 \ve had procured, and cunningly concealed. 
 
 The first dark night after this newly contrived stern-port 
 was finished, sixteen of the prisoners passed through it into 
 the water, and swam safely on shore, notwithstanding a sen- 
 tinel was stationed directly above the hole. They took 
 care, however, to allure him as far forward as they could, 
 ly singing droll songs, and handing about some grog, which 
 had been provided for that purpose. Sixteen was thought 
 to be as great a number as could be prudently ventured to 
 escape at once. One night the copper, which operated 
 like a door upon its hinge, was considerably ruptured, and 
 the prisoners gave over the attempt, and retired to their 
 hammocks again. ' 
 
 The next evening the prisoners were to be counted; and 
 it was of the first importance to keep up the entire nuaaber, 
 9* 
 
IVO JOURNAL. 
 
 and prevent the detection of our plot. To this cm! we cut 
 a hole through one deck, big enough for one man to pa.>s 
 from one enclosure of prisoners to the other. There w as al- 
 a number of prisoners left on each deck, who were 
 ' d by the sergeant below ; while the sergeant passed 
 from the lower deck to the next above it, sixteen men slip- 
 ped through the hole, and were counted over again ; and 
 this deception kept the numbers good, and this trick was 
 practised several times with success. The nights were now 
 too light for a second attempt to escape. When they be- 
 euH! sufficiently dork again, we prepared for a second at- 
 tempt. A- : :g lots for the chance, each man was 
 provided with a little bag of clothes, plaistered over with 
 <r"easf\ to keep them water-tight ; they then passed agreea- 
 bly to lots drawn, to the hole near the stern of the ship. 
 Two got well into the water, but one of them was tender 
 and timid. Trepidation and the coldness of the water made 
 .him turn back to regain the hole he crept out of. In com- 
 ing near the staging where the sentinel was posted, he heard 
 the poor fellow breathe, and at length got sight of him; 
 " Ah," says Paddy, " here is a porpoise, arid I'll stick him 
 ** with my bayonet." On which the terrified young man 
 < f xclaimed u don't kill me, I am a prisoner." The senti- 
 iel held out his hand, and helped him on to the staging, 
 and then fired his gun to give the alarm. The guard turn- 
 ed out, and the officers ran down in a fright, not being able 
 lo conceive how the man could have got overboard, sur 
 rounded with a platform, and guarded as this ship was. 
 They ran here and there, and questioned, and threatened, 
 nud rummaged about; at length they discovered the sally 
 part of the enemy. The officers stood in astonishment at, 
 the sight of a hole big enough for a man to creep cut, cut 
 through the thick planking of a ship of the line ! While 
 .they stared and looked pale, many of the prisoners burst out 
 a laughing. None but an American could have thought, 
 -Hid executed such a thing as this. One of the officers said 
 he did not believe that the Devil himself would ever be able 
 lo keep these fellows in hell, if they determined on get- 
 ting out. 
 
 The poor fellow who had crept out.,, and crept back again, 
 vas so chilled, or petrified with fear, that he could give the 
 officers no account of the matter. In the mean time, mus- 
 kets were fired; ami a general alarm given through the ilc^t 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 1 
 
 of prison ships, fifteen in number. The river was soon cov- 
 ered with boats; but not a man could they find. The next 
 day the man who escaped was found dead on the beach, 
 where he lay two days in the sight of us all. At length a 
 coroner's inquest was held upon him; but nooue was exam- 
 ined by the jury, excepting the crew of the boat, who firs! 
 discovered him. It was said that there were bruises about 
 his head. His ship-mates laid, that he was one of the best 
 swimmers they ever knew. It was strongly suspected that 
 he was discovered swimming, and that some of the marines 
 knocked him on the head, in revenge for turning them out 
 of their hammocks in the night. His clothing, his money, 
 and his watch, were taken by lieutenant ftstnori, the 
 commander of this prison ship. It was disgraceful to the 
 civil authority, to allow the man to lay sucli a long space of 
 time, unexamined, and unburied, on the shores of a Christian 
 people. 
 
 When the prisoners were called to answer to their names, 
 those absent were called over several times ; when some of 
 the prisoners answered, that " the absentees had been paro- 
 led by the commander, and gone on shore." This saucy an- 
 swer enraged the commander, excited his resentment, and 
 laid the foundation for future difficulties. 
 
 I must needs say, that some of our young men treated Mr. 
 Osmore, the first officer of this prison ship, in a manner not 
 to he excused, or even palliated. If they did not love him, 
 or esteem him, still, as he was the legally constituted com- 
 mander of this depot of prisoners, he was entitled to good 
 manners, which he did not always receive, as the following 
 anecdote will show. Not long after the escape of the six- 
 teen men, our commander and his family were getting into 
 the boat to go on shore, on a Sunday, when a boy looked 
 out of a port near to him, and cried out l>aa f baa ! This, 
 Mr. Osmore took as an iusult, and ordered the port to be 
 shut down ; but the messes that were accommodated by 
 the light from it, forced it up again. Now the origin of 
 this ludicrous and sheep-like interjection was this : a story 
 was in circulation, that lieutenant O. had taken slyly some 
 sheep from the neighboring marshes, without leave or li- 
 cense, -and converted them to his own use ; and that the 
 owner being about to prosecute him, the affair was made up, 
 by the interposition of friends, on compensation being made, 
 Now it is probable that there was not a v>crd of truth in 
 
this story; but that was the report. The commander, 
 therefore, on finding his orders resisted by the prisoners, 
 directed some marines to shut the port, and confine it down 
 with spikes ; and ordered the sentinel to fire into the pgrt if 
 they forced it open again. Upon this, some of the prisoners 
 tore up a large oaken bench, with which they forced open 
 the port ; and kept the. bench out, so as to keep up that 
 valve, or heavy shutter, sustained on hinges, which when 
 down, closes the port hole, at the same time the sheepish 
 note of baa ! baa! baa ! was uttered from every part of the 
 ship ; sounding like an immense flock of sheep, that might 
 have been heard full a mile. Although none of us could 
 help joining in the loud laugh, for laughter is contagious, the 
 most prudent of our countrymen condemned the conduct as 
 highly improper. It was said, if one man is determined 
 to insult another, let him do it, and abide the consequences; 
 but never insult a man in the presence of his family. If we 
 Americans are in the habit of ridiculing ribbands, and gar- 
 ters and keys, and crowns and sceptres, and mitres, and 
 high sounding titles, let us never attempt to diniiiiisji the 
 dignity of patriarchal rank. 
 
 The riot did not end here; for when the commander 
 found that he could not keep the port entirely shut, he or- 
 dered the marines to drive the prisoners off the forecastle 
 down into the pound, which occasioned the boj-s to sing out 
 as before ; and even to be more insulting. This he was 
 determined to bear no longer ; and he therefore drove them 
 all below, allowing only the cooks to remain in the galiey, 
 and the caterers to go upon deck, to get water from the 
 tanks *The market boats were forbidden to come near us ; 
 and in this state of embargo we remained during two days, 
 all the time confined merely to the government allowance 
 of food. At length, the committee requested the command- 
 er to transmit some letters for them to the American agent 
 for prisoners, and to the British commodore. This he could 
 not well refuse. These two officers accordingly came down 
 to us. They requested the president o the committee to 
 state to them the cause and course of the dispute. Mr. Os- 
 more stated his complaint, and the president of our committee 
 replied, and stated ours; and among other things, observed that 
 the word " bst-:t? had 110 more meaning than a thousand other 
 senseless cries, uttering constantly from the throats of idle, 
 thoughtless boys ; and begged Mr. Osiaore to explain how 
 
JOURNAL. 109 
 
 such an unmeaning sound could be construed into an insult 
 to him ; that if he and his officers should cry baa! baa! 
 baa! all day, none of the Americans would think themselves 
 injured or affronted. As to forcibly keeping the port open, 
 * the president observed, that however offende4 he might be, 
 with a saucy boy, the men did not deserve to be deprived 
 of the light of heaven, and to be confined below, and reduced 
 to a smaller allowance of food. The result was, the hatches 
 were ordered to be taken off; and we were all restored to 
 our former situation. Capt. If utchinson acquired an addi- 
 tional stock of popularity with the prisoners for this decision 
 in our favor. The prisoners are discriminating, and not un- 
 grateful. The sailing-master, who is a Scotchman, has al- 
 ways treated us with great tenderness and humanity. He 
 has attended to our little conveniences; and forwarded our 
 letters. Mr. Barnes never descends to little contemptible 
 extortions ; nor is he on the continual watch, lest his digni- 
 ty should suffer by a look, a tone, or a playful interjection. 
 When Osmore is absent, and Barnes gives orders, they are 
 instantly and cheerfully obeyed. If there is any disorder, 
 this worthy Scotchman can, by a word, restore harmony, of 
 which we might give many instances. In reprimanding a 
 boy, the other day, for ill behavior, he said to him, ^ 1 expect 
 " better things of you as an American ; I consider you all 
 i; in a ditferent light from that of a d d set of French mon- 
 " kies." 
 
 Mr. Galbreath is, likewise, a Scotchman ; and he, too, is 
 a very worthy man. These two worthy Caledonians ope- 
 rate together in alleviating our hard lot; and they do ay 
 much to please us, as the jealous and revengeful disposition 
 of some body else will admit of. We are all pretty healthy, 
 and the hospital arrangements on board are broken up. 
 Some few remain on board the hospital ship. 
 
 Tenders are daily passing down the river, filled with sea- 
 men and marines, bound to America. As they pass by us, 
 they play " Yankee Doodle? and cry out to us, that they 
 are bound to America, to flog the Yankees. We hollow to 
 them, in return, and tell them what they will meet there, 
 and predict to them their fate. Some of these fellows have 
 been seven years at sea ; and would desert to our colon* the 
 first opportunity. These white slaves expected to enjoy a 
 little something like freedom, at the conclusion of the peace ; 
 but instead of setting their feet ou shore, they are wow 
 
' 
 
 110 JOURNAL. 
 
 off to leave their bones in America, without a moment's pre- 
 vious notice of their destination. 
 
 June 30/, 1814. Early in this month three men con- 
 cealed themselves in the water-tank, through the conni- 
 vance of the corporal of the guard ; and so escaped from pri- 
 son. More would have gone off by the same conveyance, 
 had not one of the fugitives written an ironical letter to the 
 commander, thanking him for his tenderness, humanity and 
 extreme kindness, and foolishly acquainting him with the 
 method he took to effect his escape ; and this led to his re- 
 capture. Another fellow had the address to conceal him- 
 self in an old worn out copper that was sent to the dock to 
 be exchanged for a new one. This man got safe out of the 
 copper, but he found himself as bad off in the dock as in the 
 prison ship. After rovmg and rambling about the dock, he 
 was taken up by the guard, and rather than be sent on board 
 a man of war, he confessed he had broken out of the prison 
 ship; and he was immediately brought back to his former 
 companions. 
 
 A rage exists for cutting holes through the wood work and 
 copper of the ship ; but no one has succeeded in escaping 
 through them ; neither have the enemy succeeded in their 
 search after our tools. The holes were always discovered 
 as the men were ready to enter the breach, which led us to 
 suspect that we have secret informers among our crew, per- 
 haps some Irish, Dane, or Dutchman. 
 
 A most daring attempt to escape was made on board the 
 commodore's ship, the Irresistible, by four American prison- 
 ers. It is worth relating for its boldness ; for it was in the 
 open day, when all eyes were upon them. The jolly-boat 
 lay near the stairs, with her oars in, under the care of a sen- 
 try. Notwithstanding she was thus guarded, four brave 
 Americans resolved to seize her in spite of musketry, and 
 row on shore, and run for it. One of them was from Rhode 
 Island, being an Indian of the Narraganset tribe ; he was 
 a man of large stature and remarkable strength ; and it was 
 agreed that he should lead the way, in the bold cnterprize. 
 This stout man, whose name I wish I could remember, saw, 
 as he thought, a favorable moment, and went down the side 
 of the ship, followed by three others ; he seized the sentry, 
 and, in a moment, disarmed him, and threw him into the jol- 
 ly-boat, which was below the staging, where the sentinel 
 was placed. He immediately jumped in after him, the other 
 
JOURNAL. 1 1 1 
 
 three closely followed him, when they instantly pushed off, 
 snatched up the oars, and rowed direct for the shore, with 
 the agility of so many Nantucket- whalemen. The rapidity 
 and complete effect with which all this was done, was as- 
 tonishing to the British ! They were, however, soon fired 
 upon by all the sentries, v ho had any chance of reaching 
 th-.-m, from all the shi;,s as aey passed. They got out their 
 numerous boats with all s^.-eed ; and placed in the bow of each 
 as many marines ;*s cou! i well stand; and these kept up a 
 continued fire of musketry upon the four fugitives in the jolly- 
 boat, ballcsted with a British prisoner. Notwithstanding 
 close and heavy firing, they wounded but one of the four; 
 so that three of them wore able to run for it when the boat 
 reached the shore. As soon as they sat foot on shore, they 
 made directly for the fields. The marines soon followed, 
 firing every few moments upon them, but without hitting 
 them. Our men so completely distanced them, that we all 
 thought they would make their escape from his majesty's 
 marines , and they would have effected it, had not the coun- 
 try people poured out of the farm-houses, and the brick-yards. 
 In a few minutes the fields appeared covered with people. 
 They outran the marines, and pursued our brave adventur- 
 ers so closely from all points, that they exhausted them of 
 breath, and fairly run them down, all except the nervous 
 Indian, and he did honor to the Narraganset tribe, and his 
 brave ancestors, so renowned in New England history. We 
 saw him from the Crown Prince prison ship, skipping over 
 the ground like a buck, and defying his pursuers ; but unfor- 
 tunately for this son of the forest, he sprained his ancle in 
 leaping a fence, which compelled him to surrender; otherwise 
 he might have ran on to London, in fair chace, before they 
 could have come up with him. 
 
 While sitting on the ground, and unable to walk, by reason 
 of his dislocated bone, the country people approached him 
 with caution. They did not think it quite safe to come close 
 up to a man of his extraordinary stature, and commanding 
 aspect. He was, however soon surrounded by a large num- 
 ber of marines, who had the great honor of recapturing a lame 
 Indian, and Conducting him back again to his Britannic maj- 
 esty's fleet of three deckers, at anchor off his royal dock of 
 Chatham! 
 
 We mr-'le several attempts to gain our liberty while lying 
 in the river Medway ; but none of our daring fcats equaiied 
 
'112 JOURNAL. 
 
 this of the Indian. We gave him the name of Baron Trend , 
 and pronounced him his superior ; for he had to pass the fire 
 of several ships ; and the jolly-boat appeared to be surround- 
 ed 'in a shower of shot, and yet only onf^ian was wounded 
 in the leg. When the Indian had made the fields, and was 
 ascending the rising ground, all the prisoners in our ship 
 gave him three cheers. We cheered him as he came along 
 back in the boat with his comrades, and drank their healths 
 in the first liquor we obtained. It is for deeds of bravery, 
 and indications of a commanding mind, and superior strength, 
 and agility of body, that our aboriginals in North America, 
 appoint their kings ; and certainly there is more sense and 
 reason in it, than making the son a king because his father 
 was king. This Indian was, by nature, a commander. 
 
 Something of the same cool and daring character was con- 
 spicuous in the master and crew of a very small New Eng- 
 land schooner, in September 1759, when General Wolfe 
 was investing Quebec by sea and land, and when the army 
 and fleet under admiral Holmes, were cannonading and bom- 
 barding the city and numerous batteries of the French. 
 
 Amidst the grand movements of the army and navy, a 
 schooner of the most diminutive size, which the navigator 
 after called " tJie Terror of France? weighed her little anchor, 
 and, to the astonishment of every one, was seen sailing past 
 the batteries, up to the city. The French fired a great 
 number of shot at her ; nevertheless Jonathan steered stead- 
 ily on, and got safe up. with her colors flying ; and coming 
 to anchor in the upper river, she triumphantly saluted admi- 
 ral Holmes with a discharge from all her swivels. She met 
 with no accident, except one man being slightly wounded 
 on board. During this, says captain Knox, our batteries fired 
 briskly on the town, to favor her as she passed. While the 
 of/leers and gunners were enraged at what they deemed a 
 contempt of their formidable batteries, other officers apolo- 
 gized afterwards for firing at this diminutive vessel, which 
 was not much bigger than a man of war's launch, observing, 
 that they imagined her passing to be the result of a frolic- 
 some wager. They little thought that she was a New Eng- 
 land trader, or rather huxter, ladened with noticns, such as 
 apples, dried and green, apple-sauce, onions, cheese, molass- 
 es, New England rum, and gingerbread, and a number of lit- 
 tle ditto's, suitable, as the skipper thought, for the Quebec 
 ftiarket, after it should have changed masters. 
 
J OURNAL. 
 
 When the Captain of this famous little schr o icr went on 
 board the British admiral, he enquired the name of his ves- 
 sel. He replied, " The Terror of France ;" which was paint- 
 ed on her stern. How are you armed ? We have four swiv- 
 els, three muskets , and one cutlass, beside a broad axe. How 
 
 many men have you ? We have three souls and a boy. 
 
 And where does your vessel belong, Captain, when you are 
 at home ? Updike's Newtown. And where is that, Sir ? 
 Does not Admiral Holmes know where Updike's Ncwtown is ? 
 says Jonathan, with a look of surprize. I do not at this mo- 
 ment recollect, Sir. Why Updike's Ncrvtown is half nay 
 betwixt Pautuxet and Connanicut. The British admiral did 
 not choose to risk his reputation with this fearless water- 
 fowl, by asking him any more geographical questions. 
 
 We have dwelt on this ludicrous anecdote for the sake of 
 one serious remark. Capt. John Knox, of the 43d British 
 regiment, whose Historical Journal, in 2 volumes quarto, is 
 dedicated to General Lord Amherst, never once intimates 
 that this courageous man was from New England, but leaves 
 the reader to infer that he and his " three souls and a boy," 
 were Englishmen. In this way have all the British writers 
 treated us Americans, although we all know in this country, 
 that Louisburg was taken by New-England-men. Through- 
 out the whole war of 1758, and 1759, the English strained 
 their voices to magnify themselves, and debase our character. 
 
 In this anecdote we see the first glimmerings of the New 
 England character, which defies all danger, in the pursuit 
 of gain. Here we see the characteristic marks of the Yan- 
 kee, full twenty years before that term was ever used. The 
 greatest things were once in embryo. These incipient 
 germs will one day grow up to a naval and commercial 
 greatness, that will infallibly push into the back-ground the 
 conquerors of Quebec; arid the spirit, which impelled and 
 directed that diminitive schooner in passing safely hundreds 
 of heavy cannon, and showers of bombs, may one day be- 
 come not only the terror of France, but of England also. 
 Great effects flew from trifling causes. It was a woman's* 
 love of finery that peopled New England. 
 
 It was, to be sure, an extraordinary .sight, mixed with 
 something of the ludicrous, to see three white Americans, 
 and one Indian, with a disarmed British red coat under their 
 
 * Queen Elizabeth. 
 10 
 
$14 JOURNAL. 
 
 ITet, in the jolly-boat, not daring to raise his head, while 
 about thirty boats, with above 250 seamen, and nearly as 
 many marines, were rowing, and puffing and blowing, and 
 firing and loading, and loading and firing at a small boat, 
 containing three American seamen and one Indian, without 
 any weapon or instrument, except the oars they rowed with ! 
 While the British marines were ruffling the water around 
 the flying boat with their bullets, we, on board the prison* 
 ships, sensible of their danger, felt as much interest, and pro- 
 bably more apprehension, than the fugitives themselves. 
 It was an anxious period of hope, fear and animating pride, 
 which sometimes petrified us into silence, and then caused 
 us to rend the air with acclamalions, and clapping of hands. 
 The Indian was, however, the hero of the piece. We saw, 
 and admired his energetic mind, his abhorrence of captivi- 
 ty, and his irresistible love of freedom. This fellow was 
 not, probably, at all below some of the Grecian captains, 
 who went to the siege of Troy; and he only wanted the 
 advantages of education/ and of modern discipline, to have 
 become a distinguished commander. The inspiring love of 
 liberty was all the theme, after the daring exploit of our 
 countrymen ; and it made us uneasy, and stimulated us to 
 contemplate similar acts of hardihoocL We had now be- 
 come pretty nearly tired of cutting holes through the ship e 
 bottom and sides- for it was always directed, and we .were 
 made to pay for repairing the damage out of our provisions. 
 After seeing what/owr men could effect, our thoughts turn- 
 ed more upon a general insurrection, than upon the partial 
 escapes of a few, We perceived, clearly enough, that our 
 keepers dreaded our enterprizing spirit ; and we could dis 
 cover that they knew we despised them, and ridiculed them. 
 Some of our saucy boys, studying arithmetic, with their 
 s'r,tes and pencils in their hands, would say out loud, as it 
 stating a sum, if it look 350 British seamen and marines to 
 catch four yankccs, hwv many British sailors and marines 
 would it take to catch ten thousand of us f" 
 
 We could perceive a general uneasiness throughout our 
 
 ship : even our good friend, Mr. , the worthy Scotch- 
 
 man, said to me, about this time, your countrymen are 
 such a restless, daring set of beings, that it is not safe 1 
 befriend you, and I wish you were all safe and happy m 
 vour own country ; and all of us at peace." A chafi? 
 situation was foretold ; but of what kind, we know not 
 The next chapter will inform us ail about i 
 
PART SECOND. 
 
 CHAPTER I f 
 
 IN consequence of various attempts to escape prison, 
 and of the late daring enterprise at noon-day, the officers 
 of this ignoble fleet of prison ships grew very uneasy. 
 They, doubtless, felt that there was neither honor nor plea- 
 sure, but much danger, in this sort of service* It was often 
 said among them, that they felt perfectly safe when they 
 had several thousand French prisoners under their charge. 
 These lively people passed their time in little ingenious 
 manufactures, and in gaming ; and seemed to wait patient- 
 ly until their day of liberation should come - r but these 
 Americans, said they, are the most restless, contriving set 
 of men we ever saw ; their amusement seems to be con- 
 triving how to escape, and to plague their keepers. They 
 seem to take a pleasure in making us uneasy, and in excit- 
 ing our apprehensions of their escape ; and then they laugh 
 and make themselves merry at our anxiety. One of the 
 officers said, that the American prisoners " had systematized 
 the art of tormenting." There is a sort of mischievous hu- 
 mor among our fellows, that is, at times, rather provoking, 
 to officers habituated to prompt obedience, and to a distance, 
 and deference bordering upon awe, which our countrymen 
 never feel for any man. 
 
 It seems that the British government, or the admiralty 
 department, were fully acquainted with this state of things, 
 and with the difficult task which the miserable officers of 
 this miserable Medway-fleet had to perform. The govern- 
 ment did not seem to wish to exercise a greater degree of 
 rigor over the American prisoners; because they knew* 
 and all Europe knew, that the United States treated their 
 prisoners with distinguished humanity ; and yet they firmly 
 believed, that unless more rigor was exercised, the Amer& 
 
1 1 6 JOURNAL. 
 
 cans would rise upon their keepers before the winter com- 
 menced. 
 
 The rumor is, that we are to be sent to Dartmoor prison. 
 Sc-me of our crew have lately received a letter from a pris- 
 oner in that depot of misery, for such he describes it. He 
 tells us that it is situated in the most dreary and unculti- 
 vated spot in England ; and that to the sterility of the soil 
 are added the black coloring of superstition. 
 
 A Moor, a word not used in America, is used in England 
 to denote a low, marshy piece of ground, or an elevated 
 sterile spot, like our pine-barren's, divested of every thing 
 like a pine tree. It denotes something between a beach 
 and a meadow. It is a solemn-faced-truth in this country 
 of our superstitious ancestors, that every extensive and drea- 
 ry moor, in England, is haunted by troubled ghosts, witches, 
 and walking dead men, visiting, in a sociable way, each 
 other's graves. It is really surprising, to an intelligent 
 American, and incredible, that stout, hearty, and otherwise 
 bold Englishmen, dare not walk alone over the dreary spot, 
 or moor, where the prison now stands, in a dark and cloudy 
 night, without trembling with horror, at a nothing ! The 
 minds of Scotchmen, of all ranks, are more or less becloud- 
 ed with this sort of superstition. They still believe in 
 ghosts, witches, and a second sight ! Free as we are from 
 this superstition, w r e have rather more of it than the French. 
 The English and American theatres still relish Macbeth 
 and Hamlet. Beside the stories of witches flying about in 
 the air, and deed men strolling over the moor, the letter 
 contained an account of the origin of this new famous pris- 
 on. It stated that this Dartmoor belonged to that beauti- 
 ful gambler, the Dutchess of Devonshire ;* who lost it in a 
 game of hazard with the Prince of Wales ; who, to enhance 
 the value of it, (he being, as all the world knows, a very 
 contriving, speculating, economical, close fisted, miserly 
 genius) contrived to have erected there a species of a for- 
 tress, enclosing seven very large buildings, or prisons, for 
 the reception of captured seamen ; from which establish- 
 ment its royal landlord received a very handsome annual 
 rent ; and this princely anecdote is as firmly believed as 
 
 * The letter writer, we swspect, had not studied, carefully, the 
 law? and customs of England, where all landed property belongs to 
 the king ; who allows the eldest maJ-z qf a family to possess it during 
 ki.s good behaviour,. 
 
JOURNAL. If! 
 
 the stories of the witches, and the walking dead men. The 
 only remark we would make upon it here, is, that Dartmoor 
 has a dismal idea associated with it and that was suffi- 
 cient to make our people conceive of it as a place doleful 
 as a coal-pit. 
 
 Not long after the receipt of this letter, one hundred and 
 fifty of our countrymen were sent oft', by water, to this 
 Dartmoor Prison ; but the measles appearing among them, 
 they were stopped at the Nore, which is at the entrance of 
 the Thames. They are every day drafting more, which 
 are destined for the dismal prison house. We are all struck 
 with horror at the idea of our removal from our ships in the 
 river Medway, which runs through a beautiful country? It 
 is " the untried scene," that fills us with dread, " for clouds 
 and darkness rest upon it." Last year we were transported 
 from inhospitable Nova Scotia, over the boisterous Atlan- 
 lantic ; and suffered incredible hardships in a rough winter 
 p issage ; and now we are to be launched again on the same 
 tumultuous ocean, to go four hundred miles coast- wise, to the 
 most dismal spot in England. Who will believe it ? the 
 men who exercised all their art and contrivance, and exert- 
 ed all their muscular powers to cut through the double plank- 
 ings and copper of a ship of the line, in hopes of escaping^ 
 from her, now leave the same ship with regret I I have 
 read of men who had been imprisoned, many years, in the 
 Bastile, who, when liberated, sighed to return to their place 
 of long confinement, and felt unhappy out of it ! I thought 
 it wondrous strange ^ but 1 now cease to be surprised. This 
 prison ship, through long habit, and the dread of a worse 
 place, is actually viewed with feelings of attachment. Of 
 the hundred men who were sent hither last year, from Hal- 
 ifax, there are only about seventy of us remaining on board 
 the Crown Prince. The next draft will lessen our nuni- 
 hers ; and separate some of those who have been long asso- 
 ciates in bondage. It is not merely the bodily inconven- 
 ience of being transported here and there, that we dread, so 
 much as the exposure to insult, and sarcasm of ouf unfeeling 
 enemies. We have been, and still tjread to be again placed 
 in rows, on board of a ship, or in a prison yard, to be stared 
 at by the British vulgar, just as if we were Cluinea negroes, 
 exposed to the examination of some seoimdi-el negro mer- 
 chants, commissioned to re-stock a plantation with black: 
 eattle, capable of thinking, talking, laughing and 
 
118 JOUSNAL, 
 
 Tins is not all. We have been obliged often ta emTure 
 speeches of this sort, most, commonly uttered in the Scotch 
 accent. "My life on't that fellow is a reaegado Englishman, 
 " or Irishman an halter will be, I hope, his portion. D ri 
 ** all such rebel-looking rascals." Whatever our feelings 
 and resentments may be on account of impressment, inhu- 
 man treatment, and plundering our fobs and pockets, and 
 of our clothing, we never speak of the British king and gov- 
 ernment in terms of gross indecency ; whereas, we Ameri- 
 can prisoners of war, are often assailed with the bitterest 
 sarcasms, and curses of the President of the UNITED STATES, 
 the CONGRESS, and some of our military commanders, 
 
 The British have been long in the habit of treating the 
 .Americans contemptuously. It began as long ago as 1757, 
 LordLoudoun, General Abercromby* Admiral Holhorne, 
 Admiral Boscawen, Lord CoMlle, Sir Jcffry Amherst, and 
 Chric ral Wolfe, came over here to cut the* wings and tail of 
 the wild descendants of Englishmen, in order to make of 
 them a kind of sea poy soldiery. It is a curious fact, that 
 some of the Scotch high landers were at that time shot by 
 our Yankee sentinels, because they did not know enough 
 of the English language to give Jonathan the counter-sign ! 
 Bo long ago did mutual contempt begin between the na- 
 tives of Old England and New. 
 
 I have already mentioned that al! my family, as well as 
 myself, were what they called " Federalists? or fault-finders ^ 
 and opposers of Madison 'S administration ; and that I, and 
 all the rest of us, dropt every trait of federalism in the Brit- 
 ish prisons, w r here, to calj,,a man a Federalist^ was resented 
 as the deepest insult I appeal to all my compaBions in 
 -misery, for the accuracy of this opinion, A man who is 
 willing to expose his life to the bails and bayonets of his 
 country's foes, to the enemies of his government, and to 
 the independence and union of his nation, holds his country 
 an& the government of his choice, in higher estimation than 
 }\is life. Such a man cannot hear the United States and 
 their President spoken of in terms of contempt, without 
 feeling the keenest anguish. This I have felt; and have 
 remarked its effects in the countenances of my insulted 
 comrades. Situated as we are, it would be great imprudence 
 to resent what we are often obliged to hear. Captivity, 
 trader British prison-keepers, and British captains of trans- 
 pert- men-of-war, are the proper colleges for teaching th^ 
 
JOURNAL, 11 & 
 
 love of our republican government, and attachment to 
 its administration ; and they are proper places to make 
 the rankest federalist abjure his errors, and cling to the 
 constituted authorities of the country whose Hag he adores, 
 and for whose defence he exposes his life. It is inconceiv- 
 able how closely we are here pressed together in the cause 
 of our dear country ; and in honor of its high officers. Were 
 all the inhabitants of the United States as unanimous in 
 their political sentiments, as we are, in the river Medway, 
 they would all be ready to exclaim, each man to his neigh- 
 bour, 
 
 jRouse, and revive your ancient glory, 
 UJVITE and drive the world before you. 
 
 July Is?, 1813. Our feelings are all alive at this joyous 
 season, for we are now making preparations for celebrating 
 the birth-day of our nation ; and though in captivity, we 
 are determined not to suffer the glorious Fourth of July to 
 pass over without testifying our undivided attachment to 
 our beloved country, and to the cause it is fighting for.- 
 Each mess are making arrangements in, besure, a small and 
 humble, but a hearty way, for the celebration ; and it is 
 a curious spectacle to see the pleasureable anticipations of 
 the prisoners, in a feast of good things, all of which would 
 not amount to so plentiful a repast, as that which the crim- 
 inals in our State Prison, near Boston, enjoy almost every 
 day, the plenty of good porter excepted. Application has 
 been made to Capt. Hutchinson, for aa additional allowance 
 of beer and porter, which request he has granted, with his 
 usual goodness. Every brain is at work to know how to 
 spend what we have been accumulating for the Fourth of 
 July, with the most pleasure, and the most propriety. 
 
 The FOURTH OF JULY, 1813, is past. We petitioned 
 the commander to allow us to hoist the American flag, but 
 he refused to gratify us. Application was then made to 
 the Commodore, who gave permission that we might hoist 
 our national colors, as high as the top of our railings ; and 
 the same permission was granted to all the other prison ships. 
 We had obtained a drum and fife ; and being all assembled 
 on the forecastle, and Buch other parts of the ship as were 
 accessible to us, prisoners, we in the morning struck up the 
 animating tune of Yankee Doodle ; and saluted the Nassia 
 ship with three cheers, which -was returned; the 
 

 120 JOURNAL. 
 
 ships more distant caught the joyful sound, and echoed it 
 back to its source. The fife and drum, the latter ornament- 
 ed with the king's arms, played the whole forenoon, while 
 the jovial prisoners drank, in English porter, SUCCESS TO 
 THE AMERICAN CAUSE ! 
 
 At twelve o'clock, an Oration, hastily prepared, arid rath- 
 er too inflammatory for about a tenth part of our audience, 
 was delivered, by a prisoner of respectable talents ; a man, 
 who, having been impressed into the British service, had 
 been promoted to the rank of boatswain of a frigate ; and 
 liberated from the service in consequence of his declaring 
 it against his honor and conscience to fight against his 
 countrymen, or aid in pulling down the colors of his nation, 
 This man, very deliberately, mounted an elevation, and with 
 great force, and with a characteristical freedom, pronounced 
 an Address, which the prisoners listened to with profound 
 silence, excepting the clapping of hands, and sometimes 
 cheers, at the end of such sentences as warmed and over- 
 powered their silence. At the elose of the whole, the ora- 
 tor was greeted w r ith three times, three cheers, throughout 
 the ship, which reached even to the shores. The oratory 
 of the boatswain seemed to electrify the officers and men set 
 over us. The master and the surgeon appeared really 
 pleased ; even Osmer, our jailor, " grinn'd horribly a ghastly 
 smile." 
 
 After the Oration, we returned below to our prepared din- 
 ners, at which our reverend orator asked a blessing, with 
 more fervor than is commonly observed in our Cossack cler- 
 gymen ; and we fell to, with a zest and hilarity rarely to be 
 found among a large collection of prisoners. If, like the 
 eaptive Jews on the Euphrates, we had hung our harps up- 
 on the willows of the Medway, we took them down on this 
 joyous occasion. We felt the spirit of freedom glow within 
 us ; and we anticipated the day when we should celebrate 
 our anniversary in that dear land of liberty, which we longed 
 to see, and panted after, as the thirsty hart pants after the 
 water brooks. 
 
 The Fourth of July was celebrated in a very becoming 
 manner on board the Nassau prison ship, by similar acts of 
 i-ejoicing. I have obtained a copy of the Oration, delivered 
 by a seaman, on that day. Among the audience, were sev- 
 sral ladies and gentlemen from the neighbourhood* 
 

 JOURNAL. 121 
 
 AN ORATION,* 
 
 Delivered by permission, on board the Nassau prison ship, 
 at Chatham, England, by an American Seaman, prisoner 
 cf war. 
 
 MY FELLOW PRISONERS, AND BELOVED COUNTRYMEN, 
 
 WE are assembled to commemorate that ever memorable Fourth 
 of July, 1776, when our forefathers, inspired with the love of liberty, 
 dared to divest themselves of the shackles of tyranny and oppression : 
 yes, my friends, on that important day these stripes were hoisted on 
 the standard of liberty, as a signal of unity, and of their determination 
 to fight under them, until America was numbered among the nations 
 of the globe, as one of them, a free and independent nation. Yes, 
 my countrymen, she was determined to spare neither blood nor treas- 
 ure, until she had accomplished the grand object of her intentions ; 
 an object, my friends, which she was prompted by Heaven to under- 
 take, and inspired by all that honor, justice, and patriotism could in- 
 fuse ; her armies were then in the field, with a WASHINGTON at their 
 head, whose upright conduct and valorous deeds you have often 
 heard related, and the memory of whom should be held sacred in the 
 breasts of every true-born American. Let his heart beat high at the 
 name of WASHINGTON ! Sacred as the archives of heaven ! for he 
 was a man of truth, honor, and integrity, and a soldier fostered bj 
 the gods, to be the saviour of his country. 
 
 The struggle was long and arduous ; but our rallying word was 
 "' Libertj r or Death !" Torrents of blood were spilt ; towns and vil- 
 lages were burnt, and nothing but havoc, devastation and destruction, 
 was seen from one end of the continent to the other ; find this was 
 not all ; but, to complete the horrid scene, an infernal horde of sav- 
 age murderers was prompted by our enemy to butcher our helpless 
 wives and children ! Then did our fathers' patriotic hearts swell in 
 their bosoms, and they were ten-fold more resolved to break the yoke 
 of the tyrant. 
 
 I recite these things, my countrymen, that you may know how to 
 prize your liberty, that precious gem for which your fathers fought, 
 wading in rivers of blood, until it pleased the Almighty to crown their 
 arms with success ; and, glorious to relate, America was acknowledg- 
 ed free and independent, by all the powers of Europe. Happy pe- 
 riod ! then did our warriors exult in what they had so nobly achiev- 
 ed ; then commerce revived, and the thirteen stripes were hoi.-'-kd 
 upon the tall masts of our ships, and displayed from pole to pole ; 
 e migrants flocked from many parts to taste our freedom, and other 
 blessings heaven had bestowed upon us ; our population increased to 
 un incredible degree ; our commerce nourished, and our country htn 
 been the seat of peace, plenty and happiness, for many years. At 
 
 * This Oration was first printed in England. 
 

 122 JOURNAL. 
 
 length the fatal blast reached our land ! America was obliged to UH- 
 sheath the sword in justification of her violated rights. Our ship? 
 were captured and condemned upon frivolous pretensions ; our sea- 
 men were dragged from their lawful employment ; they were torn 
 from the bosom of their beloved country ; sons from their fathers ; 
 husbands from their wives and children, to serve with reluctance for 
 many years, under the severity of a martial law. The truth of this 
 many of you can attest to r perhaps with inward pining and a bleeding 
 heart ! 
 
 My countrymen I I did not mount this rostrum to inveigh against 
 the British ; only the demagogues, the war faction I exclaim against. 
 We all know, and that full well, that there are many honest, patriot- 
 ic men in this country, who would raise their voices to succour us, 
 and their arms too, could they do it with impunity. The sympathet- 
 ic hearts of the good, feel for the oppressed in all climes. And now, 
 my countrymen, it is more than probable, that the land of your nativ- 
 ity will be involved in war, and deluged in blood, for some time to 
 come ; yes, my friends, that happy country, which is the guardian of 
 every thing you possess, that you esteem, near and dear, has again to 
 struggle for her liberty. The British war faction are rushing upon us 
 witlT their fleets and armies, thinking, perhaps, to crush us in a mo- 
 ment. Strange infatuation! They have forgotten Bunker's Hill ! 
 They have forgotten Saratoga, and Yorktown, when the immortal 
 WASHINGTON, with his victorious army, chased them through the 
 Jerseys, under the muzzles of their ship's cannon for protection ! They 
 have forgotten that the sons of America have as good blood in their 
 veins, and possess as sound limbs and nerves as they ; strange infatu- 
 ation ! I repeat it, if they presume to think that eight millions of free 
 people will be very easily divested of their liberty ; my word for it, 
 they will not give up at the sight of their men-of-war, or their red 
 coats ; no, my friends, they will meet the lads who will play them 
 the tune of yankee doodle, as well as they did at Lexington, or Bun- 
 ker Hill. Besides, my countrymen, there is a plant in that country, 
 (very little of which grows any where else) the infusion of which 
 stimulates the true sons of America to deeds of valor. There is some- - 
 thing so fostering in the very sound of its name, that it holds superi- 
 ority wherever it grows ; it is a sacred plant, my friends, its name is 
 LIBERTY, and may God grant that that plant may continue to grow 
 in the United States of America, and never be rooted out so long as 
 it shall please Him to continue the celestial orb to roll in yon azure 
 expanse. 
 
 Ah J Britons! Britons! had your counsellors been just, and had 
 they listened with attention, and followed the advice of the immortal 
 * William Pitt, Britain and America might have been one until the 
 present hour ; and they, united, in time might have given laws to the 
 inhabitants of this terrestrial ball. 
 
 Many of you, my friends, have voluntarily embraced this loathsome 
 prison rather than betray your country ; for by the laws of your comi - 
 fry, to aid or give any assistance to an enemy, is treason, is jnubha 
 
 * The ctkkrattd Earl of Chatham, 
 
JOURNAL, 123 
 
 t>le with death. I hope, therefore, that your country will reward you 
 abundantly for your toil. And one and all, let us embrace the icy 
 arms of death, rather than cherish the least symptoms of an inclina- 
 tion to betray our country. Some have done it, who have pretended 
 (o be Americans, so far as to shield themselves under the name. 
 Whether they were real Americans or not, it is hard for me to say ; 
 but if they were, they have put their hand to the plough, and not on- 
 ly looked back, but have gone back. I have not the least doubt but 
 they will meet their reward ; that is, they will be spumed at by those 
 Tory people that laid the bait for them. Such characters will forev- 
 er be condemned, and held in detestation by both parties. There- 
 fore all you who feel the tide of true American blood flow through 
 your hearts, I hope never will attempt to flee from the allegiance of 
 your country. It is cowardice, it is felony ; and for all those who 
 have done it, we may pray that the departed spirits of their fathers, 
 who so nobly fought, bled, and fell in the conflict to gain them their 
 liberty, will haunt them in their midnight slumbers, and that they may 
 feel the horrors of conscience and the dread of a gallows ! Also, that 
 they may have no rest, but like the dove that Noah sent out of the 
 ark, be restless until they return to the allegiance of their country. 
 And now, my countrymen, let us join in unison to correct our own 
 moral? ; let us be vigilant over ourselves while in this situation. And 
 although it is not in our power to assist our countrymen in the pre- 
 sent conflict, yet if we are good the power of Heaven will fight for 
 us ; for the good must merit God's peculiar care. The powers oi 
 Heaven fought for us ; 1hey assisted us to gain our liberty, it is evi- 
 dent from the very circumstance, that in our struggle with Great Bri- 
 tain for our liberty, we had no navy, or none of any consequence, yet 
 Great Britain los t more line of battle ships in that war than she did 
 with France, although France is a great naval power. And we should 
 be thankful to God for all the blessings he hath bestowed upon us 
 from time to time, and in particular for the blessings of that unity 
 which we are recently informed prevails among our countrymen in 
 America ; united they stand, nor will the powers of hell be able to 
 overthrow them. And now let us appeal to the God of Sabaoth, that 
 i?, to the God of armies let us appeal to Him who holds the balance, 
 and weighs the events of battles and of realms, and by his decision \ve 
 must abide. And may He grant us health, peace and unity in this 
 our disagreeable situation ; and let us all join in concord to praise the 
 Jluler and Governor of the universe. Amen. Amen, 
 
 Among the songs sung on this occasion, were several com- 
 posed by seafaring people, in our own country. The fol 
 lowing drew tears from the eyes of our generous hearted 
 sailors. It pathetically describes what many of them had 
 experienced, the impressment of an American sailor bey 
 by a British man of war, the tearing up of his legal protec- 
 tion, and of his sinking wider a broken heart. It was writ 
 v Mr. John DC Wolfe, of Rhode Island, 
 
' 
 
 124 JOURNAL. 
 
 The Impressment of an American Sailor Boy. 
 
 A SONG, 
 
 Sung on board the British prison ship Croivn Prince, the Fourth of 
 July, 1813, by a number of the American prisoners. 
 
 The youthful Sailor mounts the bark, 
 
 And bids each weeping friend adieu ; 
 Fair blows the gale, the canvass swells ; 
 
 Slow sinks the uplands from his view. 
 
 Three mornings, from his ocean bed, 
 
 Resplendent beams the God of day ; 
 The fourth, high looming in the mist, 
 
 A war-ship's floating banners play. 
 
 Her yawl is launch'd ; light o'er the deep, 
 
 Too kind, she wafts a ruffian band ; 
 Her blue track lengthens to the bark, 
 
 And soon on deck the miscreants stand. 
 
 Around they throw the baleful glance ; 
 
 Suspense holds mute the anxious crew- 
 Who is their prey ? poor sailor boy ! 
 
 The baleful glance is fix'd on you. 
 
 Nay, why that useless scrip unfold ? 
 
 They damn the u lying yankee scrawl,'" 1 
 Torn from thine hand, it strews the wave, 
 
 They force thee, trembling, to the yawl. 
 
 Sick was thine heart, as from the deck, 
 The hand of friendship wav'd farewell ; 
 
 Mad was thy brain, as, far behind, 
 In the grey mist, thy vessel fell. 
 
 One hope, yet, to thy bosom clung, 
 
 The captain mercy might impart; 
 Vain was that hope, whkh bade thee look, 
 
 For rnercy in a Pirates heart. 
 
 What woes can man on man inflict, 
 
 "\Vhen malice joins with unchecked pow'r ; 
 
 Such woe^ unpitied and unknown, 
 For many a month, the sailor bore ! 
 
 Oft genrd his eye the bursting tear, 
 
 As meru'ry lingered on past joy ; 
 As oft they flung the cruel jeer, 
 
 And damn'd the " chicken liver* d Aoy/' 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 When sick at heart, with " hope deferred," 
 Kind sleep his wasting; form embraced, 
 
 Some ready minion ply'd the lash, 
 
 And the lov'd dream of freedom chas-d. 
 
 Fast to an end his miseries drew ; 
 
 The deadly hectic flush 1 d his cheek ; 
 On his pale brow the cold dew hung, 
 
 He sigh'd, and sunk upon the deck ! 
 
 The sailor's woes drew forth no sigh ; 
 No hand would close the sailor's eye ; 
 Remorseless, his pale corse they gave, 
 Unshrouded, to the friendly wave. 
 
 And, as he sunk beneath the tide, 
 
 A hellish shout arose ; 
 Exultingly the demons cried, 
 
 u So fare ail tAlbiwi's REBEL foes ."' 
 
 The power of music and of song, on such occasions, ha* 
 ''en witnessed in all ages of the world, especially in the 
 \ outhful, or chivalric period of a nation's existence, which 
 is the present time, in the history of the UNITED STATES. 
 We all have felt and witnessed the animating effects of the 
 simple national tune of Yankee Doodle. Our New England 
 hoys cannot stand still when it is played. To that tune 
 our regiments march with an energy that no other music 
 inspires. At its sound, the sentinel on his post slaps his 
 musket, and marches his limits with a smartness, that shows 
 that his brave heart pulsates to the warlike drum. Such a 
 people, thus animated and united, is absolutely invincible, 
 by all the powers of Europe combined. 
 
 Time, situation, and circumstances, will give us national 
 songs. Many ages passed away, before England was ani- 
 mated by a national hymn. The Americans have paro- 
 died tin's hymn, substituting, " GOD save great IV ashing- 
 ton F &c. 
 
 Our orator, considering where he was, and that he had 
 an hundred British hearers, used pretty harsh language. He 
 apostrophised the English thus: " Haughty nation ! with 
 <k one hand thou art deluding and dividing thy victims in 
 " New England, and with the other, thou bea.rest the \vea- 
 " pon o/ vengeance ; and while employing the ruthful sav- 
 " age, with his tomahawk and scalping knife, thou art 
 " boasting of thy humanity, thy magnanimity, and thy rt- 
 

 123 JOURNAL. * 
 
 " ligion ! Bloody villains ! detestable associates ! linked 
 " together by fear, and leagued with savages by necessity, 
 " to murder a Christian yeople, for the y Hedged crime of 
 " fighting over again the battle of independence. Be- 
 " ware, bloody nations of Britons and savage Indians, of 
 " the recoiling vengeance of a brave people. For shame 
 " talk no more of your Christianity, of your bible and mis- 
 " sionary societies, when your only aim is to direct the 
 " scalping knife, and give force to the arm of the savage. 
 <; No longer express the smile of pleasure, on hearing a stu- 
 " pid Governor proclaim you to be ' The Bulwark of our 
 '* Religion? You have filled India with blood and ashes; 
 " you have murdered the Irish for contending for liberty of 
 " conscience ; you continue the scourge of war in Spain ; 
 " you pay Russia, Sweden, Germany, and Holland, the 
 <J price of blood ; and to crown all, decorate your colors, 
 " and your seats of legislation, with scalps, torn from Ameri- 
 " cans, male and female ; and you are sowing discord, ami 
 " diffusing a Jacobinical spirit through a protestant country, 
 " which you cannot conquer by force. Jtaf^" continued the 
 orator, waving his sinewy arm, and ha^Tand heavy hand, 
 " the time is not far distant, when your guilty nation will 
 "be duly appreciated, and justly punished;" and styi>i 
 this, he drove his iron fist into the palm of his left hand, 
 and stamped with his foot on the capstan, where he stood, 
 while his admiring countrymen rewarded the herculean or- 
 ator with three cheers. 
 
 There is no disguising it these Englishmen not only re- 
 spect us, but fear us. They perceive a mighty difference 
 between us, and the cringing, gambling Frenchmen. If 
 they are tolerably well informed, and think at all, they must 
 conclude that we Yankees, are filled with, and keep up that 
 bold and daring spirit of liberty, which made England what 
 she is ; and the loss of which is now perceived by their sur- 
 rendered ships, and beaten armies in America. All these 
 things will hereafter be detailed by some future Gibbon, in 
 the History of the Decline and Fall of the BRITISH E-M- 
 PIRE. 
 
 We closed the day, on this memorable Fourth cf July, 
 pretty much as we began it ; we struck our flag at sun-s< t. 
 and saluted the other ships with three hearty cl< 
 ^Throughout the whole, the prisoners, even to the boys, be- 
 haved with becoming decorum ; and the whole was COL-- 
 
 
JOURNAL. 127 
 
 eluded without any disagreeable accident, or any thing like 
 a quarrel ; and in saying this, we desire to acknowledge the 
 extraordinary good behaviour of 'all the British officers and 
 men on board the Crown Prince. 
 
 Excepting the apprehensions of being sent off to Dart- 
 jnoor prison, of which we entertained horrid ideas, we were 
 tolerably happy. After the measles ceased, we were ail 
 very healthy ; and there exists a good understanding be- 
 tween the prisoners and our commander, Osrflbre ; which 
 they say, is owing to the influence of his amiable wife.- 
 This worthy woman has discovered that we are not a gang 
 of vagabonds, but that many of the American prisoners are 
 not only men of solid understanding, and correct principles, 
 but men whose minds have been improved by good educa- 
 tion. The manner and style in which we celebrated our 
 national independence, have created a respect for us. The 
 officers extend a better course of treatment towards us; 
 and this has occasioned our treating them with more re- 
 spect. Politeness generates politeness, and insult, insult. 
 They find that coaxing and fair words is the only way to 
 manage Americans. 
 
 There is a set of busy-idlers amongst us, a sort of news- 
 mongers, fault-tinders, and predictors, who are continually 
 bothering* us with unsubstantial rumors. The newspapers 
 we take, are enough to confound any man ; but these crea- 
 tures are worse than the London news- writers* Sometimes 
 we are told that Baltimore is burnt ; and then that New 
 York is taken ; and we have been positively assured that 
 old New England has declared for the British ; and that the 
 governor of Massachusetts and his council had dined on board 
 a British mini of war in Boston harbor ; and that PRESIDENT 
 MADISON had been hanged in effigy in Boston, Newbury- 
 }iort and Portsmouth. At other times we were told posi- 
 tively, and circumstantially, that three frigates sent their 
 boats into Marblehead, and after driving out all the women 
 and children, set fire to the town, and reduced the whole 
 to ashes * and this was for some time credited. We have 
 a number of fine Marblehead men here in captivity, all 
 staunch friends of their country's cause. I well remember 
 since that period, that it was told us, that peace between 
 
 * An Irish word, Twining a distraction of attention by reason of 
 weals striking our intellect through both ten- confusedly, 
 

 128 JOURNAL. 
 
 America and England was concluded; and that one of its 
 conditions was giting vp the fisheries on the banks cf 'New- 
 foundland. This aiarrrf-d the Marblehead men more than the 
 report of burning their town; they raved and swore like 
 raad men. " If that be the case," said they, " I am dam- 
 " tied Marl)lehead is forever damned^- and we are all dam- 
 " ned ; and damnation seize the peace-makers, who have 
 " consented to this condition." On this subject they work- 
 ed themselves into a fever ; and were very unhappy all the 
 tune the story was believed. Such like stories were tola 
 to us, oft times, so circumstantially, that we all believed 
 them. When discovered to be false, they were called gal- 
 ley news., or galley packets. These mischievous characters 
 are continually sporting with our feelings ^ and secretly 
 laughing at the uneasiness they occasion. There is one 
 man who has got the name of lying BOB ; who is remarka- 
 ble for the fertility of his invention ; there is so much ap- 
 parent correctness in all he advances, that we too often be- 
 ileve his sly quizzing rodomontades. He mentions and de- 
 scribes the man who informed him, states little particulars, 
 and relates circumstances, so closely connected with ac- 
 knowledged facets, that the most cautious and incredulous 
 are often taken in by him. He is a constitutional liar ; and 
 the fellow lias such a plausible mode of lying, and wears 
 throughout such a nx^d and solemn phiz, that bis news has 
 been circulated by lis all, with all our wise reasons, and ex- 
 planations, and conjectures, that although we are sometimes 
 angry enough to knock his brains out, we cannot help 
 laughing at the hoax. To the name of lying Bob, we have 
 added that of" Printer to Prince BehcbuUs Royal Gazette." 
 This little community of ours, crowded within the planks 
 >f a siiiiile ship, is but the prototype of the great communi- 
 ties on the land. Here we see working, all those passions, 
 , fears, emulations, envies, and even contentions for 
 distinction, which, like the winds and tides of the ocean, 
 keep the human mind healthy, vigorous, and progressing to 
 general benefit Amidst it all, we could discover " the ru- 
 ling pastio/i" the love of country, and a firm belief that our 
 countrymen understood rational liberty better, and could 
 defend it longer, than any nation now in existence. 
 
 ' Many people are beguiled with an idea, that sailors have 
 no serious thoughts of religion ; because they use swearing, 
 i, 100 often, a proCane phraseology, without any meaning, 
 
Hnl if amen generally have as serious ideas of religion, cs 
 landsmen: and are, in my opinion, full as good. Hypocri- 
 sy is not among their vices. They i.cver pretend to more 
 religion than their conduct proclaims. You see and hear 
 the worst of them ; and that cannot always be .-said of our 
 brethren on shore. We have had a methodist preacher ex- 
 horting us twice a week, until lately ; but he has discontin- 
 ued his visits ; for he found the hearts of some of our fellows 
 as hard as their faces, and he relinquished the hope of their 
 conversion to rnethodism. There was, at one time, on 
 board our ship, a little, ugly French surgeon's mate, who 
 had lived several years in London, and in the southern part 
 of America, lie could speak, and read the English lan- 
 guage equally well with his own. lie ridiculed ail reli- 
 gion, and talked in such an irreverent style of the bible, of 
 Jesus Christ, and of the Virgin Mary, that our sailors would 
 not associate with him, nor, at times, eat with him. On 
 one occasion, his profanity was so shocking, that he ran. 
 some risk of being thrown overboard. He was a witty, 
 comical fellow, and they would iisien and laugh at his 
 drollery ; but they finally stopped his mouth from uttering 
 things, for which he would be severely punished in England 
 and iii Aineiica; and skinned, or fried, or slowly roasted, 
 in Spain. 
 
 Generally speaking, in the religious options of our sailors, 
 there is mixed a portion of that superstition which we, our 
 forefathers, and foreinothers brought with them from Eng- 
 land, Scotland and Ireland. They believe, for example, 
 in spirits, or ghosts, and that they haunt houses and ships ; 
 and that they have sometimes appeared with horrid visage, 
 and menacing countenances, at the bed-side of a cruel cup- 
 tain ; and above all, to the false hearted Tar, who crueily 
 deserted his too credulous Poll, who -drowned herself in des- 
 pair. The common sailor often tells such stories, and sings 
 them in ballads, both which are generally ended with the 
 good moral sentiment of the punishment of cruelty and 
 treachery 5 and the reward of the kind hearted and humane, 
 
 It may appear singular that men whose conduct generally 
 is so opposite to the prescribed rules of the Priest, should 
 have so firm an opinion of another life, after their bodies 
 are eaten up by sharks, or blown to atoms ; but it is really 
 the case with the British and American sailors ; for they 
 &ave the strongest belief in the existence of spirits ; ami 
 11* 
 
-r- 
 
 JQUKSAL. 
 
 and traditions tend to confirm' t?i is siiixr sti- 
 ff often have 1 known them huddled together i 
 tiling stories of feats of danger ami desperation ! 
 is generally brought into the history. Noth- 
 ing suits (hcsjp daring set of men better than a solemn narra- 
 tive of a supernatural achievement, and a supernatural es- 
 cape ; but to be charming, it must have a tinge of the hor- 
 rible. Shakespeare would have recognized some of these 
 men as his kindred, and they him as a relation. Good luck 
 and US luck, lucky days and unlucky days, as well as lurVv 
 ships, at {ach themselves strongly to a* sailor's mi mi. 
 remarkable instance of this we have in our ill-fated frigate 
 Chssapfoke. Ever since the British ship, Leopard, fired into 
 this American frigate, in a period of profound peace, and 
 caused her to strike her colors, and which led to her being 
 hoarded ; and her men to be mustered by compulsion, arid 
 some of her crew taken and carried forcibly on board the 
 Leopard, one of which was afterwards hanged ; after this 
 deep wound on our country's honor, this frigate was ever 
 after viewed as unlucky, and shunned accordingly. 
 
 In confirmation of this aautical curse, she met with a se- 
 ; ies of disasters during the war, which were not attributed 
 to ill management, but to iii luck. Thus, one time she 
 was coming up the harbor of Boston, from a cruise, where 
 *he lost spar after ^par, and topmast after topmast; and 
 w hen in full sight oF the town, and not much wind, over 
 hoard went her fore-top-mast, and several men were drown- 
 ed in their fall from the rigging. This was not attributed 
 io lack of judgment, but to ill luck. When this ill-omened 
 ship lay in Boston harbor, previous to her last and fatal 
 -.iruise, she could not get men ; and that from the impression 
 on the minds of sailors, that she was an unlucky ship. This 
 operated to her final misfortune ; for her crew was made up 
 of every thing that offered. Her captain was a stranger to 
 his crew, and to his officers ;. his first lieutenant lay at the 
 point of death when she sailed ; her motley crew mutinied, 
 ;u;t of their pay, before they weighed anchor ; her 
 1 like to- have said rash commander, sailed out in 
 a great hurry ; her cables were not quite stoned away, nor 
 other things- arranged io their places, when she bore down 
 '5n the cool and orderly Shannon ; and to crown all, her in- 
 trepid commander, a man six feet two inches, went into ac- 
 liua within half pistol shot, in full uniform, as if he defied 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 the power of the British musketry. I have conversed with 
 some of her officers and men in my captivity, and think that 
 I am warranted in saying, that there was nr.ieh more high- 
 toned bravery exhibited on that day, than good conduct. 
 The sailors, however, think differently ; they ail attribute 
 H to that unavoidable fatality which forever adheres, like 
 pitch, to an unlucky ship. O, my country I 
 
 " It was that fatal and perfidious bark, 
 
 u Biiilt in 0V eclipse, and riggM with curses dark, 
 
 ' Thai sunk so low that sacred head of thine P 
 
 MILTOX'S LYCID,%$, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 August 30th. Drafts continue to be made from this ship 
 fo bi> sent off to Dartmoor Prison. There are but few of us 
 rem.iining, and we are every day in expectation of removal. 
 Ail go off with evident reluctance, from an apprehension 
 that the change will be for the worse. It is the " untried 
 scene," that fills us with anxiety. We are more disposed 
 to bear our present ills, " than lly to others which we know 
 not of." 
 
 Oh, how we envy the meanest looking wretch we see, 
 f rawliug on the shore, gathering sticks to cook his fish. There 
 the beggar enjoys the natural inheritance of man, sweet LIB- 
 ERTY ; if the unfeeling, the avaricious and morose, refuse 
 his petition, he can sweeten the disappointment with the 
 reilt ction, that he has liberty to walk where he pleases. He 
 is not shut up, in the prime of life, and cut off from ail inter- 
 course with those he holds most dear ; he is not lingering 
 out his life and health under the morose countenance of an 
 unfeeling jailor. He hys not, like us, a home, where peace, 
 plenty, and every good, await to welcome us. Who can 
 express the anguish felt by some of us, wretched prisoners, 
 here crowded together, like sheep, men who have broken 
 no law of either country ; but wh have stood courageously 
 forth in supporting the sacred cause of our country, and in 
 defending "free trad? and sailors' rigfcfc-." Should this 
 
f32 JOURNAL. 
 
 \var continue some years longer, or should peace be restored, 
 and another war with Britain commence, I will venture to 
 predict that our enemies will take but fere prisoners alive. 
 My own mind is entirely made up on this head. I hope to 
 stand ready to risk my life for the liberty and independence 
 of our nation, and for the preservation of my own personal 
 liberty ; but unless wounded and maimed, I never will be 
 again a prisoner to the British. 
 
 The American sailor has a beloved home; he was born 
 and brought u;> in a house that had a " tire place" in it. 
 Many of them here, in captivity, have wives and children, 
 most of them have parents, and brothers and sisters. These 
 poor fellows partake, at times, the misery of their dear rela- 
 tives, at three thousand miles distance. They recollect 
 their aged mothers, and decrepid fathers, worn down with 
 age, labor, and anxious thoughts for the welfare of their ab- 
 sent sons. Some have wives, and little children, weeping 
 for their absent husbands, and suifering for the good and 
 comfortable things of this life, having none to help them. 
 In families, neighborhoods, and villages, men are supported 
 by leaning on each other ; or by supporting each other ; 
 and we have here endeavored to do so too ; but now our 
 numbers are thinning, some of our best, our steadiest, and 
 most prudent men, have left us. and gone to Dartmoor Pris- 
 on. 1 have felt very low spirited for some days past. It is 
 true, our numbers are now so few, that \ve can run about, 
 and beguile the tedious hours by a greater variety of exer- 
 cise and amusement than heretofore ; but then, our soberest 
 men are gone, and left behind some of the most noisy and 
 disorderly of our whole crew ; and young as 1 am, I am 
 little disposed to make a riot or noise, merely for noise sake. 
 
 A disturbance took place last night, which deprived all 
 of us of s'eep. It was owing to the unaccommodating dis- 
 position of our commander, Mr. Osmore. About thirty 
 prisoners were selected, and called aft, with their hammocks 
 all tied up, to be ready to go off early in the morning in a 
 tender. The tender did riot arrive as was expected ; the 
 sergeant was ordered to count us over in the evening to go 
 to rest ; whereupon the thirty drafted men went aft, and 
 requested their hammocks to sleep in ; Mr. Osmore replied, 
 that, as they were to go otf early in the morning, they would 
 oajy detain the tender, if they had their hammocks to take 
 kwfl and puck up again, on which account he refused to 
 
JOURNAL. loJ 
 
 let them have their usual accommodations for sleeping. 
 The men went below, very much dissatisfied at the churl- 
 ish disposition of the commander; and as they despaired 
 being able to sleep themselves, on bare boards, they all de- 
 termined that Osmore should not himself sleep. They waited 
 quietly till about ten o'clock, when the commander usually 
 Avent to bed ; and then they tore up the large oak benches, 
 tied ropes to them, and run with them round the deck, 
 drawing the benches after them like a sled, at the same 
 time hollowing, screaming and yelling, and making every 
 noise that their ingenuity or malice could devise. Some- 
 times they drove these oaken benches full butt against the 
 aft bulk head, so as to make the ship tremble again with 
 the noise, like cannon. They jarred down the crockery 
 belonging to the marines, which was .set up on the opposite 
 side of the cock-pit, ami frightened their wives out of their 
 beds. The noise and jarring vrere so great, that it seemed 
 as if they were breaking up the ship, lor the sake of her 
 iron work. Lieut. Osmore sent a marine down, to order 
 them to be still and go to sleep. They replied, that they 
 had no conveniences for sleeping, and that Osmore had 
 acted like a villain, in depriving them unnecessarily of 
 their hammocks, for which brutality, they were determined 
 that he should not sleep more than they. After which they 
 recommenced their riot and thundering noise, which brought 
 Osmore out of his cabin, who called one of the committee 
 to him, and told him to tell the men, that if they did not 
 directly cease their noise, he would confine every man of 
 them below, for three days. The committee man replied, 
 that nothing could then be done, for thdt the mob had fairly 
 capsized the government of the ship ; and all that he could 
 say, would only add to the riot and confusion. " Then," 
 said he, ;< I'll be d d if I do not fire upon them." Some 
 of the mob answered, " fire, and be d d." And the com- 
 mander hesitated a moment, and returned to his cabin ; for 
 he saw the men were wrought up to the battle pitch, and 
 rather wished him to fire, by way of excuse for their attack 
 upon him, whom they most cordially despised. 
 
 Directly upon this, they collected all the tin and copper 
 pans, pots and kettles, and every sonorous metallic sub- 
 stance they could lay their hands on. These they tied to- 
 gether, and hitched bunches of them here and there, upon 
 th 4 Kikon planks; and then, what with screaming, yelling, 
 
134 JOURNAL. 
 
 like the Indian war-whoop, cheering, and the thundering 
 noise of the planks, grating along the deck, together with 
 the ringing and clattering of their metallic vessels, they 
 made altogether such a hideous " rattle-come-twang," that 
 it WHS enough to raise all Chatham. All this was transact- 
 ed in utter darkness. The officers doubtless saw, that 
 bloodshed and promiscuous death would be the consequence 
 of tiring among the rioters, and prudently left it to so 1 side 
 with the darkness of the night. These disorderly fellows 
 would go round the decks twice, with all this thundering 
 noise and clatter, and then be silent for about half an hour, 
 or until they thought Mr. Osmore had got into a doze ; and 
 then they would recommence their horrible serenade. At 
 length Osmore became so enraged, that he swore by his 
 Maker, that he would order every marine in the ship to 
 tire in among thenif but on some of the committee observ- 
 ing to him that he would be as likely to kill the innocent 
 as the guilty, and as they were then silent, he went off 
 again to his cabin ; but within a quarter of an hour they 
 begain their shocking serenade, and continued it, at pro- 
 voking intervals, all the night, so that none could sleep in 
 the ship. 
 
 In the morning the tender came along side, and they all 
 went on board of her. When they had all got in, and push- 
 ed off from the ship's side, and while Osmore was superin- 
 tending their departure, they all cried out, baa ! baa ! baa ! 
 until they got out of hearing. The next day he betrayed a 
 disposition to punish, in some way, those prisoners that re- 
 mained ; but it was remarked to him, that it was utterly im- 
 possible for any of them to stop the riot, or to keep their 
 disturbers quiet, and that they, themselves, were equally 
 incommoded with him and his family, he therefore prudent- 
 ly dropped the design. Although many of us disapproved 
 of this behavior of the men, none of us could help laughing 
 ztt the noise, and its ludicrous effects. It is a fact, that the 
 officers and marines of the Crown Prince prison ship, were 
 more afraid of the American prisoners, than they were of 
 them. This last frolic absolutely cowed them. One of 
 the officers said to me, next day, " Your countrymen do not 
 11 seem to be a bloody minded set of men, like the Portu- 
 '' guese and Spaniards ; but they have the inosst ti d pro- 
 ' Yoking impudence I ever saw, in any men ; if the} di 
 ' accompany it all with peals of laughter, and in the spirit 
 
JOURNAL. ''-n 
 
 * of fun, I should put (hem down as a set of hell-hounds." 
 ^ told him that I considered the last night's riot, not in the 
 IMit of a mutiny, or a serious attempt to wound or scratch 
 any man, but as a high frolic, without any real malice, and 
 was an evidence of that boisterous liberty in which they 
 had been bred up, and arising also from their high notions of 
 right and wrong. To which the worthy Scotchman re- 
 plied, " I hate a Frenchman, a Spaniard, and a Portuguese ; 
 " but I never can hate an American ; and yet the three 
 *' former behave infinitely better; and give us far less trouble 
 " than your saucy fellows." Had British prisoners behav ed 
 in this manner, in the prison ships in the harbor of Boston, 
 or Salem, would our officers have borne it with more pa* 
 tience ? 
 
 As there were but few prisoners now remaining, and am- 
 ple room to run and jump about for exercise, our men evi- 
 dently recruited ; and being in good spirits, the rose of 
 health soon bloomed again on their manly cheeks. The 
 soldiers, made prisoners in Canada, evidently gained strength, 
 and acquired activity. If we compare their miserable, ema- 
 ciated looks, on their ; rival at Melville Prison, from their 
 wretched voyage down the St. Lawrence, with their present 
 appearance, the difference is striking. The wretched ap- 
 pearance of these new made soldiers, reflects no credit on 
 the British, The savages of the forest never starve their 
 prisoners. The war department of the United States hav- 
 ing ordered these men a portion of their pay, they appropri- 
 ated it chiefly to purchase comfortable clothing, which has 
 been productive of great good, and has probably saved the 
 lives of some of them ; others squandered away their money 
 in dissipation and gambling. 
 
 A becoming degree of tranquillity prevailed on board this 
 prison ship, during my residence in it. On the 15th of Sep- 
 tember, we were all sent on board the Bahama prison ship, 
 which lay farther up the reach. Here we found about three 
 hundred of our countrymen, who received us with kindness, 
 and many marks of satisfaction. I could, at once, perceive 
 thai theirgituation had been less pleasant than ours, in the 
 Crown Prince. Little attention had been paid to cleanli- 
 ness, and gambling had been carried to as great excess as 
 their means would admit of. They seemed to lack either 
 the power, or the ri solution of adhering to and carrying 
 iri^o eiitct, good and \\holcsijme regulations. I never saw a 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 set of more ragged, dirty men in my life ; and yet they were 
 disposed to sell their last rag to get money to game with 
 I heir misfortune was, they had too few men of sense and re- 
 spectability among them. They had no good committee 
 men ; not enough to bear down the current of vice and fol- 
 ly. We dread the contagion of bad example. Some of our 
 men soon resorted to their detestable gambling tables ; and 
 pursued their old vices with astonishing avidity. We seri- 
 ously expostulated with our companions, on their returnin*- 
 to the pernicious practice of gambling, after they had had 
 the virtue of refraining on board the Grown Prince ; and 
 our advice induced nearly all of them to renounce the de- 
 structive practice. I had read, but never saw convincing 
 evidence before, of gaming being a passion, that rages in 
 proportion to the degrees of misery, until it becomes a s^e- 
 cies of insanity. 
 
 We, new comers, introduced certain measures that had a 
 tendency to harmonize our sailors and soldiers. The dis- 
 orders on board tbe Bahama arise, principally, from ha vino- 
 on board a number of these two classes of men. Our sailors 
 view a soldier as belonging to an order of men below them ; 
 and it must be confessed that our first crop of recruits, (hat 
 were huddled together soon after the declaration of war, in 
 some measure justified this notion. They were, many of 
 them, idle, intemperate men, void of character and good 
 constitutions. The high flying federal clcrpy, among other 
 nonsense, told their flocks that the war wbuld demoralize 
 the people ; whereas it had the contrary effect, as it regard- 
 ed the towns an hundred miies from the sea coast. It ab- 
 solutely picked all the rags, dirt, and vice, from our towns 
 and villages, and transported them into Canada, where they 
 were either captured, killed, or died with sickness, so that our 
 towns and villages on the Atlantic, were cleared of idlers 
 and drunkards, and experienced the benefit of their removal. 
 The second crop of recruits, in 1 81 4, were of a different cttst. 
 The high bounty, and the love of country, induced the em- 
 bargoed sailor to turn soldier ; to these were added youfrg 
 mechanics, and the sons of farmers. These were men of 
 uood habits, and of calculation. They looked forward to 
 their bounty of land, with a determination of settling on their 
 farms at the close of the war. These were moral men, and 
 they raised the character of the sokik-r, :n,:\ of their country. 
 These were the men who conquered at Chippewa, Bridge 
 
 : I 
 
JUVENAL, 
 
 'v 
 
 r, Erie, and Plattsburg. Of such men was composed 
 that poteiit army of well disciplined militia, who reposed 
 within twenty miles of the sea shores of New-England, dur- 
 ing 1814 and 1815 especially of Massachusetts and Con- 
 necticut; and who, had the British attempted a landing, 
 would have met them, with the bayonet, at the waters 
 edge, and crimsoned its tide. 
 
 Our captivated sailors knew nothing of this fine army ; 
 they only knew the first recruits ; and it is no wonder they 
 viewed them as their inferiors, as they really were. Even 
 the officers were, generally speaking, much inferior to those 
 who closed the war. The American sailor appears to be a 
 careless, unthinking, swearing fellow ; but he is generally 
 much better than he appears. He is generally marked with 
 honor, generosity, ami honesty. A ship's crew soon assim- 
 ilates, and they are all brother tars, embarked together in 
 the same bottom, and in the same pursuit of*, interest, curi- 
 osity or fame; while the rigid discipline of an arrny does 
 not admit of this association ami assimilation. A sailor, 
 therefore, greets a sailor, as his brother; but has not yet 
 learned to greet a soldier as his brother ; nor has the Ameri- 
 can soldier ever felt the fraternal attachment to the sailor. 
 It should be the policy of our rulers, and military command- 
 ers, to assimilate the American soldier and sailor; and there 
 is little doubt but that they will amalgamate in time. In 
 France, the soldier looks down upon the sailor ; in England, 
 and in America, the sailor looks down on the soldier. We 
 must learn them to march arm in arm. 
 
 Confinement, dirtiness, and deprivations, have an evil op- 
 eration on the mind, I have observed some who had a little 
 refinement of manners, at the commencement of their cap- 
 tivity, and regarded the situation and feelings of others near 
 them, with complacency, but have lost it all, and sunk into 
 a state of misanthropy. We, Americans, exercise too little 
 ceremony at best, but some of our prisoners lost all deference 
 and respect for their countrymen, and became mere hogs, the 
 stronger pushing the weaker aside, to get the most swill. 
 
 " Jove fixM it certain, that the very day 
 
 " Made man a slave, took half his worth away." Homer, 
 
 All our industrious men were well behaved ; and all our 
 idle men were hoggish. Some of our countrymen worked 
 12 
 
: .} JOURNAL. 
 
 very neatly in bone, out of which material they built ships,* 
 and carved images, and snuff boxes, and tobacco boxes, and 
 watch cases. Some covered boxes, in a very neat manner, 
 \vith straw. The men thus employed, formed a strong con- 
 trast to those who did nothing; or who followed up gamb- 
 ling. Our ship afforded striking instances of the pernicious 
 effects of idleness; and of the beneficial effects of industry, 
 We, on board the Crown Prince, instructed the boys ; but 
 in this ship, there has been no attention paid to them ; and 
 they are, upon the whole, as vicious in their conduct, and as 
 profane in their language, as any boys I ever saw. French- 
 men are bad companions for American boys. They can 
 teach them more than they ever thought of in their own 
 eountry. 
 
 In January last, three hundred and sixty American pri- 
 soners were sent on board this ship. Great mortality pre- 
 vailed among the Danish prisoners, prior to the arrival of 
 our countrymen, on board the Bahama. The Danes occu- 
 pied her 'main deck, while we occupied the lower one. 
 When our poor fellows were tumbled from out of one ship 
 into this, they had not sufficient clothes to cover their shiv- 
 ering limbs, in this coldest month of the year. They were, 
 indeed, objects of compassion, emaciated, pale, shuddering, 
 low spirited, and their constitutions sadly broken down. 
 Their morbid systems were not strong enough to resist any 
 impression, especially the contagion of the jail fever, under 
 which the Danes were dying by dozens. Out of three hun- 
 dred and sixty one Americans, who came last on board, 
 eighty-four were, in the course of three months, buried in 
 the surrounding marshes, the burying" place of the prison 
 ships. I may possibly forgive, but I never can forget the 
 unfeeling conduct of the British, on this occasion. Why 
 send men on board a crowded prison ship, which they knew 
 ivas infected with a mortal contagion ? Their government 
 must have jinown the inevitable consequences of putting 
 three hundred debilitated men on board an infected ship, 
 where there were not enough well to attend on the sick, 
 If we, Americans, ever treated British prisoners in our 
 hands, in this cruel manner, the facts have never reached 
 my ears. Here was an opportunity for redeeming the blast- 
 ed reputation of the British, for the horrors of their old Jer 
 
 * Some of these were so exquisitely wrought, as not to disgrace thr 
 first cabinets in the world. 
 
JOURNAL* 
 
 V 
 
 sey prison ship, in the revolutionary war. But they suppos- 
 ed that our affairs were so low; and their own so glorious, 
 that there was no room for retaliation. The surrounding 
 marshes were already unhealty, without adding the poison 
 of human bodies, which were every hour put into them. 
 Several persons, now prisoners here, and I rank myself 
 among that number, had a high idea of British humanity, 
 prior to our captivity ; but we have been compelled to change 
 our opinions of the character of the people from whom we 
 descended. The commander of the Bahama, Mr. W. is a 
 passionate and very hot tempered man, but is, upon the 
 whole, an humane one. We have more to praise than to 
 blame in his. conduct towards us. He is not ill disposed to 
 the Americans, generally, and wishes for a lasting peace be- 
 tween the two contending nations. His mate is the reverse 
 of all this, especially when he is overcharged with liquor. 
 
 As characteristic of some of our imprudent countrymen, 
 I insert the following anecdote. The BeRccean, (or Bd~ 
 lauxcean} prison ship, lay next to us. She was filled with 
 Norwegians, and were detained in England, while Norway 
 adhered to a king of their own choice. The commander of 
 her was a nelllesome, fractious, foolish old fellow, who was 
 continually overlooking us, and hailing our commander, to 
 inform him if any one smuggled a bottle of rum from the 
 market boats. His Norwegians gave him no (rouble ; they 
 were a peaceable, subservient people, with no fun in their 
 constitutions, nor any jovial cast in their composition. 
 They were very different from the British or American sail- 
 or, who will never be baulked of his fun, if the devil stands 
 at the door. This imprudent, meddling old commander, of 
 the Bdlauxcean, was forever informing the officer of the deck 
 of every little pickadillo of the American prisoners ; and 
 he, of course, got the hearty ill will of all the Americans in 
 the ship Bahama. He once saw a marine connive at the 
 passing a couple of bottles of liquor through the lower ports, 
 and he hailed the commander, and informed him of it ; and 
 the marine was immediately punished for it. This roused 
 the Americans to revenge ; for the British soldier, or marine, 
 is so much of a slave, that revenge never dare enter his 
 head. Retaliation belongs alone to the free and daring 
 American. He alone enjoys the lex talionis, and glories in 
 varrying it into execution. 
 
 Fish uail potatoes constituted the diet of tfce following day. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 What does our " dare devils" do, but reserve all (heir pota- 
 toes to serve as cold shot to fire at the fractious commander 
 of their next neighbor, the Bellauxcean. Accordingly when 
 they observed the old man stubbing backwards and forwards 
 his quarter deck, and stopping now and then to peak over to 
 our ship to see if w r e smuggled a bottle of liquor, they gave 
 him a volley of potatoes, which was kept up until the vete- 
 ran commander hailed our captain and told him that if the 
 Americans did not cease their insult he would order his ma- 
 rines to fire upon them; but his threatenings produced na 
 other effect than that of encreasing the shower of potatoes ; 
 so that this brave British tar \vas compelled to seek shelter 
 in his cabin ; and then the potatoe-battery ceased its fire. 
 When all was quiet, the old gentleman seized the opportu- 
 nity of pushing on board of us. When he came on oar 
 quarter deck, rage -stopped all power of utterance, he foam- 
 ed and stamped like a mad man. At length, he asked Mr. 
 Wilson how he could permit a body of prisoners undtr his 
 command and control, to insult one of his majesty's officers 
 in his own ship ? To which Air. Wilson replied, that he 
 should use his influence to prevent a repetition of the insult,, 
 and restore harmony ; and that he was sorry that his men 
 should get into any difficulty with those of another ship ; 
 and lie recommended moderation, but the old commander 
 swore snd raved terribly ; when our worthy protector re- 
 minded him that he was not on his own quarter deck. The 
 coolness of Mr. Wilson still further enraged our exasperat- 
 ed neighbor, and he left, the ship execrating every one on 
 board, and swearing that lie would make complaint to the 
 commodore. 
 
 When the prisoners saw how their own commander view 
 rd the interference of another, they collected all the pota- 
 toes they could find, and I am sorry to add, pieces of coal, 
 and as soon as he left the side of the Bahama, they pelted 
 j)im till he fairly skulked under cover in his own prison 
 ship. He directly drew his marines up in battle array, on 
 his quarter deck, when the captain of the Bahama seeing 
 his folly, and knowing his disposition, exerted himself to 
 miike every American go below, and enjoined upon them a 
 cessation of potatoes. We gained, however, more by thi. 
 short war, than most of the nations of the world, for it en- 
 tirely removed the cause for which we took up potatoes 
 against one of his Britauick majesty's officers?, within ten 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 leagues of the capital of his empire. I overheard captain 
 Wilson say to the second in command, " these Americans 
 *' are the sauciest dogs I ever saw; but damn me if 1 can 
 " help liking them, nor can I ever hate men who are so 
 " much like ourselves they are John Bull all over." 
 
 In a course of kind and flattering treatment, our country- 
 men were orderly and easily governed; but when they 
 conceived themselves ill treated you might as well attempt 
 to govern so many East India tygers. The British officers 
 in this river discovered this, and dreaded their combined 
 anger ; and yet the Americans are seldom or ever known, 
 to carry their vengeance to blood and murder, like the Span- 
 iard, Italian and Portuguese. 
 
 A Swedish frigate has just arrived in the reach, to take 
 away those good boys, the Norwegians. King Bcrnadotte 
 sent them two and six pence a piece, to secure their affec- 
 tions, and provide them with some needed articles for their 
 passage to Norway. A cartel is hourly expected from Lon- 
 don, to take home some of their soldiers. The Leyden, an 
 old Dutch 04, is preparing, at the Nore, to take us away. 
 
 We are induced to believe that our emancipation is nigh. 
 We are every day expecting, that we, too, shall be sent 
 home ; but this hope, instead of inspiring us with joy and 
 gladness, has generated sourness and discontent. It seems 
 that the government of the United States give a preference 
 to those who had enlisted in the public service over such as 
 were in privateers. We. have felt this difference all along. 
 Again, the government are disposed to liberate the soldiers 
 "before the sailors, because their sufferings are greater than 
 those of sailors, from their former mode of life and occupa- 
 tions. They were farmers, or mechanics, or any thing but 
 seamen ; and this makes their residence on ship-board very 
 irksome ; whereas, the sailor is at home on the deck or hold 
 of the ship. Most of these soldiers were from the atate of 
 Pennsylvania and New York, and many from the western 
 parts of the union. These men could not bear confinement 
 like sailors; neither could they bear a short allowance of 
 food ; nor could they shirk* for themselves like a Jack tar. 
 A sailor could endure with a degree of patience, restraints 
 
 *Shirk Shift, turn, twist, accommodate, and make the best of a 
 disagreeable situation. It also means contrivance, cunning and 
 
42 j Of RIVAL. 
 
 and deprivations that were death to landsmen. Man; GJ. 
 these youthful soldiers had notion*- left their native habitu 
 tions, and parental care, when they were captured; thei? 
 morals and manners were purer than those of sailors. Such 
 young men suffered not only in their health, but in their 
 feelings ; and many sunk under their accumulated miseries ; 
 tor nourished by indulgence, in the midst of abundance, many 
 of them died for want of sufficient food. These miserable 
 beings were, as they ought to be, the first objects of the so- 
 licitude of government. 
 
 The prisoners were seen here and there, collected in 
 squads, chewing together the cud of discontent, and grumb- 
 ling at the imagined partiality and injustice of their rulers. 
 These discontents and bickerings too often damped the joy 
 of their prospect of liberation from captivity. The poor 
 privateers' men had most reason for complainiag, as they 
 found themselves neglected by one side, and despised by the 
 other. 
 
 The sufferings of soldiers, many of whom were militia, 
 who were taken on the frontiers of Canada, are not to be 
 withheld from the public. They were first stripped by the 
 savages in the British service, and then driven before them, 
 half naked to the city of Quebec ; from thence they were 
 sent, in ill-provided transports, to Halifax, suffering all the 
 way, the torments of hunger and thirst. When they arriv- 
 ed at Melville prison, they were shocking objects to the 
 prisoners they found there ; emaciated, weak, dirty, sickly, 
 and but half clothed, they excited in us all, eommisseration 
 for thqir great misery ; and indignation, contempt and re- 
 venge, towards the nation who could allow such barbarity. 
 The cruel deception practised on their embarkation for Eng- 
 land, instead of going home; their various miseries on ship- 
 board, where as landsmen, they underwent infinitely more 
 than the sailors ; for many of them never had seen the salt 
 ocean ; and their close confinement in the hold of a ship, 
 gave them the klea of a floating hell. The captivity of the 
 sailors was sufficiently distressing ; but it was nothing to 
 that of the wretched landsmen, who considered a ship at all 
 rimes, a kind of dungeon. The transporting our soldiers to 
 England, and their sufferings during their passage, and while 
 confined in that country, has engendered a hatred against 
 die British nation, that ages will not obliterate, and time 
 scarcely diminish. We, Americans, can never be justly ?.s- 
 nused of want of humanity to the English prisoner 
 
JOl RNAfc. 
 
 If the young American wishes to see instances of British 
 barbarity, let him peruse the journal of the campaigns under 
 Armherst, Wolfe, Abercrombie and others ; there he will 
 tind that the British soldiers under these commanders, com- 
 mitted barbarities in the French villages, for which they de- 
 served to be hanged. They even boasted of scalping the 
 French. Everybody of ordinary information in New Eng- 
 land, knows that Lmiisbourg could not have been taken, 
 without the powerful aid of the New England troops; yet 
 in the historical journal by Knox, sanctioned by general Arm- 
 herst, there is only the following gentlemanlike netice of our 
 countrymen. The author, captain Knox, says that, the 
 transport he was in, was in miss-stays, and was in danger of 
 being dashed to pieces on a ledge of rocks, when the master 
 instantly fell on his knees, crying out " what shall we do '*. 
 " I vow, I fear we shall all be lost ; let us go to prayers ; 
 " what can we do, dear Jonathan ? Jonathan went forward 
 44 muttering to himself Do ? I vow Ebenezar, I don't 
 u know what we shall do any more than thyself!" When 
 fortunately one of our soldiers (who was a thorough bred 
 seaman, and had served several years on board a ship of 
 war, and afterwsrds in a privateer,) hearing and seeing the 
 helpless stale of mind which our poor New Englandmen 
 "Were under, and our sloop drawing towards the shore, called 
 
 out, " why, d n your eyes and Jimt.s, down with her 
 
 sails, and let her drive a e foremost, what the devil sig- 
 nifies your praying and canting now ?" Ebenezar quickly 
 taking the hint, called to Jonathan to lower the sails, say- 
 ing he believed that young man's advice was very good, 
 but wished he had not delivered it so profanely ! ! and the 
 soldier took the helm and saved the sloop. If captain John 
 Knox should be living, the old gentleman would blush should 
 be read this extract. 
 
 I have frequently thought that the over-rated and highly 
 boasted British bravery and humanity, would find their 
 graves in America. The treatment these soldiers experi- 
 enced has stigmatised the English character, and deservedly 
 so. It is not in the power of words, and scarcely in the 
 power of the painter's pencil, to convey an idea of their 
 wretchedness. They we're covered with rags, dirt, and ver- 
 min. They were, to us, objects of pity, but to all others, ob- 
 jects of disgust; even we, their brothers, recoiled, at times, 
 on approaching them. Was there any design in this ? 
 
JOURSAfe 
 
 our enemies wish to impress their countrymen with an abhor- 
 rence of ayarJut? How eise can we account for a treatment 
 which our people never experienced when prisoners of the 
 Indians ? No the savages never starve their prisoners, nor 
 deprive them the use of water. Dispirited, and every way 
 disheartened, our poor fellows had, generally speaking, the 
 aspect of a cowardly, low spirited race of men, and much 
 inferior to the British. We here saw how wretched circum- 
 stances, in a short time, debases a brave and high spirited 
 man. When people from the shore visited our ship, and saw 
 our miserable soldiers, we do not wonder that they despised 
 them, We sometimes had the mortification of hearing re- 
 marks in the Scotch accent, to this effect : " So, these are 
 " samples of the brave yankees that took the G-ucrriere and 
 " k Java ; it proves to a demonstration, that the American IVi- 
 ' gates were manned with British deserters." 
 
 The sailors often tried to spirit up the soldiers, and to en- 
 courage them to cleanliness ; but it was in vain, as most of 
 them were depressed below the elasticity of their brave 
 souls ; yet amidst their distress, not a man of them would 
 listen to proposals to enter the British service. Every one 
 preferred death, and even wished for it. The Americans are 
 a clean people in their persons, as well as in their houses. 
 None of them are so poor as to live in cabins, like the Irish : 
 or in cottages, like the Scotch; but they are brought up in 
 houses having chimnies, glass windows, separate and conve- 
 nient rooms, and good bedding ; and to all these comfortable 
 things we must add that the poorest of our countrymen eat 
 meat once every day, and mst of them twice. To young 
 rnen so brought up and nourished, a British captivity on 
 board their horrid transports, and even en board their pri- 
 son-ships, is worse than death. Jf we, Americans, treat Brit- 
 ish prisoners as they treat ours, let it be sounded through the 
 world to our disgrace. Should the war continue many years, 
 I predict that few Americans will be taken alive by the 
 English. 
 
 After these poor fellows had received money and clothing 
 from our government, they became cheerful, clean, and ma- 
 ny of them neat, and were no bad specimens of American 
 oldiery. We are sorry to again remark, that there was ob- 
 served something repulsive between the soldier and the sail- 
 or. The soldier thought himself better th m the Jack tar, 
 
 ile the sailor, fell himself, on board ship } a bet:er fellow 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 than the soldier ; one wag a fish in the water ; the other a 
 lobster out of the water. The sailors always took the lead, 
 because they were at home ; while the dispirited landsman 
 felt himself a stranger in an enemy's land, even among his 
 countrymen. It would be well if all our sea and land com- 
 manders would exert themselves to break down the partition 
 wall that is growing up between our sailors and soldiers ; 
 they should be constantly reminded that they are all chil- 
 dren of one and the same great family, whereof the President 
 of the United States is Father ; that they have all been 
 taught to read the same bible, and to obey the same great 
 moral law of loving one another. I observed, with pain, 
 that nothing vexed a sailor more, than to be called by a bro- 
 ther tar, a soldier-looking son of a . This term of con- 
 tempt commonly led to blows. This mutual dislike bred 
 difficulties in the government of ourselves, and sometimes 
 defeated our best regulations ; for it split us into parties ; 
 arid then we behaved as bad as our superiors and richer bre- 
 thren do oa shore, neglecting the general interest to indulge 
 our own private view^j, and spirit of revenge. I thought our, 
 ship often resembled our republic in miniature ; for human 
 nature is the same Always, and only varies its aspect from 
 situation and circumstances. 
 
 It is now the latter end of September; the weather pretty 
 pleasant, but not equal to our fine Septembers and Octobers 
 in New-England. We are, every hour, expecting orders to 
 quit this river, to return to our own dear country. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 October 2d, 1814. We were now ordered to pick up our 
 duds and get all ready to embark in certain gun-brigs that 
 had anchored along side of us ; and an hundred of us were 
 soon put on board, and the tide favouring, we gently drifted 
 down the river Medway. It rained, and not being permit- 
 ted to go below, and being thinly clad, we were wet to the 
 skin. When the rain ceased, our commander went below, 
 ami returned, in a short time, gaily equipped in his full uni- 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 form, cockade and dirk. He mounted the poop, where he 
 strutted about, sometimes viewing himself, and now and then 
 eyeing us, as if to see if we, too, admired him. He was 
 about five feet high, with broad shoulders, and portly belly. 
 We concluded that he would afford us some fun ; but we 
 were mistaken ; for, with the body of Dr. Slop, he bore a 
 round, ruddy, open and smiling countenance, expressive of 
 good nature and urbanity. The crew said, that although 
 be was no seaman, he was a man, and a better fellow neve* 
 eat the king's bread ; that they were happy under his com- 
 mand ; and the only dread they had was, that he, or they 
 should be transferred to another ship. Does not this prove 
 that seamen can be better governed by kindness and good 
 humor than by the boatswain's cat ? We would ask two of 
 our own naval Commanders, B. and C. whether they had not 
 better try the experiment ? We should be very sorry if the 
 infant navy of our young country, should have the character 
 of too much severity of discipline. To say that it is re- 
 quisite is a libel on our national character. Slavish minds 
 alone require the lash. 
 
 On board this brig were two London mechanics, recently 
 pressed in the streets of the capital of* the English nation 
 agnation that has long boasted of its liberty and humanity. 
 These cocknies wore long coats, drab-coloured velvet breech- 
 es, and grey stockings. They were constantly followed by 
 the boatswain's mate ; who often impressed his lessons, and 
 excited their activity with a cope's end which he carried in 
 his hat. The poor fellows were extremely anxious to avoid 
 such repeated hard arguments; and they kept at as great a 
 distance from their tyrant as possible, who seemed to delight 
 in beating them. It appeared to me to be far out-doing in 
 cruelty, the Algerines. They looked melancholy, and at 
 times, very sad. May America never become the greatest 
 of naval powers, if to attain it, she must allow a brutal sail- 
 or to treat a citizen, kidnapped from his family in the streets 
 of our cities, worse than we use a dog. I again repeat it, for 
 the thousandth time, the English are a hard hearted, crue! 
 and barbarous race ; and, on this account alone, 1 have oft- 
 en been ashamed, that we, Americans, descended mostly 
 from them. When a man is ill used, it invites others to in- 
 sult him. One of our prisoners, who had been treated with 
 ft drink of grog, took out his knife, and, as the cockney's face 
 was turned the other way, cut off one skirt of his long CG;.:; 
 
JOURNAL," 147 
 
 Thi? excited peals of laughter. When the poor Londoner 
 saw that this was done by a roguish American, at the insti- 
 gation of his own countrymen, the tear stood in his eye. 
 Even our jolly, big bellied captain, enjoyed the joke, and or- 
 dered (he boatswain's mate to cut off the other skirt, who, af- 
 ter viewing him amidst shouts of laughter, damned him for 
 a land lubber, and said, now he had lost his ring-tail, he look- 
 ed like a gentleman sailor. 
 
 Although our good natured captain laughed at this joke, 
 I confess I could not ; all the horrors of impressment rush- 
 ed on my mind. This mechanic may have left a wife and 
 children, suffering and starving, from having her husband 
 and their father kidnapped,. like a negro on the coast of Gui- 
 nea, and held in worse than negro slavery. But this is Old 
 England, the residence of liberty and equal laws ; and the 
 bulwark of our holy religion ! The crimes of nations are pu- 
 nished in this world ; and we may venture to predict, that 
 the impressment of seamen, and cruel military punishments, 
 will operate the downfal of this splendid imposter, whose 
 proper emblem is a bloated figure, seated on a throne, made 
 of dead mens' bones, with a crown on its head, a sword in 
 one hand, and a cup filled with the tears of widows and or- 
 phans in the other. 
 
 Mr. Peel, a member of the British parliament, delivered 
 an unfeeling speech relative to Ireland, in which he speaks 
 of their untamcable ferocity, and systematic guilt, supported 
 by perjury, related this most affecting anecdote, which was 
 to shew the feeling of abhorrence entertained against those 
 who gave evidence against those who were tried for resist- 
 ing a government they detested A man who was condemn- 
 ed to death was offered a pardon, on the condition that he 
 would give evidence, which they knew he could give, after 
 having actually given a part of hig testimony, retracted it 
 in open court ; his wife, who was strongly attached to her 
 husband, having prayed him on her knees, with tears, that he 
 would be hanged rather than give evidence. The house burst 
 out into a loud and general LAUGH ! ! ! 
 
 Here was an heroic woman who leaves the wife of Brutus 
 and of Peel us far behind her. If this extraordinary and 
 shockingly affecting scene had taken place in the Congress 
 of the United Stales of America, would it have excited 
 LAUGHTER, or deep commisseration ? Greater men thaa 
 members of parliament, can laugh at misery. See what 
 Juntas says of kiLg George the 3d and Chancellor York. 
 
 I 
 
*4b JOURNAL. 
 
 There is another Irish anecdote worth relating. Duriag 
 the troubles ia Ireland a Boy 16 years old was seized by the 
 military, who demanded of him to whom he belonged/ He 
 refused to tell. They tied hirn up to the halberts, and he 
 endured a severe whipping without confessing whom he 
 served. At length his sister, who was about 18, unable to 
 endure the sight of his torture any longer, run to the officer 
 and told him that he was in the service of Mr. a sus- 
 pected man. The brave boy damned his sister for a blab- 
 bing b for noiv said he the cause of Ireland is betrayed 
 and ruined. Here are traits of Spartan virtues, that a mod- 
 ern British house of commons are past comprehending. A 
 stronger proof of debasement cannot well be imagined in the 
 Senate of England. 
 
 We passed by Sheerness, and, in our passage to the Nore, 
 came near several hulks filled with convicts. We soon came 
 along side the Leyden, an old Dutch 64, fitted up with births, 
 eight feet by six, so as to contain six persons; but they were 
 nearly all filled by prisoners who came before us, so that we 
 were obliged to shirk wherever we could. 
 
 We found the captain of the Leyden very much such a 
 man as the commander of the Malabar. Our allowance of 
 food was as short as he could make it, and our liquor ungen- 
 erous. He said we were a damn set of rebel yankees that 
 lived too well, which made us saucy. The first lieutenant 
 was a kind and humane gentleman, but his captain was the 
 reverse. He would hear no complaints, and threatened to 
 put the bearer of them in irons. 
 
 The countenance, and whole form of this man was indi- 
 cative of malice; his very step was that of an abrupt and 
 angry tyrant. His gloomy visage was that of an hardened 
 jailor; and he bore towards us the same sort of affection 
 \vhicliwe experienced from the refugees in Nova Scotia. 
 He caused a marine to be most severely flogged for selling 
 one of the prisoners a little tobacco, which he saved o-it of 
 his own allowance. The crew were forbidden to speak 
 with any of us; but, when they could with safety, they 
 deecribed him to be the most odious of tyrants, and the most 
 malicious of men. They said he never appeared pleased 
 only when his men were suffering the agonies of the boat- 
 swain's lashes. In this he resembled the demons among the 
 damned. 
 
 Upon calling over our names, and parading ourselw 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 fore captain Davie, we could discover, in a second, the 
 harsh temper of the man. We at length weighed anchor, 
 passed a fleet of men of war, and in a few days arrived in 
 Plymouth harbor. The captain went immediately on shore 
 and left the command to his worthy and humane lieutenant. 
 The next day a great many boats came off to us filled with 
 Cyprian dames. They were, generally, healthy, rosy look- 
 ing lasses. Their number increased every hour, until there 
 were as many on board of us as there were men. In short, ev- 
 ery man who paid the waterman half a crown had a wife ; so 
 that the ship, belonging to the bulwark of our religion, ex- 
 hibited such a scene as is described by the navigators, who 
 have visited the South-Sea Islands. We read, with sur- 
 prise and pity, the conduct of the female sex, when Euro- 
 pean ships visit the islands in the Pacific ocean ;* and we 
 are unwilling to give credit to all we read, because we, 
 Americans, never fail to annex the idea of modesty to that 
 of a woman ; for female licentiousness is very rarely wit- 
 nessed in the new world. This has rendered the accounts 
 of navigators, in a degree, incredible ; but we see the same 
 thing in the ports of England a land of Christians renown- 
 ed for its bishops and their church, and for moral writings 
 and sermons, and for their bible societies, and religious in- 
 stitutions, and for their numerous moral essays, and chaste po- 
 etical writings. Yes, Christian reader! in this religious island, 
 whereof George the 3d is king, and Charlotte the queen, the 
 young females crowd the prison ships, and take for husbands 
 the ragged American prisoners, provided they can get a few 
 shillings by it ! What are we to think of the state of soci- 
 ety in England, when two or three sisters leave the house of 
 their parents, and pass a week on board of a newly arrived 
 ship ? What can be the sentiments of the daughters ? What 
 the feelings of their mothers, their fathers, and their bro- 
 thers? In the South Sea Islands, young females know not what 
 modesty means ; neither that nor chastity is a virtue in those 
 regions.* But it is not quite so in England ; there this lewd 
 conduct is a mark of debasement, depravity and vice. The 
 sea-ports of England, and the streets of her capital, and, in- 
 deed, of all her large cities are filled with handsome women, 
 who offer themselves as wives to men they never saw before, 
 
 * See the Journals of English Navigators generally; and Captain 
 Portals Journal of his cruize in the U. S. frigate Essex. 
 13 
 
J50 JOURNAL. 
 
 for a few shillings ; and yet this is the country of which our 
 reverend doctors, from the pulpit, assure us, contains more 
 religion and morality than any other of the same number of 
 inhabitants ; nay, more, our governor has proclaimed it to 
 the world over, as being the very " bulwark of the religion 
 we profess." If cruelty to prisoners, cruelty to their own 
 soldiers, if kidnapping their mechanics, by press gangs, if 
 shocking barbarity be exercised towards prisoners, and if 
 open, shameless lewdness, mark and disgrace their sea-ports, 
 their capital, and all their large cities, are -the modest and 
 correct people, inhabiting the towns and villages of the 
 ed States, to be affronted by being told publicly, tint they 
 have less religion, less morality than the people of England ? 
 How long shall we continue to be abused by folly and pre- 
 sumption ? We, Americans, are yet a modest, clean, and mo- 
 ral people ; as much so as the Swiss in Europe ; and we feel 
 ourselves offended, and disgusted when our blind guides tell 
 us to follow the example of the English in their manners, and 
 sexual conduct. Could I allow myself to particularise the 
 conduct of the fair sex, who crowd on board every recently 
 arrived ship, and who swarm on the shores, my readers would 
 confess that few scenes of the kind could exceed it. The 
 freedom of the American press will give to posterity a just 
 picture of British morals, in the reigns of George the 3d and 
 4th. 
 
 While laying in Plymouth harbor, we received the news of 
 the capture of the City of Washington ; and the burning of 
 its public buildings with the library. The burning the pub- 
 lic buildings and the library of books at Washington has 
 been execrated by all the civilized world. The British are 
 famous, or rather infamous for this barbarous mode of war- 
 fare. We find this passage in Captain John Krsox's F?ir-tori- 
 cal Journal of the Campaigns in North America in 1758 
 " Brigadier Wolfe has been also successful at Gaspe, and the 
 N. N. E. parts of this province, (Nova Scotia) he has burn- 
 ed, among other settlements a most valuable one called 
 Mount St. Louis: the intendant of the place offered 150,000 
 livres to ransom that town and its environs, which were no- 
 bly rejected : all their magazines of corn, dried fish, barrel- 
 led eels, and other provisions which they had for themselves, 
 and other provisions for Quebec market, were all destroyed. 
 Wherever he went with his troops deb Jatiori foHowtd."- 
 And this, reader, was the glorious General WoSfe, whom hU 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 barbarous nation, and our own fools have extolled to the 
 skies in marble monuments, and his sons. Cockburn was 
 nothing compared with this immortal plunderer and burner of 
 villages and destroyer of the provisions laid up for the men, 
 women and children of the French settlements in Arcadia. 
 General Wolfe perpetrated this savage deed in the latter end 
 of November, 1758, when the wretched inhabitants had a 
 long and dreary winter before them. But Wolfe and Ross 
 were punished, by the just avenger. 
 
 " Gapt. M'Curdie was killed by the falling of a tree on the 
 30th, and Lieut. Hazen commands at present, who returned 
 last night from a scout up this river : he went to St. Ann's 
 and burnt 147 dwelling houses, 2 mass-houses, besides all 
 their barns, stables, out-houses, granaries, &c. He returned 
 down the river about where he found a house in a thick 
 forest, with a number of cattle, horses and hogs ; these he 
 destroyed. There was fire in the chimney ; the people were 
 gone oiF into the woods; he pursued, killed and scalped six. 
 men, brought in four, with two women and three children ; 
 he returned to the house, set it on fire, threw the cattle into 
 the flames, and arrived safe with his prisoners." from page 
 230 of Captain Knox's Historical Journal of Campaigns in 
 North America from 175(3 to 1760. This work in t\vo 4 to. 
 vol. is dedicated by permission to Lieutenant General Sir 
 Jeffrey Amiierst, and printed in L ouon by Dodsley, 1769. 
 It has for its motto nc quid falsi y dicere audeat, ue quid vcri 
 non ccudcat. 
 
 Every body around us believed that America was con- 
 quered, and the war over. After we had read the account 
 in the newspaper, the Lieutenant came down among us, and 
 talked with us on the event ; and asked us if we did not 
 think that America 1 would now submit and make peace on 
 such terms as Great Britain should propose ? We all told 
 him with one voice, no! no! and that the possession of the 
 whole sea-coast could not produce that eifect. We explain- 
 ed to him the situation of Washington ; and described the 
 half built city ; and soon convinced him that the capture of 
 Washington, was by no means an event of half the import- 
 ance of the capture of Albany, or New-York, or Baltimore. 
 We all agreed that it would make a great sound in Eng- 
 land, and throughout Europe, but that it was, in fact, of lit- 
 tle consequence to the UNITED STATES. Why should a re- 
 publican weep at the burning of a palace ? 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 About a week after we entered Plymouth harbor, two 
 hundred of us were drafted to be sent to Dartmoor Prison, 
 instead of being sent, as \ve expected, to America. 
 
 We were conveyed in boats, and saw, as we passed, a 
 number of men of war on the stocks ; and, among others, 
 the Lord Vincent, pierced for 120 guns. One of our pri- 
 soners told the lieutenant that he was in that battle with 
 Lord St. Vincent, and of course helped him gain the victo- 
 ry, and here he was now sailing by a most noble ship, (built 
 in honour of that famous admiral) on his way to a doleful 
 prison ! This man had been pressed on board a British man 
 of war, and was given up as such ; but instead of being sent 
 home as he ought, he was detained a prisoner of war, and 
 yet this unfortunate man exposed his life in fighting for the 
 British off Cape St. Vincents, as much as the noble Lord 
 himself. Such is the difference of rewards in this chequered 
 world ! 
 
 , My mind was too much oppressed with the melancholy 
 prospect of Dartmoor prison, to notice particularly the 
 gallant show oF ships ; and the beautiful scenery which the 
 dock and bay ef Plymouth afforded. When we landed a 
 short distance from the dock, we were received by a file of 
 soldiers, or rather two files, between which we marched on to 
 prison. This was the first time we touched the soil of Eng- 
 land with our feet, after laying under its shores nearly a 
 year. It excited singular and pleasant sensations to be once 
 more permitted to walk on the earth, although surrounded by 
 soldiers and going to prison. The old women collected a- 
 bout us with their cakes and ale, and as we all had a little 
 money we soon emptied their jugs and baskets ; and theiy 
 cheering beverage soon changed our sad countenances; 
 and as we marched on we cheered each other. Our march 
 drew to the doors and windows the enchanting sight of fair 
 ladies; compared with our dirty selves, they looked like an- 
 gels peeping out of Heaven; and yet they were neither 
 handsomer, or neater than our sweethearts and sisters in our 
 own dear country. 
 
 After we left the street, we found the road extremely dus- 
 ty, which rendered it very unpleasant in walking close to 
 each other. Before we got half way to the prison, there was 
 a very heavy shower of rain, so that by the time we arrived 
 there we looked as if we had been wallowing in the mud. 
 Oar unfeeling conductors marched us nine miles before tb<>y 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 allowed us to rest; never once considering how unfit we 
 were, from our long confinement, for travelling. Where we 
 were allowed to stop, a butt of beer was placed in a cart for 
 saie. Had British prisoners been marching through New- 
 England, a butt of beer, or good cider would have been pla- 
 ced for them free of all expense ; but Old England is not 
 New-England by a great deal, whatever Governor STKONG 
 may think of his adorable country of kings, bishops and mis- 
 sionary societies.* Here a fresh escort of soldiers relieved 
 those who brought us from Plymouth. The commanding of- 
 ficer of this detachment undertook to drive us from the beer- 
 cart before ail of us had a taste of it ; he rode in among us, 
 and flourished his sword, with a view to frighten us; but we 
 refused to stir till we were ready, and some of our company 
 
 called him a damned lobster backed ; , for wishing to 
 
 drive us away before every one had his drink. The man 
 was perplexed, and knew not what to do. At last the booby 
 did what he ought to have done at first forced the beer- 
 seller to drive off his cart. But it is .the fate of British officers 
 of higher rank than this one, to think and act at last of that 
 which they ought to have thought, and acted upon at^irsf. 
 They are no match for the yankees, in contrivance, or in exe- 
 cution. This beer barrel is an epitome of all their conduct 
 in their war with America. What old woman put the idea 
 into this officer's head 1 know not ; but it is a fact, as soon 
 as the beer barrel was driven off, we were all ready to march 
 off too ! And few companies of vagabonds in England ever 
 marched off to prison in better spirits; we cheered one another, 
 and laughed at our profound leader, until we came in sight 
 of the black, bleak, and barren moor, without a solitary bush 
 or blade of grass. Some of our prisoners swore that we had 
 marched the whole length of England, and got into Scot- 
 land. We all agreed that it was not credible that such a hi- 
 deous, barren spot could be any where found in England. 
 
 Our old rnen-of- wars-men suffered the most. Many of 
 these had not set their feet on the earth for seven years, and 
 they had lost in a measure, the natural operation of their 
 
 * The Yankees first taught the British soldiery to brew spruce beer 
 at the siege of Louisbourg. The reader may find directions for mak- 
 ing it in general orders issued by General Ambers! hi Sept. 1758. See 
 Captain John Knox's Historical Journal, Vol. I, page 184, where it 
 ?ay.s that one gallon of this beer costs, ojolasse/, and ail } less thuu a 
 sterling a gallon. 
 13* 
 
JOURNAL 
 
 feet and legs. These naval veterans loitered lie-hind; afv 
 tended by a guard. In ascending a hill we were some dis- 
 tance from the main body, and by taming a corner the rear 
 was concealed from the van. Two young: men took advan- 
 tage of this, and jumped over a wall, and lay snusc under 
 it; but being observed, the guard fired, which alarmed 
 those in front, when some soldiers pursued them, and seeing 
 the impossibility of escaping, the young men jumped over 
 the wall again, and mixed in with their companions without 
 their being able to identify their persons. Our driver was- 
 extremely perplexed and alarmed at our daring attempts. 
 
 On crawling op the long and ragged hill, we became wea- 
 ried, and refused to walk so fast as- did the guard. No pru- 
 dent officer would have driven men on as we were driven 
 We should have rested every two or three miles. The sun 
 was sinking below the horizon when we gained the top of 
 the hill which commanded a view of Dartmow prison. We 
 passed through a small collection of houses called Prince- 
 town, where were two inns. The weather was disagreeable 
 after the shower, and we saw the dark-hued prisons, whose 
 sombre and doleful aspect chilled our blood. Yonder, cried 
 one of our companions, is the residence of four thousand five 
 hundred men., and in a few minutes we shall add to the num- 
 ber of its wretches. Others said, in that place will be sa- 
 crificed the aspiring feelings of youth, and the anxious ex- 
 pectations of relatives. There, said 1, shall we bury all the 
 designs of early emulation. I never felt disheartened be- 
 fore. I shed tears when I thought of home, and of my wretch- 
 ed situation, arid I cursed the barbarity of a people among 
 whom we were driven more like hogs than fellow men and 
 Christians. I had weathered adverse gale with fortitude ; 
 and never flinched amidst severities. " A taught bowstring" 
 was always my motto ; but here I gave way for a moment., 
 *o despair, and wished the string to snap asunder and end my 
 misery ; for I had not even the consolation of a criminal go- 
 Ing to execution to brace up the cord of life and inspire hope 
 beyond the grave. The idea of lingering out a wretched 
 existence in a doleful prison, dying by piece-meals, my flesh 
 wasting by hunger, my frame exhausting by thirst, and my 
 spirits broken <iown by a tyrant, and by jostling with mis- 
 fortunes, I could not avoid. If death, instead of knocking 
 at my prison door, would enter it at once, I would thank the 
 goal deliverer. 1 am now comforted with the 
 
 J 
 
that nothing but an early religious education could have pre- 
 served me at this, and some other times of my misery, from 
 destroying myself. 
 
 We soon arrived at the gates of this very extensive prison, 
 and were admitted into the first yard, for it had several. We 
 there answered to (he call of our names; and at length pass- 
 ed through the iron gates to prison No. 7. We requested 
 the turnkey to take in our baggage, as it. contained our bed- 
 ding ; but "it was neglected, and rained on during the night ; 
 for on this bleak anddrizly mountain there are not more than 
 ninety fair days in the year. It took us several days to dry 
 our duds, for they merited not the name of baggage. 
 
 The moment we entered the dark prison, we found our- 
 selves jammed in with a multitude; one calling us to come 
 this way, another that; some halloing, swearing and cursing, 
 so that I did not know, for a moment, but what I had died 
 through fatigue and hard usage, and was actually in the re- 
 gions of the damned. Oh, what a horrid night I here passed! 
 
 The floors of this reproach to Old England were of stone,, 
 damp and mouldy, and smelling like a transport. Here we had 
 to lay clown and sleep after a most weary march of 15 miles. 
 What apology can be made for not having things prepared 
 for our comfort ? Those who have been enslaved in Algiers 
 found things very different. The food and the lodging were 
 in every respect superior among the Mahometans, than among 
 these boasting Christians, and their general treatment infinite- 
 ly more humane ; some of our companions had been prison- 
 ers among the Barbary powers, and they describe them as 
 vastly more considerate than the English. 
 
 After passing a dreadful night, we next day had opportu- 
 nity of examining our prison. It had iron staneheons, like 
 those in stables for horses, on which hammocks were hung. 
 The windows had iron gratings, and the bars of the doors 
 seemed calculated to resist the force of men, and of time. 
 These things had a singular effect on such of us, as had, from 
 our childhood, associated the idea of liberty with the name 
 of Old England; but a man must travel beyond the smoke 
 of his own chimney to acquire correct ideas of the charac- 
 ters of men, and of nations. We however saw the worst of 
 'it at first; for every day our residence appeared less disa- 
 greeable. 
 
 We arrived here the llth of October; and eur lot wag 
 better than that of thirty of our companions, who earns on a- 
 

 J'v)0 JOURNAL. 
 
 little after us from Plymouth. These 30 men were sent from 
 the West-Indies, and h;.d no descriptive lists, and it was ne- 
 cessciry that these men should be measured and described as 
 to stature, complexion, &c. Capt. Shortland therefore or- 
 dered them to he shut up in the prison No. 6. This was a 
 more cold, dreary and comfortless place than No. 7. Their 
 bed was nothing but the cold damp stones; and being 
 in total darkness they dare not walk about. These 30 men 
 had been imprisoned at Barbadoes ; and they had supposed 
 that when they arrived at this famous birth place of liberty, 
 they should not be excluded from all her blessings. They had 
 suffered much at Barbadoes, and they expected a different 
 treatment in England ; but alas ! Captain Shortland at once 
 dissipated the illusion and shewed himself what Britons real- 
 ly are. The next morning they were taken up to Captain 
 Shortland's office to be described, and marked, and number- 
 ed. One of the thirty, an old and respectable Captain of an 
 American ship, complained of his usage, and told Shortland 
 that he had been several times a prisoner of war, but never 
 experienced such barbarous treatment before. The man only 
 replied that their not having their beds was the fault of the 
 Turnkey; as if that could ever be admitted as an excuse 
 among military men. \gj => For a minute description of Dart- 
 moor Prison see tJie engraving.] 
 
 Dartmoor is a dreary spot of itself; it is rendered more 
 so by the westlerly winds blowing from the Atlantic ocean, 
 which have the aame quality and effects as the easterly wind, 
 blowing from the same ocean, are known to have in Nevv- 
 England. This high land receives the sea mist and fogs ; 
 and they settle on our skins with a deadly dampness. 
 Here reigns, more than two thirds of the year, " the Scotch 
 mist" which is famous to a proverb. This moor affords noth- 
 ing for subsistence or pleasure. Rabbits cannot live on it. 
 Birds fly from it; and it is inhabited, according to the belief 
 of the most vulgar, by ghosts and daemons ; to which will 
 now doubtless be added, the troubled ghosts of the murdered 
 American prisoners ; and hereafter will be distinctly seen the 
 tormented spirit of the bloody Capt. Shortland, clanking his 
 chains, weeping, wailing and gnashing his teeth 1 His a fact 
 that the market people have not sufficient courage to pass 
 this moor in the night. They are always sure to leave 
 Priacetown by day light, not having the resolution of pass- 
 ing this dreary, barren, and heaven-abandoned spot in the 
 
JOURNAL. "'\ 
 
 ilavk. Before the bloody massacre of our countrymen, this 
 unhallowed spot was believed, by common superstition, to 
 belong to the Devil. 
 
 Certain it is, that the common people in this neighbour- 
 hood were impressed with the notion that Dartmoor was a 
 place less desirable to mortals, and more under the influence 
 of evil spirits, than any other spot in England. I shall only- 
 say, that I found it, take it all in all, a less disagreeable pri- 
 son than the ships; the life of a prudent, industrious, well 
 behaved man might here be rendered pretty easy, for a prison 
 life, as was the case with some of our own countrymen, and 
 some Frenchmen; but the young, the idle, the giddy, fun 
 making youth generally reaped such fruit as he sowed. 
 Gambling was the wide inlet to vice and disorder; and in 
 this Frenchmen took the lead. These men would play away 
 every thing they possessed beyond the clothes to keep them 
 decent. They have been known to game away a month's 
 provision; and when they had lost it, would shirk arid steal 
 for a month after for their subsistence. A man with some 
 money in his pocket might live pretty well through the day 
 in Dartmoor Prison ; there being shops and stalls where 
 every little article could be obtained ; but added to this we 
 had a good and constant market ; and the bread and meat 
 supplied by government were not bad; and as good I presume 
 as that given to British prisoners by our own government ; 
 had our lodging and prison-house been equal to our food, I ne- 
 ver should have complained. The establishment was bless- 
 ed with a good man for a physician, named M'Grath, an 
 Irishman, a t nil, lean gent!eman, with one eye, but of a warm 
 and good heart. We never shall cease to admire his disposi- 
 tion, nor forget his humanity. 
 
 The Frenchmen and our prisoners did not agree very well. 
 They quareiled and sometimes fought* and they carried their 
 differences to that length, that it was deemed proper to erect 
 a wall to separate them, like so many game cocks, in differ- 
 ent yards. When this Depot was garrisoned by Highland- 
 ers, these Scotchmen took part with the Americans against 
 the French. Here the old presbyterian principle of affinity 
 operated against the papal man of sin. It cannot be denied 
 that there" is a deep rooted hatred between the Briton and 
 the Frenchman. 
 
 While at Dartmoor Prison, there came certain French of- 
 fierr* wearing the white cockade; their object seemed to be 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 to converse with the prisoners, and to persuade them to de* 
 dare for Louis 18th; but they could not prevail; the French- 
 men shouted vive VEmpereur! Their attachment to Bona- 
 parte was remarkably strong. He must have been a man 
 of wonderful powers to attach all ranks so strongly to him. 
 Before the officers left the place, these Frenchmen hoisted up 
 a little dog with the white cockade tied under his tail, -:oon 
 after this the French officers, who appeared to be men of some 
 consideration, left the prison. 
 
 I have myself had nothing particular to complain of; but 
 the prisoners here speak of Captain Shortland as the most 
 detestable of men; and they bestow on him the vilest and 
 most abusive epithets. The prisoners began to dig a hole 
 under prison No. 6, and had made considerable progress 
 towards the outer wall, when a man, who came from New- 
 bury port betrayed them to Capt. Shortland. This man had, 
 it was said, changed his name in America, on account of for- 
 gery. Be that as it may, he was sick at Chatham where we 
 |>aid him every attention, and subscribed money for procur- 
 ing him the means of comfort. Shortland gave him two 
 guineas, and sent him to Ireland ; or the prisoners would have 
 banged him for a traitor to his countrymen. The hypocritical 
 scoundrel's excuse was conscience and humanity ; for he 
 told Shortland that we intended to murder him, and every 
 one else in the neighbourhood. Shortland said he knew 
 better ; that " he was fearful of our escaping, but never had 
 " any apprehensions of personal injury from an American; 
 " that they delighted in plaguing him and contriving the 
 ?i means of escape; but he never saw a cruel or murderous 
 u disposition in any of them." 
 
 The instant Capt. Shortland discovered the attempt to 
 escape by digging a subterraneous passage, he drove all the 
 prisoners into the yard of No. 1, making them take their bag- 
 gage with them ; and in a few days after, when he thought 
 they might have begun another hole, but had not time to 
 complete it, he moved them into another yard and prison, and 
 so he kept moving them from one prison to the other, and 
 took great credit to himself for his contrivance; and in this 
 way he harrassed our poor fellows until the day before our 
 arrival at the prison. He had said that he was resolved not 
 to suffer them to remain in the same building and j'ard more 
 than ten days at a time ; and this was a hardship they re- 
 solved not voluntarily to endure; for the removal of ham 
 
JOURNAL. 150 ' 
 
 mocks and furniture and every little article, was an intolera- 
 ble grievance; and the more the prisoners appeared pester- 
 ed, the greater was the enjoyment of Captain Short land. It 
 was observed that whenever, in these removals, there were 
 much jamming and squeezing and contentions for places, it 
 gave this man pleasure ; but that the ease and comfort of the 
 prisoners gave him pain. The united opinion of the prison- 
 ers was, that he was a very bad hearted man. He would oft- 
 en stand on the military walk, or in the market square, when- 
 ever there was ray lifference, or tumult, and enjoy the 
 scene with malicious satisfaction. He appeared to delight 
 in exposing prisoners in rainy weather, without sufficient 
 reason. This has sent many of our poor fel!ow r s to the 
 grave, and would have sent more had it not been for the be- 
 nevolence and skill of Dr. M'Grath. We thought Miller 
 and Osmore skilled in tormenting ; but Shortland exceeded 
 them both oy a devilish deal. The prisoners related to me 
 several instances of cool and deliberate acts of torment, dis- 
 graceful to a government of Christians ; for the character 
 and general conduct of this commander could not be con- 
 cealed from them. He wore the British colours on his 
 house, and acted under this emblem of sovereignty. 
 
 It was customary to count over the prisoners twice a 
 week ; and after the sweepers had brushed out the prisons, 
 the guard would send to inform the commander that they 
 w r ere all ready for his inspection. On these occasions, Short- 
 land very seldom omitted staying away as long as he possi- 
 bly could, merely to vex the prisoners ; and they at length 
 expressed their sense of it ; for he would keep them stand- 
 ing until they were weary. At last they determined not to 
 submit to it ; and after waiting a sufficient time, they made 
 a simultaneous rush forward, and so forced their passage back 
 into their prison-house. To punish this act, Shortland stop- 
 ped the country people from coming into market for two 
 days. At this juncture we arrived; and as the increase of 
 numbers, increased our obstinacy, the Captain began to re- 
 lax; and after that, he came to inspect the prisoners, as soon 
 as they were paraded for that purpose. It was easy to per- 
 ceive that the prisoners had, in a great measure, conquered 
 the hard hearted, and vindictive Capt. Shortland. 
 
 The roof of the prison to which we were consigned, was 
 very leaky; and it rained on this dreary mountain almost 
 continually; place our beds wherever we could, they were 
 
lt>0 JOURNAL. 
 
 generally wet. We represented this to Capf. Shortland ; 
 and to our complaint was added that of the worthy and hu- 
 mane Dr. M'Grath ; but it produced no effect ; so that to the 
 ordinary miseries of a prison, we, for a long time endured 
 the additional one of w'et lodgings, which sent many of our 
 countrymen to their graves. 
 
 We owe much to the humanity of Dr. M'Grath, a very 
 worthy man, and a native of Ireland. Was M'Grath com- 
 mander of this Depot, there would be no difficulty with the 
 prisoners. They would obey him through affection and res- 
 pect 5 because he considers us rational beings, with minds 
 cultivated like his own, and susceptible of gratitude, and 
 habituated to do, and receive acts of kindness ; whereas the 
 great Ca'pt. Shortland considers us all as a base set of men, 
 degraded below the rank of Englishmen, towards whom 
 nothing but rigor should be extended. He acted on this 
 false idea ; and has like his superiors reaped the bitter fruit 
 of his own ill judged conduct. He might, by kind and re- 
 spectful usage, have led the Americans to any thing just and 
 honorable; but it was not in his power, nor all the Captains 
 in his nation, to force them to acknowledge and quietly sub- 
 mit to his tyranny. 
 
 Dr. M'Grath was a very worthy man, and every prisoner 
 loved him ; but M'Farlane, his assistant, a Scotchman, was 
 the reverse ; in dressing, or bleeding, or in any operation, he 
 would handle a prisoner with a brutal roughness, that con- 
 veyed the idea that he was giving way to the feelings of re- 
 venge, or national hatred.* Cannot a Scotchman testify 
 
 * Lest some might suspect that I have recorded this rough treat- 
 ment of the sick by an individual, as casting unjustly a reflection on 
 many, I shall here subjoin a passage from a Journal of a tour and re- 
 sidence in Great Britain during the years 1810 and 1811 by a French 
 Traveller a very popular work in England and much commended 
 by the Reviews there. The reader will perceive that he is much se- 
 verer than we are. " I have beers carried, says the Traveller, to one 
 of the Hospitals of this great town, supported by voluntary contribu- 
 tions. I shall relate what I saw. The physician seated at a table in 
 a large hall on the ground floor, with a register before him ordered the 
 doors to be opened ; a crowd of miserable objects, women, pushed in, 
 and ranged themselves along the wall ; he looked into his book, and 
 called them to him successively Such a one ! The poor wretch leav- 
 ing he i wall, crowded to the table. u How is your catarrh ?*" tfc Picas-? 
 your honour, no offence, I hope, it is the Asthma." I have no rest 
 night and day, and" Ah, so it is the Asthma ; it i.s somebody cLe 
 ,, the Catarrh. Well you have been ordered to tak:', c. 
 
JOURNAL. Itm 
 
 Ms unnatural loyally to the present reigning family of Eng- 
 land without treating an American with cruelty and con- 
 tempt. 
 
 Dr. Dobson, the superintendant physician of the Hospital- 
 ship at Chatham, was a very worthy and very skilful gentle- 
 man. We, Americans, ought never to forget his goodness 
 towards us. Some of us esteem him full as high as Dr, 
 M'Grath, and some more highly. They are both however, 
 worthy men, and deserve well of this country. There is noth- 
 ing men vary more in than in their opinion of and attachment 
 to physicians. Dobson and M'Grath deserve medals of gold, 
 and hearts of gratitude, for their kind attention to us all. 
 
 Yes, Sir, but 1 grow worse and worse, and" That is nothing, you 
 must go on with it. u But Sir, indeed, I cannot." Enough, enough, 
 good woman, I cannot listen to you any more ; many patients to get 
 through this morning never do to hear them talk go and take your 
 draught. The Catarrh woman made way for a long train of victims 
 of corruption, cases of fever, dropsy, scrofula, and some disorders pe- 
 culiar to women, detailed without any ceremony before young stu- 
 dents. This melancholy review of human infirmities Avas suddenly 
 interrupted by the unexpected entrance of a surgeon, followed by se- 
 veral young men, carrying a piece of bloody flesh on a dish. u Ji 
 curious case," they exclaim eel, placing the dish on the table ; "an os- 
 sification of the lungs ! Such a one, who died yesterday just open- 
 ed. This is the state of his lungs. See these white needles, like fit-h 
 bones, shooting through here and there ; most curious indeed." 
 Then they handled, and cut open, and held up between the eye and 
 the light, these almost palpitating remains of an human creature who 
 breathed yesterday. The symptoms of his disorder, and the circum- 
 stances of his death, were freely talked over, and accurately describ- 
 ed in the hearing of the consumptive patients, \vho felt, I dare say, 
 the bony needles pricking their own lungs at every breath they drew, 
 and seemed to hear their OAvn sentence of death pronounced. 
 
 The women being despatched, 20 or 30 male spectres came in, and 
 underwent the same sort of summary examination. The only case I 
 recollect Avas that of a roan attacked with violent palpitations, ac- 
 companied Avith great pain in the shoulders. His heart was felt beat- 
 ing hard through the sternum, or even under the ribs on the right side. 
 " His heart has moved from its place !" The unhappy man thrown 
 back on an arm chair his breast uncovered pale as death fixed 
 his fearful eye? on the physicians, who successively came to feel the 
 pulsations of the breast, and reason on the cause. They seemed to 
 me to agree among themselves, that the heart had been pushed on one 
 side, by the augmentation of the bulk of the viscera ; and that the 
 action 'f the Aorta was impeded thereby. The case excited much 
 attention, but no great appearance of compassion. They reasoned 
 long on the cause, without adverting to the remedy till after the pa- 
 
 14 
 

 JOURNAL. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The establishment of prison-ships at Chatham is broken 
 up, ami the last of the prisoners were marched from Ply- 
 mouth to this place, the 30th of November. They were 
 marched from that place to this, in one day, half leg deep 
 in mud. Some lost their shoes ; others, to preserve them, 
 took them off, and carried them in their hands. When they 
 arrived here, they were indeed objects of pity ; neverthe- 
 less they were immediately shut up in a cold, damp prison, 
 without any bedding, or any of the ordinary conveniences, 
 until they could be examined and described in the comman- 
 der's books ; after which they were permitted to mix with 
 the rest of their countrymen. We found many of them, the 
 day after their arrival, unable to walk, by reason of their 
 too long protracted march, in a very bad road. A prudent 
 drover would not have risked his cattle by driving them 
 through such a road in a few hours. Such a thing never was 
 done in America, with British prisoners. 
 
 I find all the prisoners here deeply exasperated against 
 Captain Shortland, and too much prejudiced to hear any 
 thing in his favor. I presume they have reason for it. As 
 I have but just arrived, I have had but little opportunity of 
 seeing and judging his conduct. Instead of his being a bad 
 hearted man, 1 am disposed to believe that the fault is in his 
 understanding and education. I suspect that he is a man 
 
 tient had departed, when he was called back from the door, and 
 cupping prescribed ! 
 
 The medical men next proceeded to visit the resident patients t 
 followed. The apartments were clean and spacious, and the sick not 
 crowded, which is no doubt of the greatest importance. I was shock- 
 ed, however, with the same appearance of insensibility and precipita- 
 tion. 
 
 J.cr le long de zes lils on gemit le malheur, 
 Ficfimes des secours plus que de la douleur, 
 ISignorance en couranl fait sa ronde homicidf, 
 LI indifference observe tt le hazard decide. 
 
 These are the sentiments and feelings of a sensible French gentl-- 
 man who had resided 20 years in the U. S. and whose journal of'his 
 Travels through England' has been highly praised by the Br'-tish Re- 
 viewers for its liberality, candor, justness and good sense. By thr 
 mouth of two witnesses all things shall be established."' 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 of narrow views ; that he has not sufficient information, or 
 capacity, to form a right judgment of the peculiar cast and 
 character of the people under his charge. He has never, 
 perhaps, considered, that these descendants of Englishmen, 
 the free inhabitants of the new world, have been born and 
 brought up in, if we may speak so, Indian freedom; on which 
 freedom has been superinduced an education purely demo- 
 cratic, in schools where degrading punishments are un- 
 known; where if a schoolmaster exercised the severity 
 common in English and German schools, they would tie the 
 master's hands with his own bell-rope. He has never consi- 
 dered that our potent militia choose their own officers ; and 
 that the people choose all their officers and leaders from a- 
 mong themselves ; and that there are very few men indeed, 
 none, perhaps, in New-England, who would refuse to shake 
 hands with a decent yeoman. It is probable that Captain 
 Shortland has never once reflected that there are fewer 
 grades of men between the lowest white man under his 
 charge and the highest in America, than there are between 
 him and the highest ranks in England. He has never con- 
 sidered the similarity between the ancient Roman republi- 
 can, and the republican of the United States of Ameriea ; 
 nor why both republics deemed it abhorrent to inflict stripes 
 on their citizens. Shortland had not sufficient sagacity to 
 discover that playfulness, fun and frolic, formed a strong 
 trait in the character of the American sailor and militia 
 man, for they had hardly become, what is called in Europe, 
 soldiers ; drilling and discipline had not obliterated the free 
 and easy carnage of a bold and fearless Yankee. 
 
 Sir Guy Carlton, afterwards Lord Dorchester, was Gov- 
 ernor of Canada, during the revolutionary war, and proved 
 himself a wise man. He penetrated the American charac- 
 ter, and treated the American prisoners captured in Canada, 
 accordingly ; and by doing so, he eame near breaking up 
 our army ; for our prisoners were softened and subdued by 
 his kindness and humanity ; he sent them home well cloth- 
 ed, and well fed, and most of them declared they never would 
 fight against Sir Guy Carlton. He knew the American 
 character thoroughly ; and was convinced that harshness and 
 severity would have no other effect than to excite revenge 
 and hatred. On the other hand, our prisoners could have no 
 very great respect for a captain, an officer, which they them- 
 selves created by their votes, at pleasure ; add to this, that 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 several of the prisoners had the title of captain in their own 
 country. Had the commander of Dartmoor Prison been an 
 old woman, the Americans would have respected her sex 
 and years, and obeyed her commands ; but they despised 
 and hated Shortland, for his deficiency of head, heart, and 
 education ; from all which originated those sad events which 
 have disgraced one nation, and exasperated the other for- 
 ever. Shortland may be excused, when it is considered 
 that England lost her colonies by not studying the Ameri- 
 can character; and the same inattention to "the natural ope- 
 rations of the human heart, is now raising America gradu- 
 ally up to be the first naval power on the terraqueous Tiobe. 
 And thus much for contempt. 
 
 There was an order that all lights should he put out by 
 eight o'clock at night, in every prison ; and it was doubtless 
 proper ; but this order was carried into execution with a ri- 
 gor bordering on barbarity, On the least glimpse of light 
 discoverable in the prison, the guard would fire in amongst 
 us; and several were shot. Several Frenchmen were wound- 
 ed. This story was told that a French captain of a priva- 
 teer, the night after he first came, was undressing himself, by 
 his hammock, when the sentry cried, " Out UghtsF The 
 Frenchman not understanding English, kept it burning ; the 
 sentry fired, and scattered his brains over the place ; but 
 this did not occur while I was there ; but this I aver, that 
 several were shot, and I wondered that many were not kil- 
 led. I was shocked at the barbarity of the order. 
 
 About this time, the Derbyshire militia were relieved by 
 a regiment of regulars, who had been in Spain. They were 
 chiefly Irish ; and treated us better than we were treated by 
 the militia. They had infinitely more generosity and man- 
 liness, as well as more intelligence. They acte*d plays in 
 the cock loft of No. 5. They have good music, and' tole- 
 rable scenery ; and charge six pence for admission, to defray 
 the expense. This is a very pleasant way of making the 
 British soldier forget his slavery ; and the American prisoner 
 his bondage. These generous hearted Irishmen would some- 
 times give us a song in honour of our naval victories. O, 
 how we did long to be at liberty, when we heard songs hi 
 honour of the Constitution and of the United States I* 
 Some men are about to be sent off to Dartmouth, to 
 
 T*v<> eefebrated American Fri<ru<:. 
 
JOURNAL. 1 
 
 lurn to the United States ; this has occasioned us to write 
 letters to our friends and connexions ; but Captain Short- 
 land is very jealous on this head ; he will not allow us to 
 write to any of the neighbouring country people. The Eng- 
 lish dare not trust their own people, much more the Ameri- 
 can captives. 
 
 This is the latter part of the month of November ; and 
 the weather has been generally rainy, dark, dismal and fog- 
 gy. Sometimes we could hardly see the sentinels on the 
 walls. Sorrow and sadness within ; gloom, fog, or drizzly 
 rain without. If the commissioners at Ghent do not soon 
 make peace, or establish an exchange, we shall be lost to 
 our country, and to hope. The newspapers now and then 
 enliven us with the prospect of peace. We are told that 
 growing dissentions at Vienna will induce Great Britain to 
 get rid of her transatlantic enemy, in order to combat those 
 nearer home. Whenever we see in the newspapers an ar- 
 ticle captioned " News from Ghent" we devour it with our 
 eyes; but instead of substance, generally find it empty 
 wind. We are wearied out. I speak for myself; and I 
 hear the same expression from others. Winter is commencing 
 to add to our miseries. Poor clothing, miserable lodging, 
 poor, and inadequate food, long dismal nights, darkness, foul 
 air, bad smells, the groans of the sick, and distressed ; the 
 execrations and curses of the half distracted prisoner, the 
 unfeeling conduct of our keepers and commander all, all, 
 all conspire to fill up the cup of our sorrow ; but we hope 
 that one drop will not be added after it is brim full ; for then 
 it will run over, and death will follow ! 
 
 December. Nothing new, or strange, worth recording; 
 every day, and every night brings the same sad picture, the 
 same heart sinking impressions. Until now, I could not be- 
 lieve that misfortune and confinement, with a deprivation of 
 the accustomed food, ease and liberty enjoyed in our own 
 clear country, could have wrought such a change in the hu- 
 man person. The young have not only acquired wrinkles, 
 but appear dried up, and contracted in body and mind. I 
 can easily conceive that a few generations of the human 
 species, passed in such misery and confinement, would pro- 
 duce a race of beings, very inferior to what we now are* 
 The sailor, however, suffers less in appearance than we 
 landsmen ; for my short cruise in a privateer, does not en- 
 title me to the name of a sailor. How often have I reflect* 
 14* 
 

 JOURNAL, 
 
 ed on my rash adventure! To leave the house of plenfy. 
 surrounded with every thing comfortable, merely to chanse 
 the scene, and see the watery world. To quit my pater- 
 nal roof, half educated, to dress wounds, and cut "off the 
 limbs of those who might be mutilated, was about as in.ul a 
 scheme as ever giddy youth engaged in. Bui repining will d 
 no good. I must not despair, but make the best of my hard 
 lot. if I have lost a portion of ordinary education, I have 
 passed the severer school of misfortune ; and should I live 
 to return to America, I must strive to turn these hardships 
 to the best advantage. He who has not met adversity, has* 
 Hot seen the most proft table part of hummi life. 
 
 There were times, during my captivity, especially in the 
 ]ong and cheerless nights, when home, and all its endear- 
 ments, rushed on my mind ; and when I reflected on my 
 then situation, I hurst into tears, and wept aloud. It war* 
 then I was fe'arful that I should lose my reason, and never 
 recover it. Many a time have I thought myself into a fe- 
 ver, my tongue covered with a furr, and my brain seemed 
 burning up within my skull. It was company that preserv 
 rd me. Had I been alone, I should have been raving dis- 
 tracted. I had committed no crime ; I was in tbe service 
 of niy country, in a just and necessary war, declared by the 
 people of the UNITED STATES, through their representatives 
 ia CengrS$ 9 and proclaimed to the world by our supreme 
 executive officer, James Madison. On this subject, I can- 
 not help remarking the ignorance of the people of England, 
 }n their newspapers, and in their conversation, you wiiicon- 
 slr.rtlly find this idea held up, that the war was the work of 
 Mr. Madison and Bonaparte. This shows their ignorance 
 of the affairs of our country. They are too ignorant to 
 talk with on the constitution of our government ; and on 
 the character and conduct of our administration. It is no 
 wonder that they are astonished at our victories, by sea and 
 by land, when they are so totally ignorant of our country, 
 of its endless resources, of its invincible republican spirit, of 
 its strong government, founded on the affections of the peo- 
 ple ; and of the vigor, and all commanding intellect that 
 pervades and directs the whole. 
 
 On the 28th of this month, December, 1815, the news ar- 
 lived here that a treaty of peace was signed the 24th ia- 
 *t;mt, at Ghent. After a momentary stupor, acclamations 
 *f joy .burst forth ten every mouth, it fiew like wild firc 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 through the prison ; and peace ! peace ! peace ! echoed 
 throughout these dreary regions. To know that we were 
 soon to return home, produced a sensation of joy beyond the 
 powers of expression ! Some screamed, hollowed, danced, 
 sung, and capered, like so many Frenchmen. Others stood 
 in amaze, with their hands in their pockets, as if doubtful of 
 its truth. In by for the greater part, however, it gave a 
 glow of health and animation to the wan cheek of the half 
 sick, and, hitherto, cheerless prisoner. Some unforgiving 
 spirits hail the joyful event as bringing them nearer the pe- 
 riod of revenge, which they longed to exercise on some of 
 their tyrannical Keepers. Many who had meditated es- 
 cape, and had hoarded up every penny for that, event, now 
 brought it forth to spend in celebration of their regular de- 
 liverance. Even hard hearted Shortland appeared to bend 
 frum the haughty severity of his jailor-like manner, and can 
 now speak to an American as if he were of the same species 
 with himself. He has even allowed us to hoist our national 
 colors on these prisons ; and appears not to be offended at 
 the sound of mirth and hilarity, which now echoes through- 
 out these extensive mansions. I -say extensive, for I sup- 
 pose the whole of these prisons, yards, hospitals, stores and 
 houses, are spread over twenty acres of ground. [Sec the 
 plate.] 
 
 We calculate that the ratification of the treaty by the 
 President of the United States, will arrive in England by the 
 1st of April, at which period there will not be an American 
 left in this place. The very thoughts of it keep us from 
 sleeping. Amidst this joy for peace, and for the near pros- 
 pect of our seeing, once more, our dear America, there is not 
 a man among us but feels disposed to try again the tug of 
 war with the Britons, should they impress and flog our sea- 
 men, or instigate the savages of the wilderness to scalp and 
 tomahawk the inhabitants of our frontiers. This war, ami 
 this harsh imprisonment, will add vigor to our arms, should 
 the people of America again declare, by their representa- 
 tives in congress, that individual oppression, or the nation's 
 wrongs, render it expedient to sail, or march against a foe, 
 whose tender mercies are cruelty. We can tell our country- 
 men, when we return home, what the Britons are, as their 
 prisoners can tell the English what the Americans are. 
 ^ By their fruits shall ye know them" 
 
 We invite our readers to peruse the historical journal 
 

 
 Y .} GUHNAL. 
 
 ef the campaigns of 1759, by Capt. Knox, where ihc imrooi 1 - 
 tal Wolfe cut such a glorious figure in burning the iiouses, 
 and plundering the wretched peasantry of Canada. He says, 
 ** The detachments of regulars and rangers, under Major 
 Scott and Captain Goreham, who went down the river oil 
 the 1st instant, are returned. They took a great quantity 
 of black cattle and sheep ; an immense deal of plunder, such 
 as household stuffy bocks and apparel, burnt above eleven hun- 
 dred houses, and destroyed several hundred acres of corn, 
 beside some fisheries, and made sixty prisoners ;" and this 
 just before winter! Have we, Americans, ever been guilty 
 of such deeds ? Yet we, Yankees, have been taught from 
 our childhood to eulogize Wolfe, and Amhcrst, and Monde- 
 ton, and to speak in raptures of the glorious war in 1759, 
 when British soldiers joined the savages in scalping French- 
 men ! 
 
 During this month, a number of prisoners have been sent 
 to this prison from Plymouth. They came here from Hal- 
 ifax ; they \vere principally seamen, taken out of prizes, 
 which the English retook. They all make similar com- 
 plaints of hard usage, bad and very scanty food, and no at- 
 tention to their health or comfort. There are now, at this 
 depot, about Twenty-Three Hundred and Fifty Americans, 
 who were impressed, previously to the war, into the British 
 service, by English ships and English press-gangs. They 
 are the stoutest and most hardy looking men in the prison. 
 This is easily accounted for. When the British go on 
 board an American merchant ship to look for English sail- 
 ors, they adopt one easy rule, viz. they select the stout- 
 est, most hardy, and healthy looking men, and swear that 
 they are Englishmen. After they have selected one of 
 these fine fellows, it is in vain that he produces his protec- 
 tion, or any other evidence of his American birth and citi- 
 zenship. 
 
 We learn from these seamen, that as soon as conveyed 
 on board the British men of war, they are examined as to 
 the length of time they have been at sea ; and according to 
 the knowledge and experience they appear to have, they 
 are stationed ; and if they grumble at the duty assigned 
 them, they are called mutinous rascals, and threatened with 
 the cat ; the warrant officers are charged to watch them 
 elosely, lest they should attempt to pervert the crew, anil 
 to prevent them from sexxiiog letters from the ship to thefe 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 iriends. Should any letters be detected on them, the sail- 
 ors are charged, on pain of the severest punishment, to de- 
 liver them to some of the commissioned officers. 
 
 If they complained of their hard fate to their messmates, 
 they were liable to punishment, and if they attempted to re- 
 gain their liberty, and were detected, they were stripped, 
 tied up, and most cruelly and disgracefully whipped, like a 
 negro siave. Can any thing be conceived more humiliating 
 to the feelings of men, born and brought up as we all are ? 
 Can we ever be cordial friends with such a people, even in 
 time of peace ? Will ever a man of our country, or his chil- 
 dren after him, forgive this worse than Algerine treatment ? 
 
 Several of the most intelligent of these impressed men 
 related to me the particulars of the treatment, they, at va- 
 rious times, received ; and I had committed them to paper ; 
 but they are too mean, low and disgusting to be recorded. 
 The pitiful evasions, unworthy arts, and even falsehoods of 
 some captains of his Britannic majesty's line of battle ships, 
 when a seaman produced his protection ; or offered to prove 
 his nativity, or identify his person, as marked in his descrip- 
 tive roll, were such, as to make me bless my stars that I did 
 not belong to their service. There were, however, some 
 instances of noble and generous conduct; which came up 
 to the idea we, once, entertained of English honor, before 
 the solid bullion of the English naval character was beaten, 
 into such thin, such very thin gold leaf, as to gild so many 
 thousands of their epauletted seamen. The officers of the 
 Poicticrs were spoken of with respect ; and, by what I could 
 learn, the smaller the vessel, the worse treatment was expe- 
 rienced by our prisoners, and impressed seamen ; your Jittle- 
 hig-men being; always the greatest tyrants. Among these 
 small fry of the mistress of the ocean, ''you damned Yankee 
 rascal? was a common epithet. Our own land officers had 
 often to remark, when they came in contact with the British, 
 especially in the night, as at Bridgewater, and at the re- 
 pulse at Fort Erie, that the British colonels and other offi- 
 cers, were heard repeatedly to use expressions of this sort 
 " No quarter to the damned yankees /" " Form ! Form ! for 
 the damned yankees are close upon us!" Colonel Drum- 
 mend's test words, when he surmounted the rampart at Fort 
 Erie, was in the like style of language. How many lives 
 have these expressions of contempt cost the British! 
 
 Many of the impressed seamen now here, have told me. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 that they have been lashed to the gang-way, and most se- 
 verely whipped, even to the extent of three dozen, for re- 
 fusing to do, what the captain of a British man of war called 
 " THEIR DUTY !" Some of these men have replied, " it is my 
 duty to serve my own country ; and fight against its ene- 
 mies ;" and for saying so, have been farther abused. Have 
 ever the French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians. Germans, 
 Dutch, Danes, Swedes, Russians, Prussians, Turks, or Al- 
 gerines treated American citizens in this way ? And yet 
 our federalists can never bear to hear us speak, in terms of 
 resentment, against " the bulwark of our religion. 1 ' O, Ca- 
 leb ! Caleb ! Thou hast a head and so has a beetle.* 
 
 We had all more or less money from the American gov- 
 ernment ; and some of the impressed men brought money 
 with them. This attracted the avaricious spirit of our 
 neighbors ; so that our market was filled, not only with ve- 
 getables, but animal food. There were also seen in our mar- 
 ket, piles of broad cloth, boxes of hats, boots, shoes, and 
 many other articles. The greatest pick-pockets of all were 
 the Jews, with their watches, seals aad trinkets, and bad 
 books. A moral commander would have swept the prison 
 yard clean of such vermin. The women who attend our 
 market are as sharp as the Jews, and worse to deal with ; 
 for a sailor cannot beat them down as he can one of these 
 swindling Israelites. Milk is cheap,, only 4d. per gallon, 
 but they know how to water it. 
 
 The language and phraseology of these market people are 
 very rude. When puffing off the qualities of their goods, 
 when they talk very fast, we can hardly understand them. 
 They do not speak near so good English as our common 
 market people do in America. The best of them use the 
 pronoun he in a singular manner- as can he pay me ? Can he , 
 change ? For can you pay me ? Orj/ow change ? I am ful- 
 ly of opinion with those who say that the American people 
 
 * When we have read in thjq; American newspapers, which pome- 
 times reached Dartmoor prison, the speeches and proclamations of the 
 governor of Massachusetts 1 , some of us have blushed at the degrada- 
 tion of our native state. That state which once took the lead in the 
 opposition to Britain ; and that Boston, once considered the cradle of 
 liberty, has become among us, a name of reproach. Such are the 
 effects of an unprincipled faction a faction that are despised even 
 by these Britons, who expected their assistance in dividing the Union 5 
 and founding u the kingdom of 
 
JOURNAL. J 71 '. 
 
 taken collectively, as a nation, speak the English language 
 with more purity than the Britons, taken collectively. Ev- 
 erv man or boy of every part of the United States would he 
 promptly understood by the men of letters in London ; hut 
 every man and boy of Old England would not be promptly 
 understood by the lettered men in the capital towns of Ame- 
 rica. Is it not the bible that has preserved the purity of 
 our language in America ? Theae English men and wo- 
 men do not speak with Ihe grammatical correctness of our 
 people. As to the Scotch, their barbarisms that are to be 
 found even in print, are affrontive to the descendants of Eng- 
 lishmen. Where, among the white people of the United 
 Stales, ca-n we find such shocking barbarities as we hear 
 from the common people of Scotland ? And yet we find 
 that the Prince Regent is at the head of an institution for 
 perpetuating the unwritten language to the highlanders. We 
 shall expect to hear of a similar wndertakhig, under the 
 same patronage, for keeping alive the language of his dear 
 allies, the Kickapoas and Pottowottomies ! I for the language 
 of slaves or savages, are the needed props of some of the 
 thrones in Europe. 
 
 I am sorry to remark lhat the Christmas holy-days have 
 been recently marked with no small degree of intoxication, 
 and its natural consequence, quarrelling among the prisoners. 
 The news of peace ; and the expectation of being soon freed 
 from all restraint, have operated to unsettle the minds of the 
 most unruly, and to encourage riot. Drinking, carousing, 
 and noise, with little foolish tricks, are now too common. 
 Some one took off a shutter, or blind, from a window of No. 
 6, and as the persons were not delivered up by the standing 
 committee, Captain Shortland punished the whole, college 
 fashion, by stopping the market, or as this great man was 
 pleased wittily to call it, an embargo. At length the men 
 were given up to Shortland, who put them in the black hole 
 for ten days. 
 
 To be a cook is the most disagreeable and dangerous of- 
 fice at this depot. They are always suspected, watched and 
 hated, from an apprehension that they defraud the prisoner 
 of his just allowance. One was flogged the other day for 
 skimming the fat off the soup. The grand Vizier's office at 
 Constantinople, is not more dangerous than a cook's, at this 
 prison, where are collected four or five thousand hungry 
 American sons of liberty. The prisoners, take it upon 
 themselves to puaish these pot-skiroiners in their own way. 
 
.HH'RXAL, 
 
 We have in this collection of prisoners, a gang of hard- 
 fisted fellows, who call themselves " THE ROUGH ALLIES.'' 
 They have assumed to themselves the office of accuser, 
 judge and executioner. In my opinion, they are as great 
 villains as could he collected in the United States. They 
 appear to have little principle, and as little humanity, and 
 many of them are given up to every vice; and yet these 
 ragamuffins have been allowed to hold the scale and rod of 
 justice. These rough allies make summary work with the 
 accused, and seldom fail to drag him to punishment. I am 
 wearied out with such lawless anti- American conduct. 
 
 January 30*/i. The pricipal conversation among the most 
 considerate is, when will the treaty be returned, ratified ; for 
 knowing the high character of our commissioners, none 
 doubt but that the President and Senate will ratify, what 
 they have approved. We are all in an uneasy, and unset- 
 tied state of mind ; more so than before the news of peace. 
 Before that news arrived, we had settled down in a degree 
 of despair; but now we are preparing and planning our 
 peaceable departure from this loathsome place. 
 
 I would ask the reader's attention to the conduct of capt. 
 Shortland, the commanding officer of this depot of prison- 
 ers, as well as to the conduct of the men under his charge, 
 as the conduct and events of this period have led on to a tra- 
 gedy that has filled our native land with mourning and in- 
 dignation. I shall aim at truth and impartiality, and the 
 reader may make such allowance as our situation may natu- 
 rally afford, and his cool judgment suggest. 
 
 In the month of January, 1815, Captain Shortland com- 
 menced a practice of counting over the prisoners out of their 
 respective prisons, in the cold, raw air of the yard, where 
 we were exposed above an hour, unnecessarily to the sever- 
 ity of the weather. After submitting to this caprice of our 
 keeper, for several mornings, in- hopes he would !>e satisfied 
 as to the accurate number of the men in prison, we all re- 
 fused to go out again in wet and raw weather. Shortland pur- 
 sued his usual method of stopping the market ; but finding 
 that it had no effect, he determined on using force ; and sent 
 his soldiers into the yard, and ordered them to drive the pri- 
 soners into the prison in the middle of the afternoon, whereas 
 they heretofore remained out until the sun^had set, and then 
 they all went quietly into their dormitories. The regiment 
 of regulars had been withdrawn, and a regiment of Somer- 
 
n 
 
 JOURNAL. 173 4P^T 
 
 
 setshire militia had taken their place, a set of stupid fellows, 
 and generally speaking ignorant officers. The regiment of re- 
 gulars were clever fellows, and Shortland was awed by their 
 character; but he felt no awe, or respect, for these irregulars. 
 
 The prisoners told the soldiers that this was an unusual 
 time of day for them to leave the yard ; and that they 
 would not tamely submit to such caprice. The soldiers 
 could only ans-.ver by repealing their orders. More soldiers 
 were sent for ; bat they took special care to assume a posi- 
 tion to secure their protection. The soldiers began now to 
 use force with their bayonets. All this time Shortland 
 stood on the military walk with the major of the regiment, 
 observing the progress of his orders. Our men stood their 
 ground. On observing this opposition, Shortland became 
 enraged ; and ordered the major to give the word for the sol- 
 diers to fire. The soldiers were drawn up in a half circle, 
 to keep them from scattering. 
 
 We were now hemmed in between No. 7, and the walF, 
 that divided this from the yard of No. 4. The rmjor then 
 gave orders to the officer in the yard, to u charge bayonet." 
 This did not occasion our prisoners to retreat ; they rather 
 advanced; and same of them told the soldiers, that if they 
 pricked a single mm, they would disarm them. Shortland 
 was watching all these movements from behind the gate; 
 and finding that he had not men enough to drive them in, 
 drew his soldiers out of the yard. After this, the prisoners 
 went into the prison of their own accord, when the turnkey 
 sounde"d a horn. 
 
 These militia men have been somewhat intimidated by 
 the threatenijigs of the " rough allies," before mentioned. 
 These national guards thought they could drive us about 
 like so many Frenchmen; but they have found their mis- 
 take. A man escaped from the black-hole, who had been 
 condermied to remain in it during the war, fof attempting to 
 blow up a ship. The prisoners were determined to protect 
 him; and when Shortland found that the prisoners would not 
 betray him into his hands, he resorted to his usual embargo 
 of the market; and sent his soldiers in after the prisoner; 
 but he might as well have sought a needle in a hay-mow ; 
 for such was the difficulty of finding an individual among 
 six thousand. They ransacked every birth, and lurking 
 place, and passed frequently by the man without being abl- 
 to identify him, as our fellow had disguised himself both in 
 15 
 
174 JOURNAL. 
 
 face, and in person. The prisoners mixed in so entirely 
 with the soldiers, that the latter could not act, and were ac- 
 tually fearful of being disarmed. Wh^n these Somerset- 
 shire militia found that \ve were far from being afraid of 
 them, they ceased to be insolent, and treated us with some- 
 thing like respect. There was a considerable degree of 
 friendship between us and the late regiment of regulars, who 
 were gentlemen, compared with these clumsy militia. 
 
 There are about four hundred and fifty negroes in prison 
 No. 4 ; and this assemblage of blacks affords many curious 
 anecdotes, and much matter for speculation. These blacks 
 have a ruler among them whom they call king DICK. He is by 
 far the largest, and 1 suspect the strongest man in the prison. 
 Jle is six feet three inches in height, and proportionably large. 
 This black Hercules commands respect, and his subjects 
 tremble in his presence. He goes the rounds every day, and 
 visits every birth to see if they are all kept clean. When he 
 goes the rounds, he puts on a large bear-skin cap; and car- 
 ries in his hand a huge club. If any of his men are dirty, 
 drunken, or grossly negligent, he threatens them with a beat- 
 ing; and if they are saucy, they are sure to receive one. 
 They have several times conspired against him, and attempt- 
 ed to dethrone him ; but he h:is always conquered the rebels. 
 One night several attacked him while asleep in his ham- 
 mock; he sprang up and seized the smallest of them by his 
 feet, and thumped another with him. The poor negro who 
 had thus been made a beetle of, was carried next day to the 
 hospital, sadly bruised, and provokingly laughed at. This ru- 
 ler of the blacks, this king RICHARD the lYth, is a man of 
 good understanding ; and he exercises it to a good purpose. 
 If any one of his color cheats, defrauds, or steals from hi* 
 comrades, he is sure to be punished for it. Negroes are ge- 
 nerally reputed to be thieves. Their faculties are common- 
 ly found to be inadequate to the comprehension of the mo- 
 ral system ; and as to the Christian system, their notions of 
 it, generally speaking, are a burlesque on every thing serious. 
 The punishment which these blacks are disposed to inflict 
 on one another for stealing, partakes of barbarity ; and ought 
 never to be allowed, where the whites have the controul of 
 them. By a punishment called "cobbing" they have occa- 
 sioned the glutseus muscles to mortify. 
 
 Beside his majesty King Dick, these black prisoners have, 
 among them a Priest, who preaches every Sunday. He *an 
 
JOURNAL. I7fl^ 
 
 read, and he gives good advice to his brethren; and his 
 prayers are very much in the strain of what we have been 
 used to hear at home. In the course of his education, he 
 has learnt, it is said, to know the nature of crimes and pun- 
 ishments ; for, it is said, that while on board the Crown 
 Prince prison-ship at Chatham, he received a dozen lashes 
 for stealing some clothing ; but we must make allowance for 
 stories; for preachers have always complained of the ca- 
 lumnies of their enemies. If his whole history was known 
 and correctly narrated, he might be found a duly qualified 
 preacher, to such a congregation as that of prison No. 4. 
 
 This black m in has a good deal of art and cunning, and 
 has drawn several whites into his church; and his perform- 
 ances have an imposing cast ; and are often listened to with 
 seriousness. He appears to have learnt his sermons and 
 prayers from a diligent reading of good books ; but as to the 
 Christian system, the man has no more idea of it than he has 
 of the New Jerusalem ; but then his good sentences, deliv- 
 ered, frequently, with great warmth, and his string of good 
 advice, given in the negro dialect, make altogether, a novel- 
 ty, that attracts m my to hoar him ; and he certainly is of 
 service to the blacks ; and it is a fact, that the officers have 
 heard him hold tprlb, without any expressions of ridicule; 
 while the majority of these miserable' black people are too 
 much depraved to pay any serious attention to his advice. 
 
 It is curious to observe the natural alliance between king 
 Dick and this priest. Dick honors and protects him, while 
 the priest inculcates respect and obedience to this Richard 
 1he 4th. Here we see the mtion of church and state in mini- 
 ature. Who told this negro that to maintain this influence, 
 he must rally round the huge club of the strongest and most 
 powerful man in this black gang of sinners ? And who told 
 king Dick that his nervous arm and massy club, were insuf- 
 ficient without the aid of the preacher of terror ? Neither of 
 them had read, or heard of Machiavel. Who taught this 
 black orator, that the priesthood must seek shelter behind 
 the throne, from the hostilities of reason? And who told 
 " the rough allies," the Janisaries of this imperium in impr- 
 rlo, that they must assist and countenance both Dick and 
 the priest ? The science of government is not so deep and 
 complicated a thing as king-craft and priest-craft would 
 make us believe, since these rude people, almost deserving 
 the name of a banditti, threw themselves into a sort of gov- 
 
j*G JOL'&NAL. 
 
 ernment, that is to be discerned in the early stages of eve- 
 ry government. The love of power, of influence, and of 
 distinction, is clearly discernible, even among the prisoners 
 at Dartmoor. When I think of these things I am disposed 
 to despise what is called education, which is, after all, but a 
 wooden leg> a mere clumsy, unfeeling substitute for a live 
 one, barely sufficient to keep a man out of the mud. 
 
 Beside king Dick, an&Simon, the priest, there was another 
 black divine, named John. He had been a servant of Ed- 
 ward, Duke of Kent, third son of the present king of Eng- 
 land; on which account, black John assumed no small state 
 and dignity. He left the service of his royal highness ; am 
 was found on board of an American ship, and was pressed 
 from thence into a British man of war, where he served a 
 year or two, in the station of captain's steward ; but dislik- 
 ing the service, he claimed his release, as an American ; 
 and was sent with a number of other pressed men, to the 
 prison ships at. Chatham ; and he came to this prison, with 
 a number of other Africans. After king Dick, and Simon, 
 the priest, black John was the next man of the most conse- 
 quence among the negroes ; and considering his family con- 
 nections ; and that he knew how to read and write, it is not 
 much to be wondered at. John conceived that his influence 
 with his royal highness was sufficient to encourage him to 
 write to the Duke to get him set at liberty ; who actually 
 applied to the transport-board with that view ; but they 
 could not grant it. He received, however, a letter from 
 Capt. Hervy, the Duke's secretary, on the subject, who ad- 
 ded, that as he had been so unwise as to refuse to serve his 
 majesty, he must suffer for his folly. We have been parti- 
 cular in this anecdote ; and we request our readers to bear 
 it in mind, when we shall come to contrast this prompt an- 
 swer of the royal Duke to the letter of a negro, with the 
 conduct of Mr. Beasley, our agent for prisoners. The prison- 
 ers themselves noticed it ; and envied the negro, while they 
 execrated the haughty, unfeeling agent, who seldom, or 
 ever answered their letters, or took any notice of their ap- 
 plications. 
 
 The poor negro consoled himself for his disappointment 
 by turning Christian ; and being a pretty clever fellow, and 
 having formerly belonged to the royal family, it was consi- 
 dered an act of kindness and magnanimity, to raise him to 
 the rank of deacon in Simon's church. Deacon John gene- 
 
JOURNAL, 17^ 
 
 rally acfs as a privy counsellor to the king ; and is some- 
 times a judge in criminal cases, when his majesty allows 
 of one, which is not very often ; for he most commonly acts 
 in as despotic and summary a manner as the Dcy of Algie^ 
 himself. 
 
 King Dick keeps a boxing-school, where the white men 
 are sometimes admitted. No. 4 is noted, also, for fencing, 
 dancing and music ; and, however extraordinary it may ap- 
 pear, they teach these accomplishments to the white men. 
 A person, entering the cock-loft of No. 4, would be highly 
 amused with the droll scenery which it exhibited ; and if 
 his sense of smelling be not too refined, may relish, for a 
 little while, this strange assemblage of antics. Here he may 
 see boxing, fencing, dancing, raffling, and other modes of 
 gambling; and to this, we may add, drawing with chalk and 
 charcoal; and tricks of slight-of-hand ; and all this to grati- 
 fy the eye ; and for the sense of hearing, he may be regaled 
 with the sound of clarionets, flutes, violins, flagelets, fifes, 
 tambarines, together with the whooping and singing of the 
 negroes. On Sundays this den of thieves is transformed in* 
 to a temple of worship, when Simon, the priest, mounted on 
 a little stool, behind a table covered with green cloth, pro- 
 claims the wonders of creation, and salvation to the souls of 
 true believers ; and hell fire and brimstone, and weeping, and 
 wailing, and gnashing of teeth, to the hardened and impenitent 
 sinner, and obstinate rebel of proffered mercy. As he approach- 
 es the end of his discourse, he grows warmer and warmer, and, 
 foaming at the mouth, denounces all the terrors of the law 
 against every heaven-daring, God-provoking sinner. I have 
 frequently noticed the effect of this black man's oratory up- 
 on some of his audience. I have known him to solemnize 
 his whole audience, a few numskulled negroes alone except- 
 ed. While he has been thus thundering and lightning, sul- 
 len moans and hollow groans issue from different parts of 
 the room ; a proof that his zealous harangue solemnizes some 
 of his hearers ; while a part of them are making grimaces, 
 or betraying marks of impatience ; but no one dare be riot- 
 ous ; as near the preacher sat his majesty king Dick, with 
 his terrible club, and huge bear-skin cap. The members of 
 the church sat in a half circle nearest the priest ; while those 
 who had never passed over the threshold of grace, stood up 
 behind them. 
 
 A little dispute, if not quite a schism, ha^ existed between 
 15* 
 
,*78 JOURNAL. 
 
 Simon, the priest, and deacon John. The latter, wfiife in 
 the family of a royal Duke, had learned that it was proper 
 to read prayers, already made, and printed to their hands ; 
 but Simon said, he should make but few converts if he read 
 his prayers. He said that prayers ought to spring at once, 
 warm from the heart; and that rca'ding prayers was too cold 
 a piece of work for him or his church. But John said, in rr- 
 p'y, that reading prayers was practised by his royal highness 
 the duke of Kent, ami all the noble families in England, as 
 well as on board all his Britannic majesty's ships of war. But 
 Simon, who had never waited on royalty, nor ever witnessed 
 the religious exercises of an English man of war, would not 
 believe this practice of the British nation ought to have 
 weight with the reformed Christians of the United States. 
 There was a diversity of opinion in the black church; and 
 the dispute once grew so warm, that Simon told John, that it 
 was his opinion, that " he who could not pray to his God, 
 without a book, would be damned." 
 
 His majesty king Dick finding that this dispute might <pn- 
 Uoii^er the peace of the church, and, possibly, diminish wis 
 own influence, advised that the dispute should be left to lie 
 decision of a neighboring methodist preacher, who sometimes 
 A isitecl the prison, in a labor of love. The preacher came, 
 and heard patiently, the arguments of both sides, and finally 
 decided, as king Dick doubtless foresaw, in favor of Simon. 
 He said that the reason why his royal highness the duke of 
 Kent, and a!I the royal family, and all the nobility and par- 
 liament-men read their prayers, was, because they had not 
 time to make them, each one for himself. Now Deacon 
 John was a better reasoner than Simon ; but Simon had 
 the most cant; and he, of course, prevailed. It is probable 
 that Jolm had concluded, that if he could carry a vote for 
 reading prayers, he, himself, would be the reader ; and then 
 he should become as conspicuous as Simon. Emulation, 
 arid the desire of distinction, the great, and indeed main- 
 spring of this world, was as apparent among these degraded 
 sons of Africa, as among any white gentlemen and ladies in 
 the land. John's ambition, and his envy, operated just like 
 the ambition and envy of white people. At length, when 
 the deacon found that, since the decision of the methodist, 
 his supporters deserted him, he made his mind up to follow 
 the Current, and to justify hit? conduct by inculcating a spirit 
 ef conciliation uud uuiou. This shr\N u fellow knew, that 
 
JOURNAL. * I7 ^T 
 
 if he did no! follow the current, he should lose the privilege 
 he enjoyed of sitting at the end of the table, opposite to Si- 
 mon ; and of leaning his head on the great bible, while Si- 
 mon was preaching ; privileges too great to be slighted in 
 such a church; and directly after a religions dispute. 
 
 Since I returned home, and while transcribing this journal 
 for the press, I have thought that the conduct of deacon 
 John was from the self same principle with that which actu- 
 ated the federalists, since the dissolution and disgrace of the 
 Hartford Convention. This faction, it. seems, found them- 
 selves after the peace, and after the battle of New Orleans, 
 going fast down the^tream of popular opinion ; and then it 
 was that they preached up conciliation, liberality, and un- 
 ion ; then it was they caught hold of the skirts of the land 
 and n'tval heroes; nay, they went so f:vr as to hail Jefferson 
 anil Madison as brother Unitarians I In short, the situa- 
 tion, of black John, and the federalists of Massachusetts, was 
 exactly the same; and their conduct in every point, simi- 
 lar ; and the leading federalists of Boston have been left, 
 like the deacon of the negro congregation, in No. 4, Dart- 
 moor prison, to lean upon the great bible ; which sacred vol- 
 ume these persons are sending to all parts of the world, not 
 being sufficiently awake to consider it will democratise other 
 parts of the world, beside America. 
 
 When the British General Prescott commanded at Rhode 
 Island, in the revolutionary war, (the same whom our Ma- 
 jor Barton stole, and carried off in the night, from his head 
 quarters, in a whale boat) he was very much disliked for his 
 filly haughtiness, and unbecoming pride. One day a Bap- 
 tist preacher waited upon him to complain of an oppression 
 exercised on some of his followers, by the military, and tak- 
 ing his Bible out of his pocket, he began to read a passage 
 which he deemed applicable to the case ; on sight of which 
 the General Hew into a rage, and drove the preacher, with 
 his Bible, out of the room, saying, " if it had not been for that 
 a d boo!i, tvc should not have had this rebellion." Bating 
 the profane epithet, we give the angry Scotchman credit for 
 }ii sagacity. The observation would not have disgraced 
 his countryman, David Hume. 
 
 Simon, the priest, enjoyed one great and envied privilege, 
 which John never pretended to, namely, an acquaintance 
 and intercourse with the angel Gabriel. He had many rev- 
 elations from this celestial messenger, and related them to kite 
 
180 JOURNAL. 
 
 church. They related principally to the fate of his fellow 
 prisoners ; one, in particular, he told to his church with awe 
 and solemnity. 
 
 I saw, said he, a great light, shining; only through the 
 grates of one window, before the hour of day break. I look* 
 ed up, and saw -something like a rmn with wings. I was at 
 first frightened, and cried out, " tvlio conies dare . ? " for I could 
 not see his face. Directly the bars of the window beat 
 each way, and his head and shoulders came in, when I 
 knew him to be the angel Gabriel. " Simon," said he, " I 
 am come to tell you that this prison will be sunk before 
 forty days, because its inhabitants are so wicked, and will 
 not repent." Den I tank him; and he drew back his head 
 again ; and the iron bars were restored to their place again, 
 when he spread out his wings, which were covered with 
 ten thousand stars, which made a great light when he flew 
 away. Such was the method used, by this artful black man, 
 to rouse his countrymen out of the sink of vice ; and it had 
 the desired effect. This prediction solemnized several of 
 the negroes, and had more or less effect upon all of them. 
 They became more liberal in their contributions, which en- 
 abled Simon to purchase a new green coat. It seemed as if 
 the most profligate of these fellows, had a secret dread of 
 Simon's prediction, and were willing to gctfu his favor by 
 contributions^ instead of repentance. Has not this disposi- 
 tion founded churches, monasteries and nunneries ? Many 
 of Simon's church are strongly impressed with the apprehen- 
 sion of the prison sinking within forty days. 
 
 These blacks have been desirous of having their prison 
 the centre of amusement. They act plays twice a week, an ! 
 as far as close imitation of what they have seen and heard, 
 and broad grimace, they are admirable ; but they are, half 
 the time, ignorant of the meaning of the words they utter. 
 The gate-ways and centry-boxes are plaistered over with 
 play-bills, announcing OTHELLO, for the first time, by Mr. 
 Robinson DESDEMONA, by Mr. Jones. I seldom failed to 
 attend these exhibitions, and must confess that 1 never be- 
 fore or since, or perhaps ever shall laugh so heartily as at 
 these troglodyte dramas. Their acting was assuredly the 
 most diverting beyond all comparison, or example, I ever 
 saw. They would cut so many negroish capers in tragedy, 
 grin and distort their countenances in such a variety of in- 
 human expressions, while they kept tbeir bodies either stiff 
 
JOURNAL. 181 
 
 as so many stakes, or in a monkeyish wriggle, and ever and 
 nnon such a baboon stare at Desdemona, whose face, neck 
 and hands, were covered with chalk and red paint, to make 
 him look like a beautiful white lady was altogether, con- 
 sidering that they themselves were very serious, the most 
 ludicrous exhibition of two legged ridiculousness I ever wit- 
 nessed. In the midst of my loud applauses, I could not, 
 when my sore sides would allow me to articulate, help ex- 
 claiming O ! Shakespeare ! Shakespeare ! O ! Garrick ! 
 Garrick ! what would not I give (an indigent prisoner) 
 could I raise you from the dead, that you might see the black 
 consequences of your own transcendent geniuses ! When 
 Garrick rubbed himself over with burnt cork to make him- 
 self look like a Moor, or with lamp-black to resemble Mnngo, 
 it did pretty well ; but for a negro man to cover his fore- 
 head, neck and hands with chalk, and his cheeks with ver- 
 million, to rmike him look like an English, or American 
 beauty, was too much. Had I been going up the ladder to 
 be hanged, I should have laughed at this sight ; for to all 
 this outrageous grimace, was added a fantastic habiliment, 
 and an odour from De^demonaand company, that associated 
 the ideas of the skunk or the polecat. I presume that their 
 august majesties, the emperor and empress of Hayli, have 
 some means of destroying this association of ideas, so revolt- 
 ing to Americans. 
 
 After all, this may be in us a disgust grounded more in 
 prejudice than nature. What we call delicacy is a refine- 
 ment, of civilization ; and of course a departure from nature. 
 See how the brutes enjoy rolling and wallowing in what we 
 call dirt ; next to them, we may observe the love of what me 
 c;ill filth in savages, and of those persons in our cities who 
 stand nearest to them. Extreme cleanliness is the offspring 
 of riches, leisure, luxury, and extreme refinement ; never- 
 theless it is true what Swift says, that " persons with nice 
 minds have n:sty ideas." I suffered greatly, and so did 
 many of our countrymen, on our first acquaintance with filth 
 and vermin in this our British captivity. Many a time have 
 I got up from rny dinner as hungry as I sat down, when dis- 
 <i-u.st has been greater than appetite. I have, however, grad- 
 ually surmounted antipathies I once thought insurmountable. 
 I am not the only one who has often retired from our dis- 
 gusting repast, to my bunk or sleeping birth, in silent agony, 
 there to breathe out to my Maker, woes too great for utter- 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 ance. O, Britain ! Britain f will there not be a day of re% 
 tribution for these ihy cruelties ! 
 
 There are some in this dismal prison, who have been 
 used all their lives, not to conveniences only, hut to delica- 
 cies; who are obliged to su-ni't to the disagreeablc-a of this 
 uncivilized mode of incarcerating brave men, for one of the 
 first of Grecian, Roman, English and American virtues, the 
 love of country, or p -itriotivn. These unfortunate rrnn, with 
 minds far elevated beyond the officers who are placed here 
 to guard, and to torment them, submit to their confinement 
 with a better grace than one could have expected. When 
 these men have eaten their stinted ration, vilely cooked, 
 and hastily served up, they return to their hammocks, or 
 sleeping births, and there try " to steep their senses in for- 
 getfulness," until the recurrence of the next disgusting meal. 
 On the other hand, some have said that they never before 
 eat with such a keen appetite ; and their only complaint has 
 been, that there was not one quarter enough for them to de- 
 vour. 1 was often satisfied with a quantity of food that was 
 not half enough for my companions. Some have since said, 
 that they devoured their daily allowance at Dartmoor, with 
 more relish than they ever have since, when set down at ta- 
 bles, covered as our American tables are, with venison, 
 poultry, the finest fish, and the best fruits of our country, 
 with choice old cider, and good foreign wines. 
 
 A thing very disagreeable to me, arose from causes not 
 occasioned by the enemy. I have been squeezed to sore- 
 ness, by a crowd of rough, overbearing men, who oft times 
 appeared to be indifferent whether they trampled yon under 
 feet or not. The " rough allies? so called, had no feeling 
 for men smaller and weaker than themselves. From this 
 gang, you could seldom get a civil answer. Their yells, 
 and whooping, more like savages than white men, were very 
 troublesome. The conduct of these, proved that it was 
 natural for the strong to tyrannize over the weak. 1 have 
 often thought that our assemblage of prisoners, resembled 
 very much the Grecian and Roman democracies, which 
 were far, very far, beneath the just, rational, and wisely 
 guarded democracy of our dear America, for whose exist- 
 ence and honor we are all still heartily disposed to risk our 
 lives, and spill our blood. 
 
 As not allowing us prisoners a due and comfortable por- 
 tion of clean food, is the heavy charge I have to roak* 
 
JOURNAL. 183 
 
 ngainst the British nation, I shall here, once for all, attempt 
 to de-scribe the agonies I myself sometimes feit, and observ- 
 ed others to endure, from cravings of hunger; which are 
 kern sensations in young men, not yet arrived to their full 
 growth. The hungry prisoner is seen to traverse the al- 
 ley?, backwards and forwards, with a gnawing stomach, and 
 a haggard look ; .vhi'e he sees the fine white loaves on the 
 tables of the bread-seller, when all that he possesses cannot 
 buy a single loaf. I have known many men tremble, and 
 become sick at their stomachs, at the sight of bread they 
 could not obtain. Sometimes a prisoner has put away a por- 
 tion of bis bread, ani; sworn to himself thai he would not 
 eat it unlit such ?m hour after breakiVisi; he has, however, 
 gone to it, and picked a few crumbs from it, and replaced it ; 
 and sorntt'mcs he could no longer resist the grinding tor- 
 >f 1. linger, iut Devoured it with more than canine ap- 
 petite ; for it iiKisi be understood that the interval between 
 the evening and morning rneal was the most distressing. An 
 healthy, growing young man, feels very uncomfortable if he 
 fasts five hours; but to be \vithoutfood, as we often were, 
 for fourteen hours, was a cruel neglect, or a barbarous cus- 
 tom. Our resource from hunger was sleep ; not but that 
 the sensations of hunger, and the thoughts of the depriva- 
 tion, often prevented me from getting asleep ; and at other 
 times, when wrapt in sleep, 1 have dreamed of setting down 
 to a table of the most delicious food, and most savory meats, 
 and in the greatest profusion ; and amidst my imagined en- 
 joyment, have waked in disappointment, agony and tears. 
 Tills was the keenest misery 1 ever endured; and at such 
 times, have I cursed the nation that allowed of it, as being 
 more barbarous than Algerines or wild Indians. The com- 
 parative size of the pieces of beef and bread is watched with 
 a keen and jealous eye ; so are even the bits of turnip in our 
 soup, lest one should have more than the other. I have no- 
 ticed more acts of meauntss and dishonesty in men of re- 
 spectable character, in the division and acquisition of the 
 articles of our daily food, than in any other transaction 
 whatever. Such as they would despise, were hunger out of 
 the question. The best apology I can make for the prac- 
 tice of gaming is, the hope of alleviating this most abomina- 
 ble system of starvation. Had we been duly and properly 
 fed, we never should have run so deeply into the hell ol 
 gambling. We did not want money to buy clothing, or 
 
184 JOURNAL. 
 
 \vlne, or rum, but to buy beef, and bread, and milk. I repeat 
 it, all the irregularities, and, finally, the horrors and death, 
 that occurred in a remarkable manner, in this den of des- 
 pair, arose from the British system of scanty food for young 
 men, whose vigorous systems, and habits of being full fed, 
 demanded a third more solid flesh meat, than would satisfy a 
 potatoe-eating Irishman, an oat-feeding Scotchman, or an 
 half starved English manufacturer. After we have finished 
 our own dinners in New England, we give to our cats and 
 dogs, and other domestic animals, more solid nourishment, 
 the remnant of our meals, than what we hail often allowed 
 us in the ships and prisons of " the world's last hope" Pick- 
 ering's* "fast anchored isle" 
 
 Among the abuses of Dartmoor prison, was that of allow- 
 ing Jews to come among us to buy clothes, and allowing some 
 other people, worse than Jews, to cheat us in the articles we 
 purchased. Ho\v far our keepers went " s.uacks" with these 
 harpies, we never could know. We only suspected that they 
 did not enjoy ail their swindling privileges gratuitously. Be- 
 fore the immoral practice of gambling was introduced and 
 countenanced, it was no unusual thing to see men in almost 
 every birth, reading, or writing, or studying navigation. I 
 have noticed the progress of vice in some, with pain and sur- 
 prise. I have seen men, once respectable, give examples of 
 vice that I cannot describe, or even name ; and I am fearful 
 that some of our young boys, may carry home to their hither- 
 to pure and chaste country, vices they never had any idea of 
 when they left it. I believe Frenchmen, Italians, and Por- 
 tuguese, are much worse examples for our youth, than Eng- 
 lish, Irish, or Scotchmen. I must say of the British that 
 they are generally men cf better habits and morals than 
 some of the continental nations. But enough, and more than 
 enough, on the depravity of the oldest of the European na- 
 tions. 
 
 February 28Jft, 1815. Time hangs heavily on the weary 
 and restless prisoner. Ris hopes of liberation, and his anx- 
 iety, increase daily and hourly. The Favorite ! The Favor- 
 ite, is in every one's mouth ; and every one fixes the day of 
 
 * The mention of this celebrated member of the Essex Junto bring? 
 to our mind a fact in chemistry, viz. that the best of winr, when kept 
 too long in a hot place, turns to the sharpest vinegar. Pickering's 
 "fast anchored isle," is now (autumn of 1816) entirt-lj ailoat iu an 
 cean that deserves not the name of pacific. 
 
' 
 
 JOURNAL. 185 
 
 iter arrival. We have just heard that she was spoken near the 
 roast of America, by the Sultan, a British 74, on the 2d of 
 February. If so, then she must arrive in a few days, with 
 the news of the ratification or rejection of the treaty of 
 peace, by Mr. Madison ; and on this great event our happi- 
 ness depends. Some of the English merchants are so con- 
 fident that our President will ratify the treaty, that they are 
 sending vast quantities of English manufactures out to Hali- 
 fax, to he ready to thrust into the ports of America, as soon 
 as we shall be able, legally, to admit them. It is easy to per- 
 ceive that the English are much more anxious to send us 
 their productions, than we are to receive them. 
 
 Our anxiety increases every day. We inquire of every 
 one the news. We wait with impatience for the newspa- 
 pers, and when we receive them are disappointed ; not find- 
 ing in them what we wish. They, to besure, speak of the 
 sitting of the Vienna Congress ; and we have been expect- 
 ing, every day, that this political old hen had hatched out 
 her various sort of eggs. We expected that her motley 
 brood would afford us some fun. Here we expected to see 
 a young hawk, and there a goslin, and next a strutting tur- 
 key, and then a dodo, a loon, an ostrich, a wren, a magpie, a 
 cuckoo, and a wag-tail. But the old continental hen has 
 now set so long, that we conclude that her eggs are addled, 
 and incubation frustrated. During all this time, the Gal- 
 lick cock is on his roost at Elba, with his head under his 
 wing. 
 
 We but now and then get a sight of Cobbett's Political 
 Register ; and when we do, we devour it, and destroy it, 
 before it comes to the knowledge of our Ceroebrus. This 
 writer has a manner stti generis, purely his own ; but it is 
 somewhat surprising, how he becomes so well informed of 
 the actual state of things, and of the feelings and opinions 
 of both parties in our country. His acuteness, his wit, his 
 logic, and his surliness, form, altogether, a curious portrai- 
 ture of an English politician. We, now and then, get sight 
 of American papers ; but they are almost all of them federal 
 papers, and contain matter more hostile to our government 
 than the English papers. The most detestable paper printed 
 in London, is called, " The Times ;" and that is often thrown 
 in our way ; but even this paper is not to be compared to 
 the " Federal Republican," printed at Washington or George- 
 town, or to the Boston federal papers. When such papers 
 16 
 
1BS JOURNAL. 
 
 account in placing at the head of their party in Massachu- 
 setts, a man of correct morals and manners, and of a reputed 
 religious cast of mind. But Mr. Strong should reflect ; and 
 being a phlegmatic man, he is able to reflect calmly, and 
 consider things deliberately. He should reflect, I say, on 
 the impression his remarkable conduct must have on the 
 minds of his countrymen, who have risked their lives, and 
 are now suffering a severe bondage in that great national 
 
 Cause Of " FREE TRADE AND NO IMPRESSMENT," which led 
 
 the American people to declare war against. Britain, by the 
 voice of their representatives, in congress assembled. How 
 str.mge, and how painful must it appear to us, and to our 
 friends in Europe, that the governor of a great state should 
 lean more towards the Prince Regent of Britain, than to the 
 President of the United States ! If, therefore, we consider 
 Mr. Strong as a sensible and correct man, and a true pairioK 
 his conduct as governor of Massachusetts ^ especially as iotJie 
 time of organizing a convention, of which the English promised 
 themselves countenance and aid, must have appeared more 
 than strange to us in captivity. 
 
 If we contemplate the character of the leading men of that 
 party which put into office, and still support Governor 
 Strong, and w r ith whom he has co-operated, we cannot clear 
 this gentleman of reproach. Previously to our late contest 
 with Britain, it was the unceasing endeavor of the leaders 
 of the federal party to bring into discredit, and contempt, 
 the worthiest and best men of the nation ; to ridicule and 
 degrade every thing American, or that reflected honor on 
 the American Independence. So bitter was their animosi- 
 ty ; so insatiate their thirst for power, and high places, that 
 they did not hesitate to advocate measures for the accom- 
 plishment of tbeir grand object, which was to get into the 
 places of those now in power. How often have we seen tii" 
 party declaring in tlieir venal prints, that the American ad- 
 ministration was base, and cowardly, and tamely suffering 
 the out rages, abuses and contempt of the nations of Europe, 
 without possessing the spirit to resent, or the power to rcztei. 
 them ; and that " we could not be kicked into a war" Ytt 
 after the administration had exhausted every effort to brm^ 
 England to do justice, and war was declared, these verj fed- 
 eralists called the act wicked and inhuman ; and denounced 
 the President for plunging tlie country into hostilities with 
 the mistress of the ocean, the most powerful nation, of < ' M - 
 
JOURNAL. 8 
 
 earth ! They called this act of Congress, " Madison's War" 
 and did every thing in their power to render that upright man 
 odious in the eyes of the unthinking part of the community. 
 This was not all ; these arrogant men, assumed to them- 
 selves " all the talents" and " all tlu virtues" 1 of the country, 
 used every mean in their power to paralyze the arm of gov- 
 ernment, and reduce the energies of the nation, in the face 
 and front of our adversary. By arguments and threats, 
 they induced the monied men in Massachusetts, very gen- 
 erally, to refuse loans of money to government ; and to ruin 
 our resources. Did not this party, detiXfafaated federalists, 
 ej^ult at the disasters of our arms ; and did they not vote in 
 the Senate of Massachusetts, that " it was unworthy a reli- 
 gious and moral people, to rejoice at the immortal achieve- 
 ments of our gallant seamen ?" In the midst of our difficul- 
 ties, when this powerful enemy threatened us by sea and 
 land, with an army force from Penobscot, another through 
 Lake Champlain, another at the Chesapeake, while nothing 
 but resistance and insurgency was talked of and hinted at 
 within ! Did they not in this state of things, and with these 
 circumstances, did not Governor Strong, and the federal 
 party generally, seize hold of this alarming state of our af- 
 fairs, to call the Convention at Hartford, and that not merely 
 to perplex the government, but to be the organ of communi- 
 cation between the enemy and the malcontents ? Did they 
 not then talk loudly of our worm eaten Constitution ; and did 
 they not call the Union " a rope of sand? that could no long- 
 er hold together? If there be a line of transgression, beyond 
 the bounds of forgiveness, the leaders of that party, who put 
 Mr. Strong up for Governor, have attained it. These things 
 I gather from the papers, and from the history of the day, as 
 I have collected them since my return home. And to all 
 this must be added the damning fact of Te Dcums, orations, 
 toasts, and processions of the clergy, and the judges, with all 
 the leaders of the federal, or opposition party, in celebration 
 of the success of the Spaniards in restoring the Inquisition, 
 and recalling the reign of superstition and terror ; against 
 which we have been preaching and praying ever since the 
 first settlement of our country. 
 
 Our American newspapers, if they are not so correctly 
 written as the London papers, are informing and amusing. 
 They show the enterprize, the activity, and the daring 
 thoughts of a free and an intrepid people ; while the 
 
190 
 
 papers are filled with a catalogue of nobles, and nobs. 
 who were assembled to bow, to flatter, to cringe, and to prink 
 at the Iev 7 ee of the Great Prince Regent, the presumptive' 
 George the IV th, with now and then some account of hi& 
 wandering wife, the Princess of Wales. We are there also 
 entertained with a daily account of the health and gestation 
 of Joanna Scxtncote ; for whose reputation and weli.uv 
 " thinking Johnny Bull" is vastly anxious ; insomuch that 
 were any continental nation to run obstinately counter to 
 the popular opinion respecting her, we do deem it not im- 
 possible that the majority of the nation might be led to sign 
 addresses to the Prince to go to war with them, in honor of 
 Saiat Joanna! Their papers, likewise, contain a particular 
 account of the examination of rogues by the Bow-street offi- 
 cers, highway robberies, and executions; together with 
 quack puffs, and miraculous cures. These, together witl* 
 the most glorious and unparalleled bravery of their rjjlc -. .- 
 and seamen, and of their generate and soldiers, with the high- 
 est encomiums on the religion, the learning, the generosity, 
 cGnt&itmt'nL and happiness of the people of Britain and Irc- 
 fan.'l, make up the sum and substance of all the London pa- 
 pers, William CMctCs alone excepted ; and he speaks with 
 a bridle in his mouth ! -<* 
 
 This month (February) Captain Shortland stopped the 
 market for six days, in consequence of some unculy fellows 
 taking away certain wooden stanchions from Prison No. (5, 
 But the old market women, conceiving that the Captain en- 
 croached upon their copy-hold, would not quietly submit to 
 it. They told him that as the men were going away soon. 
 it was cruel to curtail their traffic. We always believed 
 that these market women, and the shop and stall keepers^ 
 and Jews, purchased, income way or other, the unequal traf- 
 fic between them and us. Be that as it may, Shortland 
 could not resist the commercial interest, so that he, like good 
 Mr. Jefferson, listened to the clamor of the merchants, and 
 raised the embargo. 
 
 JNo sooner was quiet restored, and the old women and 
 Jews pacified, but a serious discontent arose among the 
 prisoners, on discovering that these Jews, of all complexions, 
 had.j-aised the price of their articles, or* the idea, we sup- 
 posed, that we should not much longer remain the subjects 
 of their impositions. The rough allies, a sort of regulators;. 
 TOO were too s touts. ai*d racst GonaaifiEdv too iijsolent. to M? 
 
JOURNAL, "l&f 
 
 ftveniecl by our regular and moderate committees, turned 
 out in a great rage, and tore down several of the small 
 shops, or stalls, where slops were exposed tor sale. These 
 .fallows-, at length, organized themselves into a company of 
 plunderers. I have seen men run from their sleeping births', 
 in which they spent nearly their whole time, and plunder 
 these little shop keepers, and carry the articles they plunder- 
 ed, and secrete them in their beds. These mobs, or gangs 
 of robbers, were a scandal to the American character ; and 
 strongly reprobated by every man of honor in the prisons. 
 Some of these little British merchants found themselves 
 stripped of all they possessed in a few minutes, on the charge 
 of exorbitant prices. We never rested, nor allowed these 
 culprits to rest, until we saw the cat laid well on their backs. 
 These plunderings were in consequence of informers, and 
 there was no name, not even that of a federalist, was so 
 odious with all the prisoners, as that of an informer. We 
 never tailed to punish an informer. Nothing but the ad- 
 vanced age of a man, (who was sixty years old) prevented 
 .him from being whipped for informing Captain Shortland of 
 what the old man considered an injury, and for which he 
 put the man accused, into the black hole. An informer, a 
 traitor, and an avowed federalist, were objects of detesta- 
 tion at Dartmoor. 
 
 During the time that passed between the news of peace,, 
 and that of its ratification, an uneasy and mob-like disposi- 
 tion, more than once betrayed itself. Three impressed 
 American seamen had been sent in here from a British ship 
 of war, since the peace. They were on board the Pelican, 
 in the action with the American ship Argns, when fell our 
 brave Captain Allen. One day, when all three were a lit- 
 tle intoxicated, they boasted of the feats they performed, 
 ia fighting against their own countrymen ; and even boast- 
 ed of the prize money they had shared for capturing the Ar- 
 gus. This our prisoners could not endure; and it soon 
 reached the ears of the rough allies, who seized them, and 
 kicked and cuffed them about unmercifully ; and they took 
 one of them, who had talked more imprudently than the 
 pest, and led him to the lamp iron that projected from one 
 i>f the prisocs, and would, in all probability, have hanged 
 him thereon, had not Shortland rescued him by an armed 
 force. They had fixed a paper on the fellow's breast, on 
 nvhicii was written, in large letters, a Traitor and a FederqUjL 
 
190 
 
 papers are filled with a catalogue of nobles, and nobiV 
 who were assembled to bow, to flatter, to cringe, and to prink 
 at the levee of the Great Prince Regent, the presumptive' 
 George the IVth, with now and then some account of b>: 
 wandering wife, the Princess of Wales. We are there also- 
 entertained with a daily account of the health and gestation 
 of Joanna Southcole ; for whose reputation and weSi'.tre, 
 ** thinking Johnny Bull" is vastly anxious ; insomuch that 
 were any continental nation to run obstinately counter to 
 the popular opinion respecting her, we do deem it not im- 
 possible that the majority of the nation might be led to sign 
 addresses to the Prince to go to war with them, in honor of 
 Saiat Joanna! Their papers, likewise, contain a particular 
 account of the examination of rogues by the Bow-street offi- 
 cers, highway robberies, and executions; together with 
 quack puffs, and miraculous cures. These, together witl* 
 the most glorious and unparalleled bravery of their cffli . -:; 
 ft:id seamen, and of their generals and soldiers, with the high- 
 est encomiums on the religion, the learning, the generosity, 
 
 and happiness of the people of Britain and Ire- 
 7, trmke up the sum and substance of all the London pa- 
 pers, William Cobbctfs alone exccpted ; and he speaks with 
 a bridle in his mouth ! > 
 
 This month (February) Captain Shortland stopped the 
 market fur six days, in consequence of some unruly fellows 
 taking away certain wooden stanchions from Prison No. 6. 
 Bat the old market women, conceiving that the Captain en- 
 croached upon their copy-hold, would not quietly submit to 
 it. They told him that as the men were going away soon. 
 it was cruel to curtail their traffic. We always believed 
 that these market women, and the shop and stall keepers-* 
 and Jews, purchased, imsome way or other, the unequal traf- 
 fic between them and us. Ee that as it may, Shortiand 
 could not resist the commercial interest, so that he, likegoodi 
 Mr. Jefferson, listened to the clamor of the merchants, and 
 laised the embargo. 
 
 No sooner was quiet restored, and the old women and 
 Jews pacified, but a serious discontent arose among the 
 prisoners, on discovering that these Jews, of all complexions, 
 hadjraised the price of their articles, on the idea, we sup- 
 posed, that we should not much longer remain ihe su 1 
 of their impositions. The rough, allies, a sort of regulators, 
 were too sloutv aini racat soaousoeBJ too iijsolent. to b*.- 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 by our regular and moderate committees, turned 
 out in a great rage, and tore down several of the small 
 shops, or stalls, where slops were exposed Cor sale. These 
 fellows, at length, organized themselves into a company of 
 plunderers. I have seen men run from their sleeping births', 
 in which they spent nearly their whole time, and plunder 
 these little shop keepers, and carry the articles they plunder- 
 ed, and secrete them in their beds. These mobs, or gangs 
 of robbers, were a scandal to the American character ; and 
 strongly reprobated by every man of honor in the prisons. 
 Home of these little British merchants found themselves 
 stripped of all they possessed in a few minutes, on the charge 
 of exorbitant prices. We never rested, nor allowed these 
 culprits to rest, until we saw the cat laid well on their backs. 
 These plunderings were in consequence of informers, and 
 there was no name, not even that of a federalist, was so 
 odious with all the prisoners, as that of an informer. We 
 never failed to punish an informer. Nothing but the ad- 
 vanced age of a man, (who was sixty years old) prevented 
 him from being whipped for informing Captain Shortland of 
 what the old man considered an injury, and for which he 
 put the man accused, into the black hole. An informer, a 
 traitor, and an avowed federalist, were objects of detesta- 
 tion at Dartmoor. 
 
 During the time that passed between the news of peace,, 
 and that of its ratification, an uneasy and mob-like disposi- 
 tion, more than once betrayed itself. Three impressed 
 American seamen had been sent in here from a British ship 
 of war, since the peace. They were on board the Pelican, 
 In the action with the American ship Argus, when fell our 
 brave Captain Allen. One day, when all three were a lit- 
 tle intoxicated, they boasted of the feats they performed, 
 in fighting against their own countrymen ; and even boast- 
 ed of the prize money they had shared for capturing the Ar- 
 gus. This our prisoners could not endure ; and it soon 
 readied the ears of the rough allies, who seized them, and 
 kicked and cuffed them about unmercifully ; and they took 
 one of them, who had talked more imprudently than the 
 jest, and led him to the lamp iron that projected from one 
 *>f the prisons, and would, in all probability, have hanged 
 him thereon, had not Shortland rescued him by an armed 
 force. They had fixed a paper on the fellow's breast, on 
 which was written, in large letters, a Traitor and a Federalist. 
 
I 
 
 .92 JOURNAL. 
 
 It may seem strange to some, but I am confident that 
 there is no class of people among us more strongly attach- 
 ed to the American soil, than our seamen, who are float- 
 ing about the world, and seldom tread on the ground. The 
 saiior who roams about the world, marks the difference of 
 treatment, and exults in the superior advantages of his coun- 
 trymen. The American custom of allowing on board mer- 
 chant ships the common sailors to traffic a little in adven- 
 tures, enlarges their views, makes them think and enquire, 
 and excites an interest in the sales of the whole cargo. The 
 common sailor here feels a sort of unity of interest; and he 
 is habituated to feel as a member of the floating store-house 
 which he is navigating. It is doubtful wheiher the British 
 sailor feels any thing of this. 
 
 I have had occasion often to remark on the tyrannical 
 conduct, and unfeeling behaviour of Captain Shortland, but 
 he had for it the excuse of an enemy ; but the neglect of Mr. 
 Beasley, with his supercilious behaviour towards his coun- 
 trymen here confined, admits of no excuse. He was bound 
 to assist us and befriend us, and to listen to our reasonable 
 complaints. When negro John wrote to his Royal Highness 
 the Duke of Kent, son of king George the 3d, and brother of 
 the Prince Regent, he received an answer in terms of kind- 
 ness and reason ; but Mr. Beasley, who was paid by our gov- 
 ernment for being our agent, ^and official friend, never con- 
 descended to answer our letters, and if they ever were notic- 
 ed, it was in the .style of reproof His conduct is here con- 
 demned by six thousand of his countrymen ; and as many 
 curses are daily uttered on him in this prison. It is almost 
 treason in this our dismal Commonwealth, r rather com- 
 mon misery, to speak in his favour. If Shortland and Beas- 
 ley were both drowning, and one only could be taken out by 
 the prisoners of Dartmoor, I believe in my soul, that that one 
 would be Shortland ; for, as I said before, he has the excuse 
 of an enemy. 
 
 The prisoners have been long determined to testify their 
 feelings towards Mr. Beasley, before they left Dartmoor; 
 and the time for it has arrived. The most ingenious of our 
 countrymen are ROW making a figure resemblance, or effigy 
 of this distinguished personage. One has contributed a coat, 
 another pantaloons, another a shirt-bosom or frill, another a 
 stuflfed-out-cravat ; and so they have made up a pretty gen- 
 teel, haughty-looking-gentleman-agent, with heart and brain? 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 full equal, they think, to the person whom they wish to re- 
 present. They called this figure Mr. B - . They 
 then brought him to trial. lie was indicted for many crimes 
 towards them, anil towards the character of the United States. 
 The jury declared him to be guilty of each and every charge ; 
 and he was sentenced by an unanimous decree of his judges, 
 to be hanged by the neck until he was dead, and after that to 
 he burnt. They proceeded with him to the place of execu- 
 tion, which was from the roof of prison No. 7, where a pole 
 was rigged out, to which was attached an halter. After si- 
 lence was proclaimed, the halter was fastened round the neck 
 of the effigy ; and then a solemn pause ensued ; which ap- 
 parent solemnity was befitting the character of men who 
 were convinced of the necessity of the punishment of the 
 guilty, while they felt for the sufferings and shame of a fel- 
 low mortal. After hanging the proper time, the hangman, 
 who was a negro, cut him down ; and then the rough allies 
 took possession of him, and conducted him to a convenient 
 spot in the yard, where they burnt him to ashes. This was 
 not, like the plunder of the shop-keepers, the conduct of aa 
 infuriate mob ; but it was begun and carried through by some 
 of the steadiest men within the walls of Dartmoor prison. 
 They said they had no other way of testifying their contempt 
 of a man, who they supposed had injured them all, and dis- 
 graced their country. Such was the fact; as to the justness 
 of their charges, I have nothing to say. I hope Mr. B. cau 
 vindicate his conduct to the world ; and I hope this publica- 
 tion may lead to a thing so much wished for. The accusa- 
 tions of the multitude are commonly well founded, but often 
 too high coloured. If this gentleman has never been cen- 
 sured by our government, we may conclude that he has not 
 been quite so faulty as has been represented. 
 
 During all this solemn farce, poor Shortland looked like a 
 culprit under sentence o! death. Some of the rogues had 
 written, with chalk, on the walls, BE YOU ALSO READY ! 
 This commander's situation could not be an enviable one. 
 He was, probably, as courageous a man as the ordinary run 
 of British officers; but it was plainly discoverable that he 
 was, half his time, in dread, and during the scene just des- 
 cribed, in terror, which was perceivable amidst his affected 
 smiles, and assumed gaiety. He told a gentleman, belonging 
 to this depot, that he never saw, nor ever read, or heard of 
 siK-h a set of Devil-tlaring, God-provoking fellows., as these 
 
194 
 
 JOLRXAL.' 
 
 same Yankees. And he added, I had rather have the charge of 
 Jive thousand Frenchmen, than FIVE HUNDRED of these sons of 
 liberty ; and yet, said he, I love the dogs better than I do the 
 damn'd frog-caters. 
 
 On the 30th of March we received the heart-cheering 
 news of the total defeat of the British army before NEW- 
 ORLEANS, with the death of its commander in chief, Sir 
 Edward Pakenham, and Generals Gibs and Kcan, with a great 
 number of other officers, and about five thousand rank and 
 file killed and wounded; and what appeared to be absolute- 
 ly incredible, this unexampled slaughter of the enemy was 
 achieved with the loss of less than twenty killed and wound- 
 ed on our side. Instead of shouting and rejoicing, as in or- 
 dinary victories, we seemed mute with astonishment. Yes ! 
 when we saw the Englishmen walking with folded arms, 
 looking down on the ground, we had not the heart to exult, 
 especially as th war wa& now ended. I speak for myself 
 there was no event that tended so much to reconciliation 
 and forgiveness as this immense slaughter of the English. 
 We felt that this victory was too bloody not to siifle loud ex- 
 ultation. 
 
 We had heard of Generals Dearborn, Brown, Scott, Rip- 
 ley, Gaines and Miller, but no one knew who General 
 Andrew Jackson was ; but we said that it was a New-Eng- 
 land name, and we had no doubt but he was a full blooded 
 yankee, there being many of that name in New-Hampshire, 
 Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode-Island and Connecticut. 
 But I have since heard that he was a village lawyer in Ten- 
 nessee, and a native of South Carolina. 
 
 The more particulars we hear of this extraordinary victo- 
 ry, the more we were astonished. We cannot be too grate- 
 ful to Heaven for allowing us, a people of yesterday, to wind 
 up the war with the great and terrible nation, the mistress of 
 the ocean, in a manner and style that will inspire respect 
 from the present and future race of men. Nothing now is 
 thought of or talked of, but New-Orleans and Jackson, and 
 Jackson and New-Orleans. We already perceive that we 
 are treated with more respect, and our country spoken of in 
 honorable terms. The language now is " we are all one and 
 " the same people. You have all English blood in your 
 " veins, and it is no wonder that you fight bravely !" Some- 
 times they have uttered the slang of " The Times? and cast 
 reflections on the government, and on President ~ 
 
cNAL. 19 J 
 
 but we have always resented it, nor do we ever allow any 
 one to speak disrespectfully of our illustrious chief magistrate. 
 
 About the middle of the present month, (March) we re- 
 ceived the news of the landing of Napoleon in France, while 
 every one here supposed him snug at Elba. The news came 
 to England, and passed through it like thunder and lightning, 
 carrying with it astonishment and dismay. But as much as 
 they dread, and of course hate Bonaparte, the British cannot 
 but admire his fortune and his glory. There are a number 
 of Frenchmen yet here ; and it is impossible for man to 
 shew more joy at this news from France. They collected 
 together and snouted Vive FEmpereur ! and the yankees join- 
 ed them, with huzza for Bonaparte; and this we kept up in- 
 cessantly, to plague the British. The English bear any thing 
 from us with more patience, than our expressions of affection 
 for the Emperor Napoleon. Now the fact is, we care no 
 more for the French, than they do for us ; and there is but 
 little love between us; yet we pretend great respect and af- 
 fection for that nation, and their chief, principally to torment 
 overbearing surly John Bull, who thinks that we ought to 
 love nobody but him, while he himself never does any thing 
 to inspire that love. 
 
 About the 20th of Ihis month, we received the heart cheer- 
 ing tidings of the RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY OF PEACE, 
 by the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. This lono- ex- 
 pected event threw us all into such a rapturous roar of joy, 
 that we made old Dartmoor shake under us, with our shouts ; 
 and to testify our satisfaction we illuminated this depot of 
 misery. Even Shortland affected joy, and was seen more 
 than once, like Milton's Devil, to " grin horribly a ghastly 
 smile." 
 
 As there can be now no longer a doubt of our being soon 
 set at liberty, our attention is directed to the agent for prison- 
 ers for fixing the time, and arranging the means. Mr. Beas- 
 ley had written that as soon as the Treaty was ratified, he 
 would make every exertion for our speedy departure. He 
 must be aware of our extreme impatience to leave this drean 
 spot, whose brown and grassless surface renders it a place 
 wore proper for convicts, than an assemblage of patriots. 
 
 We are all watching the countenance and conduct of our 
 surly keeper, Shortland : and it is the general opinion that 
 lie is deeply chagrined at the idea of no longer domineering 
 over us. It may be, also, that the peace may reduce him 1* 
 
196 JOURNAL. 
 
 half pay. I, myself, am of opinion, that he is dissatisfied at 
 the idea of our escaping his fangs, with whole skins ; and hi 
 dark and sullen countenance gathers every day additional 
 blackness. 
 
 April 4th. The contractor's clerk heing desirous to get 
 off his hands (he hard biscuit, which had been held in re- 
 serve in case of bad weather, attempted to serve it out to 
 the prisoners at this time ; but the committee refused to re- 
 ceive it. Nothing but hard bread was served out to them 
 this day. In the evening, several hundred of the prisoners 
 entered the market square, and demanded their soft bread ; 
 but it was refused. The officers persuaded them to retire, 
 but they would not, before they received their usual soft 
 bread. The military officers, finding that it was in vain to 
 appease them, as they had but about three hundred militia 
 to guard five or six thousand, complied with their request, 
 ami all was quietness and contentment. 
 
 During this little commotion, Captain Shortland was gone 
 from home. He returned next day, when he expressed his 
 dissatisfaction at the conduct of the military, who he said, 
 should not have complied with the demand of the prisoners. 
 As it was, however, past, and the prisoners were tranquil, 
 and no signs of disturbance remaining, he grew pacified. 
 
 On the 4th of April, we received intelligence, which we 
 supposed correct, that seven cartel ships were to sail from 
 the Thames for Plymouth, to transport us home, and that 
 several more were in preparation. This inspired us with 
 high spirits, arid good humor; and I distinctly remember 
 that the prisoners appeared to enjoy their amusements, such 
 as playing ball and the like, beyond what I had ever before 
 observed. We all, in fact, felt light hearted, from the ex- 
 pectation of soon leaving this dreary abode, to return to our 
 dear homes, and adored country. But how was the scene- 
 changed before the light of another ffoy ! Dead and wound- 
 ed men, blood aiuf horror, made up the scenery of this fatal 
 evening! 
 
 The best account that could possibly be given, is that of 
 a respectable committee, selected from among the best char- 
 acters in this large assemblage of American prisoners. The 
 greater part of this committee, were men of no mean talents. 
 They were not young men, but had arrived at that period of 
 life, when judgment is the soundest, and when passion does 
 not betray reason. The anxiety of all to know the truth 
 
JOURNAL. l ( 3H 
 
 *>;l the solemn manner in which the evidence was collected 
 ant! given, stamped the transaction with the characters of 
 truth. I did not see the beginning of this affray. I was, 
 with most of the other prisoners, eating my evening's meal 
 in the building, when I heard the alarm bell, and soon af- 
 ter a volley of musketry. There were, I believe, before 
 f h alarm bell rung, a few hundred prisoners, scattered here 
 and there about the yards, as usual ; but I had no idea of 
 any particular collection of them, n6r had I any suspicion of 
 any commotion existing, or meditated. But I forbear ; and 
 will here insert the report of the committee, in the correct- 
 ness of which I place an entire confidence. 
 
 DARTMOOR MASSACRE. 
 
 Having seen in print several different statements of the massacre 
 f.i the American prisoners of war at Dartmoor, and, on perusal, find- 
 ing, that, though they corroborate each other,- as to the 'leading facts, 
 .vet it seems the public are not in possession of all the particulars ne- 
 cessary to form a proper judgement of the same. 
 
 While in prison, we having been members of the committee through 
 whom was transacted all their public business, and through whose 
 hands passed all their correspondence with their agent in London, and 
 having in our possession several documents relating to the before men- 
 tioned brutal 'butchery, we deem it a duty we owe to OUT murdered 
 countrymen and fellow-citizens in general to have them published. 
 
 Respecting the conduct of T. G. SHORTLANU, (commander- of the 
 depot of Dartmoor) prior to the bloody and ever memorable sixth of 
 April, it was a series of continued insult, injury and vexation to the 
 prisoners generally. Incapable of appreciating the beneficial effects 
 of the liberal -policy of a.gentleman, his sole study appeared to be de- 
 vising means to render the situation of the prisoners as disagreeable as 
 possible. To instance a few of his proceedings will sufficiently war- 
 rant the foregoing assertion, His conduct to the American officers 
 was marked with peculiar baseness and indignity. In the construc- 
 tion of the depot at Dartmoor, there was a separate prison, built ami 
 enclosed for the more commodious accommodation of those officers 
 (prisoners of war) who were not considered by them entitled to a pa- 
 role. Instead of Shortland alloAving those officers to occupy that pri- 
 son, they were turned into the other prisons promiscuously, with their 
 men. His conduct to the prisoners generally was of the same stamp. 
 There not being, at any time, a sufficient number to occupy all the 
 prisons, he kept the two best, which were built by the Frenchmen 
 during their confinement, and more conveniently fitted for the accom- 
 modation of prisoners, shut and unoccupied, while the upper stories of 
 those prisons in which the Americana were put, were in such a state.,, 
 
lo JOURNAL. 
 
 that on every rain storm the floors were nearly inundated. The per- 
 nicious effect this had on the health of the prisoners may be ea*i)y 
 iudged of by the great mortality that prevailed among them during the 
 Jast winter season. 
 
 Another instance of his murderous disposition, was his ordering his 
 guards to fire into the prisons, when, at any time, a light was seen 
 burning during the night, as specified in the general report. Wliik: 
 the Frenchmen -were confined in that depot, it was a custom for the 
 turnkey, with a sentry, to go into each prison, and see the lights ex- 
 tinguished at a stated hour ; although frequently lighted again there 
 was no further molestation. Instead of pursuing this plan with the 
 Americans, Shortland gave orders for the guards to fire into the prisons 
 whenever there should be a light burning. Frequently, on the most 
 trivial occasions, he would prevent the prisoners, for ten days at a 
 time, from purchasing, in the market, of the country people, such arti- 
 cles of comfort and convenience as their scanty means would admit 
 of. His last act of this kind, was but a short time previous to the mas- 
 sacre, and his alledged reason for it was, that the prisoners would not 
 deliver up to him a man who had made his escape from the. black 
 hole, (a place of confinement for criminals) and had taken refuge a- 
 mong the prisoners in general. This man was one of a prize-crew, 
 who was confined in that dark and loathsome cell,on a short allowance 
 of provisions, from June, 1814, until the ratification of the treaty. On 
 that man being demanded, the prisoners stated to Shortland, that they 
 did not presume that the British government would expect them to 
 stand sentry over each other that he might send his turnkeys and sol- 
 diers in and look for the man, but they would not seek him and de- 
 liver him up upon which he ordered the military to fire upon the 
 prisoners, but owing to the coolness and deliberation of the then com- 
 manding military officer, in restraining them, this order was not 
 obeyed. 
 
 To snrn up the whole in a few word?, his conduct, throughout, was 
 marked by the same illiberal prejudice, overbearing insult, and savage 
 barbarity, which characterizes the majority of tngli.'-h officers when 
 th'y have Americans in their power. 
 
 The enclosed papers, from No. 1 to 16 inclusive, are the depositions 
 taken by the committee of investigation on the 7tk Colonel AYHK 
 arrived from Plymouth and took command of this d^por. Shortland 
 sent in a message to the committee, requesting their attendance at his 
 office, to which was returned for answer, that considering him a r&ur- 
 derer, they were determined to have no communication with him 
 but added, if the commanding officer from Plymouth had any thing to 
 communicate, they would wait on him ; and, at his requc- 
 went up to the gate, where they stated to him all the particulars oi' 
 the affair. 
 
 He expressed great regret for what had occurred, and assured the 
 prisoners that no further violence should be u.-ed upon them. In the 
 mean time Shortland made his appearance. Instantly the indignant 
 cry of murderer, scoundrel, villain, burst from the lips of hundred-. 
 Tho guilty wretch stood appalled, not daring to offer a syllable in vin- 
 dication of his conduct ; but with, a pallid visage ;md trembling M \\ 
 
JOURNAL. 399 
 
 to his guard-house, from whence he was never ?een to emerge 
 while we remained there. In the course of the day, a rear-admiral 
 and post captain arrived from Plymouth, sent by Sir J. T. Duckworth, 
 commander in chief on that station, to enquire into the transaction ; to 
 whom we likewise fully stated, by the committee, all the particulars, 
 together with Shortland's previous infamous conduct. Their scanda- 
 lous misrepresentation of the same to the admiralty board, as will be 
 seen in their statement No. 20, is truly characteristic of the British 
 official accounts. We likewise wrote to Mr. Beasly on that day, giv- 
 ing him a short history of the affair, but as he did not acknowledge 
 the receipt of the letter, we concluded it had been intercepted On 
 the 14th we received a letter from him dated the 12th, of which No. 
 18 is a copy in answer to which No. 19 is a copy. On the 16th we 
 received another from him, of which No. 20 is a copy ; in the interim 
 lie had seen a copy of our report, sent by a private conveyance, which 
 Deemed to have greatly altered his opinion concerning the affair. In 
 his letter of the 14th was an extract from the statement or report sent 
 him by the admiralty board. On receiving which we wrote to admi- 
 ral Duckworth, of which No. 21 is a copy. 
 
 On the 22d of April, Mr. King, appointed by the American agents 
 at London, and a Mr. Larpent on the part of the government, with a 
 magistrate of the coiiji"' of Devon, arrived at the depot to investigate 
 Ihe affair ; ti t ai i. of three days in talc- 
 
 ing the 6c.}< ; IK! though we would i;">t 
 
 hastily prejudi n,:cf .--suvy to state, thai 
 
 our anticipation- 61 ii ;-.re not of ti;' Durable nature, from his 
 
 not appearing to take tSuat interest in the affair which the injuries his- 
 countrymen had r< . ,ter part 
 
 time was employed l?i t--king the ;lq Ciiiioiis of Shortland's w;' 
 most of whom were the principal ;,;,;-, ,- r , Jai iiity, am! i>j' 
 were implicated witii him in his gniit. On learn ing Mr. King was a- 
 bout leaving the drpot, we addressed a note to him, stating, "that we 
 had a number of witnesses waiting, who*< ->ns we conceived 
 
 would be of importuiict, and requeue cl him to have them taken ; we 
 received to this note no answer, am; .':e imiM?t:i;ite!y left the depot. 
 The particuliir points on which t; would have born, 
 
 related to the picking the hole in the wuil and breaking the locks of 
 the gale loading into the mark -s< -"!:u-y woukl have exonerated 
 
 the prison* i> ;.'< nerall} ; , ..ny share in those acts, or even a 
 
 knowledge of their having been c As these were the two 
 
 principal points on which Shortlaud tested his plea of justification, we 
 t it highly necessary that they should have been placed in a 
 proper point of view. As for an idta of the prisoners attempting to 
 break eut, a moment's reflection would convince any impartial man 
 of its improbability. Every prisons that had a sufficiency of money 
 to defray his exp'ences, could obtain his release and a passport, by ap- 
 plying to Mr. Beasly, or through their correspondence in England ; 
 those who had not funds would not have left the depot had the gates 
 been thrown open, having no means of subsistence in a foreign ccun- 
 try, and there being a very hot press of seamen at that time, they 
 'wAr ri-k of Icing kidnapped was great, and when, by staying 
 
200* JOURNAL. 
 
 a few days longer, they were assured they would be embarked for 
 their native country. The infamous falsehoods circulated in the Eng- 
 lish prints, of the prisoners having armed themselves with knives, clubs, 
 stones, &c. seized a part of the guard and disarmed them, and other 
 similar reports, r.re cnworthy of notice ; for when the disturbance GCJ-- 
 curred on the fourth of April, concerning bread, the prisoners having 
 burst open the. inner gates, Lad they the least disposition, they might 
 have immolated the whole garrison, as they were completely surprised. 
 and panic struck. 
 
 The artful policy of the British officers in coupling the transactions 
 of the 6th of April with that of burning Mr. Beasly's effigy, may easi- 
 ly be seen through ; the latter was done a fortnight previous, by a few 
 individuals, without its being generally known, or the least disturb- 
 ance concerning it ; and we deem it but justice to state, that what- 
 ever negligence Mr. Beasty- may have been guilty of, respecting the 
 affairs of the pjisoner*, he should be totally exonerated from all blame 
 respecting th'e massacre. 
 
 There was aa instance that occurred on the evening of the 6th,. 
 which reflects so much credit on the Americans, it should not be pas-> 
 seel -over in silence. When the brutal soldiery were following the 
 prisoners in the yards, stabbing and firing among them, a lamp lighter,' 
 who had come in a few moments previous, ran into No. 3 prison, to 
 escape being rmin-lored by his own countrymen ; on being recognized, 
 a rope was fixed for hanging him immediately. In this moment of 
 irritation, when their slaughtered and bleeding countrymen lay groan- 
 ing around them in the agonies of dissolution, such an act of vengeance, 
 at that time would not have been singular buton its being represent- 
 ed to them, by some influential characters, that such a deed would 
 stain tke American name, to their honour be it recorded, that human- 
 "!!7 t""IVipiieu over Vengeance, trie trembling wretch was released, and 
 told to go _ u 7Fe disdain to copy after your countrymen, and murder 
 you at this advantage, we. mil seek a more noblt revenge." 
 
 We deem it necessary here to remark, asTsome editors have mani- 
 fested a disposition to vindicate Shortland's conduct, that, allowing 
 'very circumstance to be placed in- the most unfavourable point of 
 view for the prisoners, suppose, for a moment, it was their intention 
 to break out, and a number had collected ia the market square for 
 that purpose,' hen, being charged upon by the military, they retreat- 
 od out of the square into their respective prison-yards, and shut the 
 fates after them without making any resistance whatever ; under such 
 Hrcums-tances no farther opposition could have been expected, and, 
 consequently, their intention must have been completely defeated. 
 What justification can there then be made to appear for the subse- 
 quent brutal, unprecedented butchery and mutilation ? NONE ! The 
 liiost fhaiuelesF and barefaced advocates and apologizers for British ia- 
 produce r-nv. 
 
 WALTER COLTON, ) Members of 
 
 THOS. B. MOTT 
 
 WM HOB ART, 
 
 LTON, ) 
 TT, } 
 
 T, ) 
 
DEPOSITION No. I. 
 
 I, Addison Hob tics, being solemnly sworn on the holy evangelists of 
 Almighty God, depose and say 
 
 That on the 6th of April, about 6 o'clock in the evening, I was in- 
 the market-square, where the soldiers were drawn up. There was a 
 number of Americans in the square to the best of my judgment, be- 
 tween fifty and a hundred. I distinctly heard Captain Shortland or- 
 der the soldiers to charge on the prisoners, which they did not do till 
 the order was repeated by their own officers, when they charged, and 
 the prisoners retreated through the gates, which they shut to after 
 them. In this interim I had got behind a sentry box, in the square, 
 and the soldiers went past me. I saw Captain Shortland open the 
 gates, and distinctly heard him give the word to fire, which was not 
 immediately obeyed, the commanding officer of the soldiers observing, 
 that he would not order the men to fire, but that he (Shortland) might 
 do as he pleased. I then saw Captain Shortland seize hold of a mus- 
 ket, in the hands of a soldier, which was immediately fired but I am 
 not able to say whether he or the soldier pulled the trigger. At this 
 time I was end.ovouring to get through the gate to the prison-yard 
 in so doing several stabs were made at me with bayonets, which I e- 
 vaded. Immediately after the firing became general, and I retreated, 
 with the remainder of the prisoners, down the yard, the soldiers fol- 
 lowing and tiring on the prisoners ; af;er I had got into No. 3 prison, 
 I heard two vollies fired into the prison, tiiat killed one man and 
 wounded another and further the deponent saith not. 
 
 ADDISON HOLMES. 
 
 We, the undersigned, being duly appointed and sworn as a com- 
 mittee to take the depositions of those persons who were eye witnesses 
 of the late horrid massacre, certify that the above deponents, being 
 duly and solemnly sworn on the holy evangelists of Almighty God, 
 did depose and say as before written, which was severally read to 
 each one who subscribed the same. 
 
 William IL Owe, Win. Hobart, 
 
 Francis Joseph, James Adams, 
 
 iValtcr Cotton, James Boggs. . 
 
 [A certificate similar to the foregoing, is attached to each of the de- 
 positions. The originals are now in our hands.] 
 No. II. 
 
 We, tke undersigned, being et.ch severally sworn on the holy evau- 
 arelists of Almighty God, depose and say 
 
 That on the 6th of April, about six o'clock in the evening, as we 
 were walking in the yard of No. 1 and No. 3 prisons, just before the 
 usual time of turning in, we heard the alarm bell ring. At this time 
 most of the prisoners were in the prisons ; a number with us ran up 
 the market square, out of curiosity, to see what was the matter ; there 
 were about one hundred collected in the square, and a number were 
 standing by the gates inside the prison yard ; the soldiers w r ere drawn 
 up in the upper part of the square ; orders were given them to charge, 
 oil which the prisoners retreated out of the squave, and some of the 
 last which came through the gates, shut, them to ; the soldiers then 
 firing on them through the iron, pailings, and tired 
 
JOURfTAL-.. 
 
 volHesin succession. The prisoners were, at this time e: i( i< avoutlng 
 to get into their respective prisons, when the soldiers perceived tlrat 
 they were all dispersed from the gates, they followed them into the 
 Yard, and continued firing, on -them ; and after all the prisoners had 
 got into the prisons, a party of soldiers pursuing .them, came up to the. 
 door of No. 3 -prison, and fired two vollies into the prison, which kil- 
 led one man and mortally wounded another. 
 
 We further solemnly declare, .that there was no pre-concerted plan 
 or intention among the prisoners to make an attempt to break out, 
 or to resist, in any manner, the authority of the government of the 
 depot, , 
 
 John T. Foster, Charles Perry, Geo. Slinc/iecomb, 
 
 Klisha Wlii./it/n, James Orcnnlaw, William Perry, 
 haac L. Burr, Wm. E, Orne, Richard Downing. 
 
 Done at Dartmoor Prison, tliis 7th day of April. .1815. 
 
 No, III. 
 
 T, Andrew Dai*is,jun. being solemnly sworn upon the holy evau- 
 ^jists of Almighty God, depose and say 
 
 That on the 6th of April, about six. o 1 clock in the evening, while 
 walking iu the yard of No. 3 prison, I heard the alarm bell ring, and 
 I went up towards the gate : .1 saw several .men bearing a wounded, 
 ruan towards the gate, whom it appeared had been wounded by Ihe 
 soldiers 1 bayonets ; when the prisoners were retreating out of the 
 square, I heard Captain Shortlarid order a part of them to let go the 
 wounded man, which some of them did ; one of the remaining re-- 
 monstrated to Captain Shortland, saying that the man was so badly 
 wounded that it required several to support him ; on which Captain 
 Shoriland struck him several blows with his fists, and he appeared tc 
 me, from the whole of his conduct, to be much intoxicated with li- 
 quor and further the deponent saith.not. 
 
 ANDREW DAVIS, Juw. 
 No. IV, 
 
 We, the -undersigned, depose and say 
 
 That on the Oth of April, in the evening, we were in the yard of 
 "No. \ and No. 3 prisons, when we heard the firing at the gnte.s, and 
 paw the prisoners all endeavoring to get into, their, respective prisons. 
 In going down towards the lower door of the prisons, . we saw a party 
 of soldiei.',. who were posted on the walls, commence firing on tin-: 
 prisoners, and we saw a man fall, who immediately- died, and several 
 others were badty wounded before they were able to get into tlVe" 
 gpisong. 
 
 Amos Cheeney, James Coffcn, 
 
 Washington Fox^ Thomas Wdliatiie, 
 
 John Smith, Henry Casey. 
 
 Harris Keenev, 
 No. ,V. 
 
 Hdxier Hull, after being duly sworn on the holy .evangelists of A?- 
 mighty God, deposeth and saitii 
 
 On the 6th of April, about -;ix o'clock in the evening, I was walk- 
 ;jfc:g in the. ya'\! of Xo, 7 prison- -, .all being as trarqr.il among the pris-- 
 * '.'btcrvcd an umissal number of soldiers mount!? 1 ?; 
 
 

 203" 
 
 Ike walls ; and one of them called to one of the prisoners, and told 
 him lie (the prisoner) had better go into the prison, as the prisoner.'; 
 u-ould soon be charged upon. While he was asking the cause of such 
 a proceeding. I heard the alarm bell ringing. I immediately run to 
 the gates leading to the square, when I saw Captain Shortland at the 
 head of the armed soldiery marching down to the gratings, the prison- 
 ers at the same time running to see what was the matter ; on the sol- 
 diers coming to the gratings, Capt. Shorlland ordered them to charge, 
 which they did ; tire prisoners immediately run to their respective 
 prisons ; on passing through the inner gate they closed it after them, 
 Then I heard Captain Shortland order the soldiers to FIRK, which 
 they commenced to do in every.direction of the yard, when the pris- 
 oners were making every effort to reach their prisons. I did not see 
 any violence used on the part of the prisoners, nor do I believe any 
 violence was intended or premeditated. HOMER HULL. 
 
 I, Joseph C. Morgan, having been duly sworn, and having read the 
 foregoing deposition., -do. declare the statement therein mentioned, to 
 be true. 1 " J. C. MORGAN, 
 
 No. VI, 
 
 We. the undersigned, depose and say 
 
 That, on the 6th of April, about 6 o'clock in the evening, we were 
 in the market square we distinctly heard Captain Shortland give or- 
 rid:- to the soldiers to charge on the prisoners and after we retreated 
 through the gates, we heard him give orders to the soldiers to FIRE. 
 w-hich, on his repeating several times, was executed. 
 
 Joseph Ruevts, Isaac L. Burr, 
 
 Janus Greenluw,. Thomas TindaL 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 We, the undersigned, depose and say 
 
 That on the 6th of April, in the evening, after all the* prisoners iir- 
 No. 1 and 3 yards had got into their respective prisons, a party of""" 
 soldiers came up to the door of No. 3 prison we were standing near 
 the door at the time, and saw them fire TWO VOLLIES into the prison, 
 ivhich killed, one man and wounded another. 
 
 William Scanck, John Latham, 
 
 James Green/aw, John Glass. 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 Enoch Eurnham, having been duly sworn, deposeih- 
 That he was standing at the market gate at the time Capt. Short- 
 hmd came into the niarket square with a large party of soldiers (it be- 
 ing tht n about 6 o'clock.) They immediately formed a line in the> 
 square at that time a number of prisoners got into the square from 
 the yard of No. 1 prison, and had advanced a few steps ; the soldiers 
 then charged, -and the prisoners immediately retreated to their pris- 
 ons, withoufthe least resistance. After the prisoners had retired to 
 the yards of the prison, the soldiery formed a line, and commenced 
 firiug in the yards, the prison gates being closed by the prisoners ; .. 
 shortly aft or they. kept up a heavy fire, and I saw one war* full. L 
 lBim.a4Ja.ttLy hastened to No, 5 prison, but on reaching No, 7, I found* 
 
204 JOURNAL. 
 
 there was a party of soldiers on the wall, firing from every <J.<' 
 I then got safe in No. 7, where, after remaining at the north t;iid win- 
 dow for a few moments, I saw a man (a prisoner} leaning against the 
 wall, apparently wounded, ivith his hands in a supplicating posture 
 at the saint, time, I saw several soldiers present andjlre, at the prisoner, 
 and he fell dead on the spot. 
 
 ENOCH BURNHAM. 
 No. IX. 
 
 Edward Coffin, being duly sworn, deposed, that on the sixth of 
 April, about six o'clock in the afternoon, a few prisoners belonging to 
 No. 5 and 7 prisons, broke a hole through the wall opposite No. 7 
 prison, as they said, to get a ball out of the barrack yard, which they 
 had lost in their play. After they had broke through the wail, the 
 officers and soldiers that were in the barrack yard, told them to desist, 
 or they would fire upon them. Immediately after that the drum beat 
 to arms, and the square was filled with soldiers, and without telling the 
 prisoners to go to their prison, immediately commenced to charge and 
 fire upon them. I immediately started to go to No. 5 prison, and the 
 soldiers on the platforms on the walls commenced firing, and I should 
 think near forty fired at myself and three others, as I am sure there 
 wore no other men in sight at that time between Nos. 5 and 6 prisons, 
 In going round No. 5 cook house, a prisoner was shot and killed very 
 near me. EDWARD COFFIN, 
 
 Attest. HF.WR* ALLEN. 
 
 No, X. 
 
 Thomas B. Motf, having been duly sworn, deposed 
 
 About six o'clock in the evening of the 6th of April, I was called 
 on by a number of persons, requesting me as one of the committee, to 
 put a stop to some boys, whom they said were picking a hole through 
 an inner wall, for which, they said, our provisions would be stopped 
 to pay for. I asked what was their intentions in making the hole ? 
 They said it was for the purpose of obtaining a ball which they had 
 lost in their play. I then repaired, with a number of respectable men r 
 to make them desist ; but before we got into the yard, a quick firing 
 oommen.-ed. On my walking 'up the yard, was met by a number of 
 prisoners retreating to their prisons, much alarmed ; one of which I 
 observed was badly wounded ; he was bleeding freely from his wound' 
 I could see the yard was clear of prisoners, or not more than two 
 or three to be seen, and they retiring fast. I requested the wounded 
 man to lean upon me, and I would assist him in some medical aid. 
 We had not advanced tmt a few steps, when we were fired on. I 
 advanced, assuring the soldiery we had no hostile intentions. I then 
 took the fainting flaaD in my arms, when a volley of musketry was 
 discharged full at us. I then retired immediately ; there was but one 
 of my prison doors unlocked, which was OH the back of the prison. 
 On tun-Jug the corner of the cook house, I found myself unexpected- 
 ly open i'> vh' tu'f of spV.ii ."< ;>n the ramp ails of the ,-:outh wall ; 
 their fire was kept up in so brisk a manner, that it appeared almost 
 impossible to enter wiiLu-jt buvig shut; but fmdiug my .'.'muiiion very 
 datjgerous, I was determined to enter the prison, or die in the at- 
 Fcr thai purpose, myself, with a cumber of others thai had 
 
JOURNAL. 205 
 
 i5een standing behind the wing of the cook house, sallied out for- the 
 purpose of gaining our prison door, when a volley of musket balls 
 showered in amongst us, killing two, and wounding others. On our 
 entering the prison our doors were shut to keep them from firing in. 
 fc'ome little time after, the turnkey enquired for me ; I went forward 
 to the window ; he requested me to deliver up the dead and wound- 
 ed ; I requested him to open the door, which he did, for that purpose. 
 On passing out the dead and wounded, I was insulted by the soldiery, 
 end on my replying, was charged upon, and with difficulty escaped, 
 without being butchered ; they likewise insulted the wounded as I 
 gave them up, and threw the dead down in the mud, and spurned at 
 a very unfeeling manner. THOS; B. MOTT. 
 
 No. XI: 
 
 I, William Mitchell, being duly sworn upon 'the holy evangelists of 
 Almighty God, depose and say 
 
 That, on the evening of the 6th of April, when the alarm com- 
 menced, I was in the lower part of No. 1 yard.. I walked up towards 
 the gale to learn the cause ; when I had got about halfway, I heard 
 a single musket fired, and immediately after a whole volley. I then 
 saw several men carrying one that was wounded, the soldiers keep- 
 ins; up the whole time a steady fire, and the prisoners all endeavoring 
 to~get into the prisons ; the lower doors being closed in the interim ; 
 it was with much difficulty they could get in, the soldiers pursuing 
 them the whole time, and charging them with bayonets ; and after 
 getting into the prison, I heard the firing of musketry in all directions 
 round the prison : and further the deponent saith not. 
 
 WILLIAM MITCHELL. 
 No. XII. 
 
 T, John G. GatckcU, having been duly sworn, depose and say 
 
 That 1 was ^ alking in the yard, towards the gate. The first t 
 knew, was the soldiers corning into the yard, with Capt. Shortland at 
 their head, when an immediate fire began from the soldiers, and one 
 :iutn fell within six feet of me. While in the act of rendering this 
 man assistance, I heard Captain Shortland order the soldiers to kill 
 the damnM ru>scal meaning me ; immediately the soldiers came and 
 pricked me with their bayonets, and I was forced to run to the prison 
 at the hazard of my life, uiid leave the man that was wounded. 
 
 JOHN G. GATCHELL, 
 No. XIII. 
 
 James Taylor, having been duly sworn, deposeth, that he was 
 standing at the gute in the market square, at the time Captain Short- 
 l:md, with a file of soldiers, entered the square. Captain Shortland 
 ordered a prisoner in the square to go into the prison, when he imme- 
 diately complied. He then ordered the soldiers to charge ; and in- 
 stantly observed to the commanding officer of the military u It is no 
 use to charge on the dumn'd Yankee rascal? FIRE" when this 
 commenced immediately. The prisoners at that time w.ere rushing 
 in the prisons as fast us possible, and principally out cfthe square. 
 After t'.*' prisoners -were mostly in the prison of No. 4, i. boy. of ten 
 cs -hot through the body aad killed, while in the door 
 
206 JOURNAL. 
 
 passage trying to get in, by the soldiers in the yard, in my presence., 
 I being inside the prison ; likewise one other man was shot through 
 the thigh. JAMES TAYLOR. 
 
 No. XIV. 
 
 Samuel Lowdy having been duly sworn, deposeth as follows : 
 That he was in the yard of prison No. 4, at the time Robert Haj'- 
 Wood was shot by tke soldiery. He immediately took him up, for 
 the purpose of carrying him to the hospital. In the square he met 
 Capt. Shortland, and said, Capt. Shortland, this man is very badly 
 wounded I want to carry him to the hospital. Capt. Shortland re- 
 plied, you damn'd son of a bitch, carry him back to the prison ; and 
 he was obliged to comply. After getting to the prison, one of the sol- 
 diers called him back, and he went up to the square with the man, 
 and met Capt. Shortland, who said, heave him down there, (pointing 
 to a sentry box) and away with you to the prison. At that time they 
 were firing in the different yards. On leaving the square, we found 
 the man was dead. SAMUEL LOWDY. 
 
 John Battice having been sworn, corroborates the evidence of Sam- 
 uel Lowdy. JOHN BATTICE. 
 
 No. XV. 
 
 Wittutm Potter, having been duly sworn, deposed 
 That while passing between No. 5 and 6 prisons, the soldiers com- 
 menced firing from the walls in three divisions, at a few of u ; at 
 that time there were only four prisoners in sight. After advancing a 
 lew step?, I found a man badly wounded. I stopped and picked the 
 man up ; during which time the soldiers kept an incessant lire at us, 
 vs likewise till we got to the prison of No. 5. 
 
 WILLIAM POTTER. 
 No. XVI. 
 
 T, Dai-id S. Warren, being duly sworn on the holy evangelists of 
 Alrmgnt}' Gcci, depose rmd say- 
 That, on the evening of the 6th of April, when the alarm commen- 
 ced, I was in the lower part of the yard iNo. 1 prison. I walked up 
 to the gate to learn the cause. I there saw there wore a number of 
 prisoners in the market square, and a great number of soldiers drawn 
 up across the same ; soon after they charged on the prisoners, who re- 
 treated out of the square into their respective prison }~ards, and shut 
 -the gates after them. I saw the soldiers advance up to the gates, and 
 heard Capt. Shortland order them to fire, which they not immediately 
 obeying, 1 saw him seize hold of a musket in the hands of a soldier, 
 and direct it towards a prisoner, and heard him again repeat "fire ; 
 God damn you,Jire." Immediately afterwards the firing became gen- 
 eral ; the prisoners were all endeavoring to get into the prisons, which 
 was attended with much difficulty, all the doors but one being closed 
 and further the deponent saith net. 
 
 DAVID S. WARREN. 
 
 No. XVII. 
 
 We, the undersigned, being each severally sworn on the holy evan- 
 gelists of Almighty "God, for the investigation of the circumstances ^t- 
 fending the late horrid massacre, and having heard the deposition* of 
 
JOURNAL. 207 
 
 , evrat number of witnesses, from our own personal knowledge, and 
 'he depositions given in as aforesaid, 
 
 REPORT AS FOLLOWS: 
 
 That on the 6th of April, about six o'clock in the evening, wheri 
 fhe prisoners were all quiet in their respective yards, it being about 
 the usual time of turning in for night, and the greater part of the pris- 
 oners being then in the prisons, the alarm bell was rung, and many oi 
 the prisoners ran up to the market square to learn the occasion of the 
 alarm. There were then drawn up in the square several hundred 
 >oldiers, with Capt. Shortland (the agent) at their head ; it was like- 
 wise observed at the same time, that additional numbers of soldiers 
 were posting themselves on the walls round the prison yards. One of 
 them observed to the prisoners, that they had better go into the pris- 
 ons, for they would be charged upon directly. This, of course, occa- 
 sioned considerable alarm among them. In this moment of uncer- 
 tainty, they were running in different directions, enquiring the cause 
 of the alarm ; some toward their respective prisons, and some toward 
 1he market square. When about one hundred were collected in the 
 square. Capt. Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge upon them, 
 which order the soldiers were reluctant hi obeying, as the prisoners 
 were using no violence ; but on the order being repeated, they made 
 a charge, and the prisoners retreated out of the square, into their pris- 
 on yard?, and shut the gate after them. Capt. Shortland, himself, 
 opened the gates, and ordered the soldiers to fire in among the pris- 
 oner-, who were all retreating in different directions towards their re- 
 spective prisons. It appears there was some hesitation in the minds 
 of the officers, whether or not it was proper to fire upon the prisoners 
 in that situation ; on which Shortland seized a musket out of the hands 
 of a soldier, which he fired. Immediately after the fire became gen- 
 oral, and many of the prisoners were either killed or wounded. The 
 remainder were endeavoring to get into the prisons ; when going to- 
 wrmls the lower doors, the soldiers on the walls commenced firing on 
 them from that quarter, which killed some and wounded others. Af- 
 ter much difficulty, (all the doors being closed in the entrance, but 
 emu in each pnson) the survivors succeeded in gaining the prisons ; 
 immediately after which, parties of soldiers came to the doors of Nos. 
 8 and 4 prisons, and fired several vollies into ,them through the win- 
 dows and doors, which killed one man in each prison, and severely 
 wounded others. 
 
 It likewise appears, that the preceding butchery was followed up 
 with a disposition of peculiar inveteracy and barbarity. 
 
 One man who was severely wounded in No. 7 prison yard, and b n - 
 ing unable to make his way to the prison, was come up with by *u 
 soldiers, whom he implored for mere}', but in vain ; five of the hard- 
 ened wretches immediately levelled their pieces at him, and shot him 
 dead on the spot. The soldiers who were on the walls, manifested 
 iqual cruelty, by keeping up a constant fire on every prisoner they 
 could see in the yards endeavoring to get into the prisons, when their 
 numbers were very few, and when not the least shadow of resistance 1 , 
 made or expected. Several of tu&iu hud gyt into No. 3 ] ii- 
 
>208 JOURNAL. 
 
 on cook house, which was pointed out by the soldiers on the waifc, to 
 those who were marching in from the square. They immediately went 
 up and fired into the same, which wounded several. One of the pris- 
 oners ran out, with the intention of gaining hjs prison, but was killed 
 before he reached the door. 
 
 On an impartial consideration of all circumstances of the case, we 
 'are induced to believe that it was a premeditated scheme in the mind 
 of Capt. Shortland, for reasons which we will now proceed to give. 
 As an illucidation of its origin, we will recur back to an event which 
 happened some days previous. Captain Shortland was at the time, 
 absent at Plymouth ; but before going, he ordered the contractor, or 
 his clerk, to serve out one pound of indifferent, hard bread, instead of 
 x>ne pound and a half of soft bread, their usual allowance. This the 
 prisoners refused to receive. They waited all day in expectation of 
 their usual allowance being served out ; but at sunset, rinding this 
 would not be the case, burst open* the lower gates, and went up to 
 (he store, demanding to have their bread. 
 
 The officers of the garrison, on being alarmed, and informed of these 
 proceedings, observed that it was no more than right the prisoners 
 .should have their usual allowance, and strongly reprobated Captain 
 Shortland, in withholding it from them. They were accordingly 
 served with their bread, and quietly returned to their prison. This 
 circumstance, with the censures that were thrown on his conduct, 
 reached the ears of Shortland, on his return home, and he must then 
 have determined on the diabolical plan of seizing the first slight pre- 
 text to turn in the military, to butcher the prisoners for the gratifica- 
 tion of his malice and revenge. It unfortunately happened, that in 
 the afternoon of the 6th of April, some boys who were playing ball in 
 No, 7 yard, knocked their ball over into the barrack yard, and on the 
 5-entry in that yard refusing to throw it back to them, they picked a 
 .bole rn the wall, to get in after it. 
 
 This afforded Shortland his wished for pretext, and he took his 
 measures accordingly. He. had all the garrison drawn up in the mili- 
 tary walk, additional numbers posted on the walls, and every thing 
 prepared, before the alarm bell was rung ; this he naturally conclud- 
 ed would draw the. attention of a great number of prisoners towards 
 the gates, to learn the cause of the alarm, while the turnkeys were 
 dispatched into the yards to lock all the doors but one, of each pris- 
 on, to prevent the prisoners retreating out of the way, before he had 
 sufficiently wreaked his vengeance. 
 
 What adds peculiar weight to the belief of its being a premeditated, 
 determined massacre, are, 
 
 First The sanguinary disposition manifested on every occasion by 
 Shortland, he having prior to this time, ordered the soldiers to fire in- 
 to the prisons, -through the prison windows, upon unarmed prisoners 
 asleep in their hammocks, on account of a light being seen in the pris- 
 ons ; which barbarous -act was repeated several nights successively. 
 That murder was not then committed, was owing to an overruling 
 .Providence alone ; for the balls were picked up in the prisons, where 
 they passed through the hammocks of men then asleep in them. He 
 jhaying also ordered the soldiers to fire upon the prisoners in the yari 
 
JOURNAL, 
 
 of No. 7 prison, because they would not deliver np to him a man who 
 had reaped from his cathoi, which order the commanding officer of 
 the soldier? refused to obey ; and generally, he having seized on ev- 
 ery slight pretext to injure the prisoners, by stopping their marketing 
 for ten days repeatedly', and once, a third part of their provisions for 
 the same length of time. 
 
 Secondly He having hdP heard to pay, when the boys had picked 
 the hole in the wall, and some lime before the alarm bell was rung, 
 while all the prisoners were quiet ,-.- usual in their respective yards 
 * ; Pll fix the damned rascals directly." 
 
 Thirdly His having all the soldier? on their post?, and the garri- 
 son fully prepared before the alarm bell rung. It could not theH, of 
 course, be rung to assemble the soldiers, but to alarm the prisoners, 
 and create confusion among them* 
 
 Fourthly The soldiers upon the wall, previous to the alarm bell 
 being rung, informing the prisoners that they would be charged upon 
 directly. 
 
 Fifthly The turnkeys going into the yard and closing all the doors 
 but one, in each prison, while "the attention of the prisoners was at- 
 tracted bv the alarm hell. This was done about fifteen minutes soon- 
 er than usual, and without informing the prisoners it was time to shut 
 tip. It was ever the invariable practice of the turnkeys, from which 
 they never deviated before that night, when coming into the yard to 
 hut up, to halloo to the prisoners, so loud as to be heard throughout 
 the yard, "turn m, turn in /" while on that night it was done so se- 
 cretly, that not one man in a hundred knew they were shut ; and ift 
 particular, their shutting the door of No. 7, prisoners usually go in and 
 wit at, and which was formerly always closed last, and leaving one 
 open in the other end of the prison, which was exposed to a cross 
 fire from the soldiers on the walls, and which the prisoners had to pass 
 in gaining the prisons. 
 
 It appears to us that the foregoing reasons sufficiently warrant the 
 conclusion we have drawn therefrom. 
 
 We likewise believe, from the depositions of men who were eye 
 witnesses of a part of Shonland 1 s conduct, on the evening of the 6th 
 of April, that he was intoxicated with liquor at the time ; from his 
 brutality in beatiaga prisoner then supporting another severely wound- 
 ed, from the blackguard -and abusive language he made use of, and 
 from his frequently having been seen in the same state. His being 
 drunk was, of course, the means of inflaming his bitter enmity against 
 the prisoners, and no doubt was the cause of the indiscriminate butch- 
 ery, and of no quarter being given-. 
 
 We here solemnly aver, that there was no pre-concerted plan to 
 attempt a breaking out. There cannot be produced the lea>t shadow 
 of a reason or inducement for that intention, because the prisoners 
 were daily expecting to be released, and to embark on board cartels 
 for their native country. And we likewise solemnly assert, that there 
 was no intention of resisting, in any manner, the authority of tins 
 depot. 
 
 18 
 
210 JOURNAL. 
 
 N. B. Seven were killed, thirty dangerously wounded, and thirty 
 slightly do. Total, sixty-seven killed and wounded. 
 
 C Wm. B. Gnu, Wm. Hobart, ~] 
 
 I James Boggs, James Mams, 
 
 g 1 J. F. Trowbridge^ Francis Joseph, } Committee. 
 & John Rust, Henry JLllen, 
 
 L Walter Cotton, Tho&as B. Mott, j - 
 
 Ts T o. XVIII. * 
 
 Letter from Mr. Beasly, agent for American prisoners of war at Lon- 
 don, to the Committee of American prisoners of war in Dartmoor 
 prison. 
 
 Jlgency for American prisoners of tear, ) 
 London, April 12, 1815. $ 
 
 GENTLEMEN It having been stated in some of the newspapers 
 published here, that the American government intended to send some 
 ships of war bound to the Mediterranean, to this country, for the pur- 
 pose of completing their crews from among the prisoners ; and having 
 been informed that this idea has got among the prisoners, it becomes 
 my duty to request, that you will inform them that the fct is not so. 
 
 I have already informed you of the measures which had been taken 
 to provide conveyances for the prisoners. You will let them know, 
 lhat eight large transports have been engaged, some of which must be 
 How at Plymouth ; others will follow, until the whole of the prison- 
 ers are sent off. 
 
 It is much to be lamented, that at a moment when every exertion 
 was making to restore them to their country, they sliould have fallen 
 into an excess which has proved fatal to some. And I am at a loss to 
 conceive how they could, under such circumstances, pretend to say, 
 that the cause of this unfortunate but shameful conduct, was the neg- 
 lect of their government or its agent. This, I am informed, they 
 liave stated to the officers who were sent to examine into the affain. 
 I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 
 
 R. G. BEASLY. 
 TJie Committee of the American prisoners, Dartmoor. 
 
 No. XIX. 
 
 DARTMOOR, April 14. 1815. 
 
 SIR Yours, of the 12th inst. came to hand this morning. It is 
 >vitli astonishment we note its contents, that the officers who came to 
 inquire into the circumstances of the late unfortunate affair, should 
 have informed you, that the prisoners stated to them the cause of 
 that event was that their government or its agent had neglected them. 
 This is a most deliberate falsehood, let your authors be who they may. 
 We deny not that the anxiety of the prisoners to get released from 
 here, has been great ; they have even censured you as being dilato- 
 ry in your preparations for that purpose but their government the jr 
 have never implicated and you may rest assured, that they have 
 too much of the genuine spirit of Americans, to apply to the officer' 
 of a foreign government for relief, or to make, them a ^^ri / in any 
 Dispute with the government or its agents, 
 
JOURNAL. 211 
 
 We solemnly assure you, that whatever anxiety among the prison- 
 ers, or want of confidence in your exertions, as above stated, may 
 have existed among them, that it can in no way be construed to have 
 any collusion or connection with the late event, and was expressly so 
 stated to the admiral, who came here from Plymouth, 
 
 We, on the contrary, in the name of the five thousand' prisoners 
 confined here, accuse Shortland of a deliberate, pre-determined act 
 of atrocious murder we have sufficient evidence in our possession to 
 prove it to the world, and we call on you (there being at present no 
 accredited minister, or charge des affairs at the court of London) to 
 make strict-inquiries into the circumstances of the case, and procure 
 all the evidence necessary for a proper investigation into the same;; 
 for well do we feel assured, that our government will not thus suffer 
 its citizens to be sacrificed, for the gratification of national prejudice, 
 malice or revenge, of the petty officers of a foreign state, 
 
 We are at no loss to impute the misrepresentation of the British ofr 
 ficers to their proper motives. They artfully wish to excite in your 
 breast a spirit of enmity and resentment against the prisoners, that 
 you might use less perseverance, or feel yourself less interested in 
 making the ^proper inquiries into the late affair. 
 
 With much respect, we remain. Sir, your most obedient and hum- 
 ble servants, WILLIAM HOBART, 
 
 WALTER COLTON. 
 HENRY ALLEN. 
 
 R. G. Beasly, E&q. Jlgentfor Prisoners, London. 
 
 No. XX. 
 
 Second Letter from Mr. Beasly to the American Committee. 
 Agency for American Prisoners of War, ) 
 London, April 14, 1815. \ 
 
 GENTLEMEN My letter to you of the 12th inst. on the subject of 
 the melancholy event, \vas written under an impression which I re- 
 ceived from a report of it, transmitted to me by this government : I 
 have since received your report of the circumstances. Had I been 
 in possession of the information therein contained, the letter would 
 have been differently expressed. I am, gentlemen, your obedient 
 servant, R. G. BEASLY. 
 
 Committee of American Prisoners, Dartmoor, 
 P. S. I subjoin an extract of the report alluded to from the Lords 
 Commissioners of the Admiralty : 
 
 " The rioters, it appear?, endeavored to OVERPOWJER the guard, to 
 force the prison, and had actually seized the arms of some of the sol- 
 diers, and made a breach in the walls of the depot, when the guard 
 found itself obliged to have recourse to their fire arms, and five of the 
 rioters were killed, and thirty-four wounded, after which the tumult 
 subsided, and the depot was placed in a state of tranquillity and se- 
 curity. 
 
 " Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, Commander in Chief at Plym- 
 outh, having received information of this unfortunate event, lost no 
 time in directing Rear Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, Baronet, K. C. B. 
 
and Schomberg, &e two senior officers at that port, to proceed tQ 
 Dartmoor, and to inquire into the circumstances. Those officers ac- 
 cordingly repaired to the depot, where they found, on examination of 
 ihe officers of the depot, and all tha American prisoners who were 
 called before them, that the circumstances of the riot were as before 
 stated ; but that no excuse could be assigned for the conduct of the 
 prisoners, but their impatience to be released ; and the Americans 
 unanimously declared, that their complaint of delay was not against 
 the British government, but against their own, which ought to have 
 sent means for their early conveyance home, and in replies to distinct 
 questions to that effect, they declared they had no ground of cQjtfi- 
 plaint whatsoever." 
 
 No, XXI. 
 
 DARTMOOR, April 17, 1815. 
 To Rwr Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth. 
 
 SIR The officers whom you sent to this place to inquire intp 
 tfce circumstance of the unfortunate occurrence of the 6th inst. what- 
 ever right they had to represent the conduct of Captain Shortland in 
 the most favorable manner r we conceive it an act of grots injustice 
 that they should have given to you such a false and scandalous rep- 
 resentation of what they were told by the prisoners. 
 
 In the report from the admiralty board to Mr. Beasly, (a copy of 
 Which he has transmitted to us) it is stated that the prisoners, when 
 Called Opon to give an account of the circumstances of the 6th, exon- 
 erated Captain Shortland and the English government from any blame 
 respecting the same, and accused their own government and its agent 
 of being the cause. 
 
 We, on the contrary, folemnly declare, that it was expressly stated 
 fo Admiral Rowley, that whatever anxiety might have existed among 
 the prisoners for a speedy release, could, in no way whatever, be 
 construed to have had any collusion or connection with that event. 
 That the prisoner?, so far. from having any idea of attempting to break 
 cut, if the gates had been opened, and every one suffered to go who 
 Blight wish to do go, not one in a hundred would have left the prison, 
 having no means of subsistence in a foreign country, and being like- 
 wise liable to IMPRESSMENT, when by staying a few days longer, they 
 Would, probably, be embarked for their native country. 
 
 They, on the contrary, accused Captain Shortland of being the sole 
 mover and principal perpetrator of the unprovoked and horrid butch- 
 ery. 
 
 Conceiving, from your well known character in the British navy 
 for integrity and candor, that you would not wish to have your name 
 the medium of imposing such a gross misrepresentation and such di- 
 rect falsehood* on the admiralty board and the British public, we have 
 taken the liberty of thus addressing you, and have the honor to sub- 
 scribe ourselves, your most obedient and very humble servants, 
 
 Win. Hobart, Walter Colton, Henry Allen, Thomas B. 
 Mott, Wm. B. Ornc, 
 
 Committee of Aiiieriaan Prisons, 
 
JOURNAL* 
 
 [In addition to the documents furnished by the committee of the 
 Purtmoor prisoners, we lay the following affidavit of Archibald Tay- 
 lor before ihe public. Will people doubt this evidence also ? Is it 
 likely that common soldiers, hired assassins, would make use of simi- 
 lar expressions from their own impulses ? or is it not much more con- 
 formable to common sense to believe that this was the language held 
 by their officer?, and that they echoed it.] 
 
 City of New York, ss f 
 
 Archibald Taylor, late commander of the Paul Jones, private arm- 
 ed vessel of war, being duly sworn, doth depose and say 
 
 .That he was a prisoner in Dartmoor prison at the time of the late 
 massacre of Americans ; that after the affair of the 6th of April, and 
 on the night of the same day, he was in the prison No. 3, assisting 
 Thomas Smith, late his boatswain, who was shot through his leg by 
 the soldiers in the yard, when an order was received to have all the 
 wounded removed from the prisons to the hospital ; and while this 
 deponent was carrying the said Thomas Smith to the door of the pris- 
 on, to deliver him to the guards selected to receive him, some of the 
 soldiers observed to this deponent, " this is in turn for the affair at New 
 Orleans, where you killed our men, and now we have our revenge" 
 and farther this deponent saith not. 
 
 ARCHIBALD TAYLOR/ 
 Sworn before me, this 28th June, 1815. 
 
 AARON II. PALMER, Molar-.- Public, 
 
 KING AND LARPENT'S REPORT. 
 
 Plymouth., 19th April, 1315. 
 
 \VE ihe-tindersigned commissioners, appointed on behalf of our respective gow 
 rmmrnts.to intjuiie into and report upon, the unfortunate occurrence of the Gth Ap- 
 ril isist. at Dartmoor Prison ; having carefully perused the proceedings of the several 
 courts of inquiry, instituted immediately afier that event, by the orders of Admiral 
 Sir John T. Duckworth and Major- General Brown, respectively, as well as the depo- 
 sitions taken at the coroner's inquest upon the bodies of the prisoners, who lost their 
 lives upon that melancholy occasion ; upon which inquest the jury found a verdict of 
 justifiable homicide; proceeded immediately to the examination upon oath in the 
 presence of one or more of the magistrates of the vicinity, of all the witnesses, both 
 American and English, who offered themselves for that purpose ; or who could be dis- 
 covered as likely to afford any material information on the subject, as well as those 
 who had been previously examined before the coroner, as otherwise, to the number in, 
 the whole of about eighty. We further proceeded to a minute examination of the pri- 
 sons, for the purpose of clearing up some points which, upon the evidence alone, were* 
 scarcely intelligible ; obtaining from the prisoners, and from the ofliet-rs of the depot, 
 all the necessary assistance and explanation; and premising;, that we have been from 
 necessity compelled to draw many of our conclusions from statements and evidence 
 highly contradictory, we do now make upon the whole proceedings the following re- 
 port: 
 
 During the period which has elapsed since the arrival in this country of the acount 
 of the ratification of the treaty of Ghent, an increased degree of restlessness and im- 
 patience of confinement appears to have prevailed amongst the American prisoners at 
 Dartmoor, which, though not exhibited in the shape of any violent excesses, has bceu 
 principally indicated by threats of breaking out if not soon released. 
 

 their demand? loving been then almost immediately complied wit't^ ttfr r 
 
 b.eir own yards, and the employment of force on that occasion brcame nm.ewmrv. 
 
 On the evening of the 6th, about 6 o'clock, it was clearly proved to us, that a bread 4- - 
 or hole ha;1 been made in one of the prison walls, sufficient for a full si/.ed man to- 
 pass, and that others had been commenced in the course of the day near the same spot, 
 though never completed. 
 
 That a number of the prisoners were over the railing erected to prevent them from 
 communicating with the centinels on the walls, which was of course forbidden by th 
 regulations of the prison, and that in the- space between the railing and those 
 they were tearing up pieces of turf, and wantonly pelting each other in a noisy aavl 
 disorderly manner. 
 
 That a much more considerable number of the prisoners was collected together at 
 that time in one of their yards near the place where the breach was effected, arid that 
 although such collection of prisoners was not unusual at other times (the Gambling. 
 Tables being commonly kept in that part of the yard) yet, ^yhen connected with the 
 circumstances of the breach, and the tune of the day, which was after the hour the si.; 
 rial for the prisoners to retire to their respective prisons hud ceased to sound, it be- 
 came a natural anJ just ground oi'alarm to tiiose who had charge of the depot. 
 
 3-t was also in evidence that in the building formerly the petty officer* 1 prison, bn.r 
 now the guard barrack, which stands in the yard to which the hole in the wail would- 
 serve a? a communication, a part of the anus of the guard who were off duty, were us- 
 ually kept in the racks, and though there was no evidence that this was. in any ivspecr, 
 the motive which induced the prisoners to make the opening in the w;i!!. or "even that 
 they were ever acquainted with the fact, it naturally became at least a further cause of 
 suspicion and aJarm, and an additional reason for precaution. 
 
 Upon these grounds captain Short land appears to us to have been justified in gh Inff- 
 the order, which about this time he seems to have given, to sound the alarm bei- 
 muaf signal fur collecting the officers of the depot and putting the military n the 
 akru 
 
 However reasonable and justifiable this was as a measure of precaution, the- effect* 
 {Roduet.fltb.fi ''> in the prisons, but which could not have been intended, wen 
 unforiHDttv. '-:. deeply to be regretted. A considerable number of the prisoners m 
 th. .> disturbance existed before, and who wire either already within 
 
 xjns, or quietly retiring as usual towards them, immediately upon 
 L'theb.ll rushed back from cuviosuy (as it appears) towards tite gates,. 
 v IK !< :, _ t'iMt tmif.. the crowd had assembled. and many who were at the time absent 
 from their yards, were also from the plan of the prison, compelled, in order to reach 
 their own homes, to pass the same spot, and thus that which was merely a measure of 
 precaution, in its operation increased ihe evil it was intended to prevent. Almost at 
 *he same instant that (be alarm bell rung, (but whether before or subsequent is upor 
 the evidence doubtful, though captain Short land states it possitively as one of his fur- 
 ther reasons for causing it to ring) some one or more of the prisoners broke the iron 
 chain, which was the only fastening of No. 1 gate, leading into market square by 
 means of an iron bar ; and a very considerable number of the prisoners immediately " 
 gushed towards that gate; and many of them began to pms forwards as fast a* the 
 openii.g would permit into the square. 
 
 Ther<i was no direct proof before us of previous concert or preparation on the part 
 f the prisoners, and no evidence or'tlmr intention ordisposition to effect their escape 
 en this occasion, excepting that which arose by inference from the whole of the above 
 fc tailed circumstances connected together. 
 
 The natural and almost irresistible inference to be drawn, however, from the con 
 duct of the prisoners by captain Shortland and the military was. th;it an intention onr 
 the part of the prisoners to escape was on the point of being carried into execution, 
 and it was at least certain that they were by force passing beyond the limits prescribed 
 o them at a time when they ought to have been quietly going in for the night, it 
 also in evidence that the outer gates of the market square were usually opened 
 about this time to let the bread waggons pass and repass to the 3tore s although at the 
 period in question they were in fact closed. 
 
 Undi'/ these circumstances, and with these impressions necessarily operating upon 
 nind: and a knowledge that if the prisoners mice penetrated through the squitic, 
 ^Jie p<) ver -nf escape was almost to a certainty afforded to them, if they sLould bf so 
 imposed ; captain Shoitiand in the first iiistance.proeeeded down the square tovsaals 
 :.*e prisoners, having ordered a part of the different guards, to the number of about 
 only at first, (though they were increased afterwards) to follow him. For some 
 Wh he iMi-l Dr. Magrath endeavored by quiet means and persuasion, to induce 
 VM: ;;ri:<."iers to return to their own yards, explaining to them the fatal consequences 
 .hlh p.'irt ensue if they refused, as the military would in that case be nettssursly 
 to employ forse. The ghaixl was by this tizre formed in (lie rvnr of ,tap- 
 
 Ic'ui ebofttand, about two thinla of the way down the square the latter is about one 
 :u;;*red feet broad, and the guard extended nearly a-ft across. Captain Sfconlaiid, 
 41 vrsmwion was aU la TMJH, suj-i ihzt. akhoogU. some were ictiuved hy it tv 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 215 
 
 fcake nn effort to retire, others pressed on in considerable numbers, at last ordered 
 nbotit 15 file of the guard, nearly in front of the gate which had been forced, to charge 
 lilt- prisoners back to their own yards. 
 
 'The prisoners were in some places so near the military, that one of the soldiers states 
 tlvit he could not come fairly down to the charge ; and the military were unwilling to 
 Mtt against an enemy. Some struggling ensued between the parties, arising partly 
 ,rom intention, but mainly from the pressure of those behind preventing those in front 
 i'rom getting back. * After some little time, however, this charge appears to have beeu 
 so far eiteetive, and that with little or no injury to the prisoners, as to have driven 
 them for the most part qnite down out of the square, with the exception of a small 
 number who continued their resistance about No. 1 gate. 
 
 A great crowd still remained collected after this in the passage between the square 
 and the prisoners' yards, ami in the part of those yards in the vicinity of the gates. 
 This asiv-mbhge still refused to withdraw, aud according to most of the English wn- 
 ^i.-S'iis and some of the American, was making a noise, hallowing, insulting and pro- 
 w/king, and daring the military to fire, and according to the testimony of several of 
 The soldiers, and some others, were pelting the military with large stones, by which 
 Some of them were actually struck. This circumstance is, however, denied by many 
 of the American witnesses; and some of the English, upon having the question put 
 to them, stated that they saw no stones thrown previously to the firing, although tin -\v 
 situation at the time was such as to enable them to see moat of the proceedings in the 
 square. 
 
 Under these circumstances the firing commenced. With regard to any order having 
 been given to fire the evidence is very contradictory. Several of the Americans swear 
 positively, that captain Shortlnnd gave that order ; but the manner in which from the 
 confusion of the moment, they described this part of the transaction, is so different in 
 :.; details that it is very difficult to reconcile their testimony. Many of the soldiers 
 .tr.d other English witnesses, heard the word given by some one. but no one of them 
 ;iia swear it was by captain Shortland, or by anyone in particular, and some, amongst 
 , lioin is the olticer commanding the guard, think, if captain bbortlaud had givm 
 s-.c'ii an order that they must have heard it, which they did not. In addition to liiis 
 vaptuin Shortland denies the fast; and i'rom the situation which he appears to have 
 been plated at the time, even according to the American witnesses, in front of' the 
 >: ldiers.it may appear somewhat improbable that he should then have given such ;IH 
 onU'r. 
 
 But. however, it may remain a matter of doubt whether the firing first began in the 
 square by order, or was a spontaneous act of the soldiers themselves, it seemed cit-uv 
 tivut it was continued and renewed both there and elsewhere without orders; and thnt 
 on the platforms, and in several places about the prison, it was certainly commenCvd 
 w i! hout any authority. 
 
 The fact of an ord< r having lx;en given at first, provided the firing was underlie 
 existing circumstances justifiable, does not appear very material in any other point of 
 view, than as shewing a want of self possession and discipline in the troops if they 
 should have fired without order. 
 
 With regard to the above most important consideration, of whether the firing was. 
 justifiable or not, we are of opinion, under all the circumstances of the case, from ihr. 
 apprehension which the soldiers might fairly entertain, owing to the numbers and con-* 
 duct ol the prisonen, that this firing to a certain extent was justifiable in a military 
 point of view, in order to intimidate the prisoners, and compel them thereby to desis't 
 from all acts of violence, and to retire as they were ordered, from a situation in which 
 the responsibility of the agents, and the military, could not permit them with safety to 
 remain. 
 
 From the fact of the crowd being so close and the firing at first being attended witla 
 rery little injury, it appears probable that a large proportion of the muskets were, as 
 v.uTX'd by ot^ or two of the witnesses, levelled over the heads of the prisoners; a cir- 
 - .1. stance in. some respects to be lamented, as it induced them to cry out "blank 
 cartridge};" and'ftfcrely irritated and encouraged them to renew their insults to the 
 scldieryrwhieh produced a repetition of the firing in a manner much more destructive. 
 
 The tiring in the square having continued for sorrw; time, by which several of the 
 prisoners sustained injuries, the greater part of them appear to have been running 
 a:ick with the inmost precipitation and confusion to their respective prisons, and the 
 tause for further firing seems at this period to have ceased. It appears, accordingly, 
 that captain Shortland was in the market square exerting himself aud giving order* to 
 that eiiect, end that lieutenant Fortye had suceeded in stopping the nre of his part 
 f the guard. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it is very difficult to find any justification for the further 
 ontinuance and renewal of the firing, which certainly touk place both in the prison 
 yards ami elsewhere ; though we have some evidence of subsequent provocation given 
 TO the military, and romance to the turnkeys in shutting the prisons, and of stonts 
 fc;i:ig thrown out from within the prison doors. 
 
 Tiie subsequent firiug voitei- aystar* to lve arises from tfie state of iwliridual ij-ri- 
 
m 
 
 216 JOURNAL. 
 
 tiition anJ exasperation on the part of the soldiers, who followed tlie prisoners into 
 tlicir yards, ai'd from tuo absence of nearly all of the officers who might have re- 
 strained it. as well as from the great difficulty of putting an end to a tiring when om;e 
 commenced under such circumstances. Captain ShortJand was from this dme busjiy 
 occupied witli the turnkeys in the square, receiving and taking care of the wounded. 
 Ensign Wit ite remained with his guard at the breach, and lieutenants Ayelyne and 
 Fortye, the only other subalterns known to Lave been present, continued with the 
 main bodies of their res pec 'ive guard*. 
 
 The time of the day, which was the officers' dinner hour, will in some measure ex- 
 plain this, as it caused the absence of every officer from the prison whose pr* senco 
 was not indispensable there. And this circumstance which has been urged 39 an ar- 
 gument to prove the intention of the prisoners to take this opportunity to escape, 
 tended to increase, the confusion, and to prevent those great exertions being made 
 which might perhaps have obviatd a portion at least of the mischief which ensued. 
 
 At tin- sr.me time that the firing was going on in the square, a cross tire was also 
 kept u;> from several of the platforms on the walls round the prisoners where the sen- 
 tries stand, by strangling parties of soldiers who ran up there for that purpose.. As 
 far as this fire was directed to disperse the men assembled round the beach lor which, 
 
 Surpose it was most effectual, it seems to stand upon the same ground as that in the 
 rt instance in the square. That part which it is positively sworn was directed 
 against straggling parties of prisoners running about the yards and endeavoring TO 
 enter in the few doors which the turnkeys, according to their usual practice, had left 
 open, does seem, as stated, to have been wholly without object or excuse, and to have 
 hi-en a wanton attack upon the lives of defenceless, and at that time, unoffending in- 
 dividuals. 
 
 In the same, or even more severe terms, we must remark upon what was proved as 
 to the firing in the door-ways of the prisons, more particularly into that of No. 3 pri- 
 son, at a ti:ne when the men were in crowds at the entrance. From tlie position of 
 the prison and the door, and from t! e marks of the balls which v/tre pointed out to us, 
 as well as from the evidence, it was clear this firing must have proceeded from sol- 
 diers a very few feet from the door way ; and although it was certainly sworn that 
 the prisoners were at the time of part of the firing at least, continuing to insult and oc- 
 casionally to throw stones at the soldiers, and that they were standing in the way of, 
 and impeding the turnkey, who was therefor the purpose of closing the door, yet still 
 there was nothing stated which could, in our view, at all justify such excessively harsh 
 and severe treatment of helpless and unarmed prisoners, when all idea of escape was 
 at an end. 
 
 Under these impressions, we used every endeavor to ascertain if there was the least 
 prospect of identifying any of the soMicrs who had been guilty of the particular 
 i utrages here alluded to, or of tracing any particular death, at that time to the firing 
 of any particular individual, but without success; and all hopes of bringing the of- 
 fenders to punishment would seem to be at an end. 
 
 In conclusion, we. the undersigned, have only to add, that whilst we lament, as we 
 do most deeply, the unfortunate transaction which has been the subject of this inquiry, 
 we find ourselves uuuble to suggest any steps to be taken as to those parts of it which 
 seem to call for redress atid punishment. 
 
 (Sinned) CHAHLES KING, 
 
 FllANCIS SEYMOUR LARPENT. 
 
 Plymouth, April 26, 1315. 
 
 SFR In pursuance of the instructions received from Messrs. Clay and Gallutin. I 
 nave now the honor to transmit to you the report prepared by Mr. Larpent and myself 
 <m be-half of our respect ive governments, in relation to the unfortunate transactions at 
 Dartmoor Prison of War, on the 6th of the present month. Considering it of much 
 importance that tlie report, whatever it might be. should go forth nder our .iomt 
 signatures, I have forborne to press some of the points which it involve?, as far as 
 otherwise I might have done, and it therefore may not be improper in this letter tf 
 enter into some little explanation of such parts ot the report. 
 
 Althourrl; it does appear that a part of the prisoners were on that evening in such a 
 state, and under such circumstances as to have justified in the view which the com- 
 mander of the depot could not but take of it, the intervention of the military force, 
 and t v,-n in a strict sense, the first use of lire arms. jx>t I cannot bm express it as my 
 settled opinion, that by conduct a little more temporising this dreadful alternative of 
 firing upon unarmed prisoners might have been avoided. Vet as this opinion has 
 been the retail of subsequent examination, and after baring acquired a knowledge 
 of the comparatively harmless state of the prisoners, it may be but fair to consider. 
 whether in such n moment of confusion and alarm, as that appears to have been, tli 
 officer commanding eonld hr.ve fairly estimated his danger, or have measured out wall 
 precision the extent ai>d nature of the force necessary to guard against it. 
 
 But vrlitu tlie firing became geutnU, as it afterwards appears ;o uavc been, : 
 
~ 
 
 JOURNAL. 217 
 
 caught w. ith electric rapiflity from the square to the platforms, there is no plea nor sha- 
 dow of excuse lor it, except in the personal exasperation of the soldiery, upr for the 
 more deliberate, and therefore more unjustifiable firing which took place into three 
 of the prisons. No. 1, 3 and 4, but more particularly into No. 3, after the prisoners 
 had retired into them, and there was no longer any pretence of apprehensions, as to 
 tlu'ir escape Upon this ground, as you, sir, will perceive by the report, Mr. Larpent 
 a<id myself had MO difference of opinion, and I am fully persuaded that my own regret 
 was not greater than his at perceiving how hopeless would be the attempt to trace to 
 any individuals of the military these outrageous proceedings. 
 
 As to whether the order to fire came from captain Shortland. I yet confess myself 
 unable to form any satisfactory opinion, though perhaps the bias of my mind is, that 
 lie did Rive such an order. But his anxiety and exertions to stop it after it had con- 
 tinued for some little time, are iully proved, and his general conduct previous to this 
 occurrence, as far as we could with propriety enter into such detail*, appears to hav 
 been characterized with givat fairness, and even kindness, in the relation in which 
 he stood towards the prisoner*. 
 
 On die subject of any complaints against their orvn government existing among the 
 prisoners, it was invariably answered to several distinct questions put by me on that 
 head, that none -tofwtsoeivr existed or had been expressed <->y them, although they con- 
 fessed themselves to entertain some animosity against Mr. Btasly. to whom they at- 
 tributed their detention in this country ; with what justice, yon, sir. will he better able 
 to judge. They made no complaint whatsoever as to their provisions and general 
 mode of living, aud treatment in the prison. 
 
 I have transmitted to Mr. Beasly, a list of the killed and wounded on this rnelstv 
 eholy occasion, with a request that he would forward it to the United States, for the 
 information of their friends at home, and I am pleased to have it in my power to say, 
 that the wounded are for the most part doing well. 
 
 I have also enclosed to Mr. Heasly, the notes taken by me of the evidence adduced 
 before us, with a request that he would have them fairly copied, as also a copy of the 
 de positions taken before the Coroner, and desired him to submit them to you when 
 in order. 
 
 I cannot conclude, sir, without expressing my high sense of the impartiality and 
 manly fairness with which this enquiry has been conducted on the part of Mr. Lar 
 pent, nor without mentioning that every facility was afforded lo us in its prosecution, 
 as well by the military officers commanding here and at the prison, as by the magis> 
 '.rates in the vicinity. 
 
 1 have the honor to be, with much respect, your RWJt obedient humble servant. 
 
 (Signed) CHARLES 
 
 -reffe.wy John P. Adam*, &$, ?'<> 
 
DARTMOOR PRISON. 
 
 A Return t>f American prisoners of war killed and noutided in an attempt to force thff 
 military g'tarrt on the evening of the Qth of' April, 1815. 
 
 ''%%% 
 
 
 
 
 Whether man 
 
 3 
 
 u~ ^ 3 
 
 Names. 
 
 Quality. 
 
 Ship, 
 
 of war, mt-r- 
 
 Remark?* 
 
 iH.? 
 
 
 
 
 chant Vi-ssci 
 
 
 i * n "I. 
 
 
 
 
 or privateer 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 . -18 '!4 
 
 y?o 
 
 3134 
 
 f Wm. Lrveridge, 
 ^ j James Mann, 
 ^ 1 John Haywood, 
 
 Seaman, 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Enterprise, prize to 
 
 Siro, [Saratoga. 
 Gave himself up 
 from H. M. Ship 
 
 Pnvateer, 
 Lett. Marque, 
 
 Impws'd. 
 
 
 t*i 
 
 
 
 Scipion. 
 
 
 
 1347 
 
 O 
 
 Jo. T. Johnson, 
 
 do. 
 
 Paul Jones, 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 
 ' 3936 
 
 Ljohn Washington, 
 
 do. 
 
 Rolla, 
 
 Merch. vessel, 
 
 
 6520 
 
 
 "Tho. Jackson, 
 
 Boy, 
 
 Gave ftimtflf up 
 from H. M. Ship 
 
 
 Imp. died 
 Ap.7,1815 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pontes. 
 
 
 
 2647 
 
 
 James Campbell, 
 
 Seaman,! Gave himself up 
 Ifrtrm H. M. Ship 
 IFclonUiirCi 
 
 
 Imp. died 
 Ap.7,1815 
 
 5769 
 
 
 John Gier, 
 
 do. [Rambler, 
 
 Merch. vessel, 
 
 
 i 1722 
 
 
 William Penn, 
 
 do. IDispatch, 
 
 do. 
 
 Impres'd, 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 at London 
 
 5003 
 
 
 Cornel. Garrison, 
 
 do. 'invincible. 
 
 Lett. Marque 
 
 
 3614 
 
 
 H. Hontcalm, 
 Robert Willet, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Homt-by.p. G.Tom. 
 Gave himself up 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 Impres'd. 
 
 
 
 
 
 from H. M. Ship 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Andromache, 
 
 
 
 5326 
 2148 
 
 
 John Poach, 
 Edw. Wittlubark, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Enterprise, 
 
 Gave himself up 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 Impres'd. 
 
 
 
 
 
 from H. M. Ship 
 Ro. William, 
 
 
 
 1881 
 
 
 James Thornbull, 
 
 Boy, 
 
 Elbridge Gerry, 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 
 3652 
 
 
 James Wells, 
 
 Seaman. 
 
 Thorn, 
 
 do. 
 
 
 1236 
 
 
 Philip Ford, 
 
 do. 
 
 Gave himself up 
 from H.M. S.'Suh. 
 
 
 Impres'd. 
 
 685 
 
 a 
 
 James Bell, 
 
 do. 
 
 Joel Barlow, 
 
 Merch. vessel, 
 
 
 94 
 
 ^5 
 
 John Grey, 
 
 do. 
 
 St.Martin'sPlanter. 
 
 dp- 
 
 
 436 
 1024 
 1546 
 486 
 
 UN PEP. 
 
 Win. Leverage, 
 Edw. Gardner, 
 Stephen Phipps, 
 John Roberts, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Magdalene, 
 Joseph, 
 Zebra. 
 Two Brothers, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 Lett. Marque, 
 
 Impres'd. 
 at Cork. 
 
 1640 
 1819 
 
 
 Thomas Smith, 
 Caleb Codding, 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Paul Jones, 
 Gave himself up 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 Impres'd. 
 
 
 
 
 
 from H. M. Ship 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'Swiftsure, 
 
 
 
 5015 
 2013 
 380 
 2834 
 
 
 John Davis, 
 James Esdaille, 
 Peter Wilson, 
 Win. Blake, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Charlotte.p.toMam 
 G.Tomkiiis, [moth. 
 Virginia Planter, 
 Gave himself ufj 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 do. 
 Merch. vessel. 
 
 Impres'd. 
 
 
 
 
 
 from H.M. S.Rcpu. 
 
 
 
 338 
 
 
 John Hogabets, 
 
 2*1 Mate,; Good Friends, 
 
 Merch. vessel. 
 
 
 4153 
 
 
 Eph. Lincoln, 
 
 Seaman, JAreus. 
 
 do. 
 
 
 4493 
 
 
 Thomas FirnUay, 
 
 do. 
 
 Enterprise, 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 
 4109 
 1228 
 
 
 John Howard, 
 Joseph Masiek, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Flash. 
 Gave himself up 
 from H. M. Ship 
 
 do. 
 
 Impres'd. 
 
 6123 
 1312 
 
 
 Robert Fillez, 
 John Willet, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Grand Turk, 
 GaMmselfupfrom 
 
 Privateer, 
 
 Impres't?. 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 If. 3 r . .9. Rosaria. 
 
 
 
 3030 
 1 2662 
 
 
 Juhn Perry, 
 .John Wilson, 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 DofrHM X'ri,.,c>: 
 PofHMS Fortune:. 
 
 
 JniprcsU 
 Jinpus'd 
 
 (Signed) THOMAS GEORGE SHOHTLAND, 
 
 (Signed) GEORGE MAGRATJI, <;;v:<Vf. 
 
JOURNAL, 219 
 
 Heply to KING and LARPENT'S Report 
 
 To the People of the United States. 
 
 Having penned, with attention, the report of Mr. CHARLES 
 
 and" FfXAHtis SEYMOUR LARPENT, on their examination of the 
 innate occurrence at Dartmoor, on the 6th of April last : * 
 
 "VYK, the undersigned, being there at the time this ttnforlunate oc- 
 
 e took plaee,"deem it a duty we owe to the surviving sufferers 
 
 Moody transaction, to our fellow citizens, and ourselves, to 
 
 Make some remarks upon such a singular report. Although we pre- 
 
 sume the door is forever closed against any further investigation of 
 
 that ever to be remembered transaction, we cannot help, however 
 
 contrary it may be to our wishes to irritate the public feeling, already 
 
 so much excited, entering into,, a detailed investigation of that report. 
 
 In the committee's address to the public on the 27th of June last, 
 
 iing the publication of the affidavits of some of the prisoners, ta- 
 
 ken on that melancholy affair, they have justly anticipated what 
 
 sv ou Id be the report of the commissioners, after their investigation ; 
 
 they drew their conclusions from the singular manner in which the in- 
 
 vestigation was conducted. The report commences by stating, that, 
 
 after carefully perusing the proceedings of the several courts of inqui- 
 
 rv, instituted immediately after that event, they proceeded immedi- 
 
 iitcJy to the examination,' upon oath, of ALL the witnesses, both 
 
 American and English, who offered themselves for that purpose. 
 
 How far this part of the report is correct, we shall leave the public 
 
 to judge. 
 
 On the arrival of the commissioners at the depot, the committee of 
 
 the prison were sent for ; after waiting some time at the door of the 
 
 room, where the inquiry was held, they were culled in separately and 
 
 questioned as to their knowledge of the transactions of the sixth. 
 
 The depositions of those' who were eye witnesses of that disgraceful 
 
 srt no ware token ; some were questioned as to the general conduct 
 
 ef Iiortland, previous to that affair ; it was represented by them as 
 
 it would have been by aL\ as being universally cruel, overbearing and 
 
 oppressive. After having finished the examination of the committee, 
 
 they requested them to bring forward all the evidence that was likely 
 
 to cast any light on the subject of inquiry. They accordingly re- 
 
 turned into the prison, and drew up a list of the names of some of the 
 
 eye-witnesses of that day's occurrence. Although they could lu;ve 
 
 brought hundreds to the examination, and the sum of whose evidence 
 
 would have amounted to the same, yet the committee not wishing t 
 
 impede the progress of the investigation, by a redundancy of evidence, 
 
 they were careful to select such men as were most likely to give a 
 
 u(i distinct account, of all the circumstances as they occurred 
 
 -<\icir knowledge, taking care, at the same time, to procure 
 
 different situations afforded them an opportunity of wit- 
 
 transaction, from the commencement to the close. Sr.cit 
 
 juce the committee had selected, to the number of about 
 
 . ERY FEW of whom ivere" ever examined, although they 
 
220 JOURNAL. 
 
 kept waiting in the turnkey's lodge (where they were ordered to stay 
 Until called ibr) during the hours of investigation. In the course of 
 the inquiry, it seems, the commissioners found it necessary to survey 
 the particular situation of the prisons, and the points from which the 
 different attacks were made ; they accordingly came into the yard 
 for that purpose, and after having been shown all the places from 
 xvhonce the firing was continued, where the crowd of prisoners had 
 assembled on the first alarm, kiid where the hole, so much made a 
 handle of, had been made after a slight survey of these different pla- 
 ces, they retired into their session room, leaving orders, once more, 
 tvith the committee to hold their evidence in readiness, as they would 
 soon be called upon for examination. The committee replied that 
 they had been in readiness since the commencement of the inquiry, 
 and were then only waiting their orders to appear before them, feel- 
 ing happy in the idea of having it in their power to show to the court, 
 and to the world, by the evidence they had to produce, that the at- 
 tack of Shortland on the defenceless prisoners, was premeditated and 
 unjustifiable in ANY point of view. 
 
 After attending in the turnkey" 1 * lodge during the sitting of the com- 
 missioners, until the middle of the third day, without having but very 
 few of the evidences sent for, and being fearful that they might be 
 waiting ibr them, the committee sent them word that the witnesses were 
 still in attend unce. No answer being returned to this message for 
 some time, the committee became uneasy on account of the long ex- 
 amination of the officers, soldiers, clerks, arid turnkeys, attached to 
 the depot, without admitting the prisoners to an equal privilege ; and 
 understanding the commissioners Avere about closing their inquiry, 
 they again sent word they would be glad to have an interview for a 
 few moments, for the purpose of explaining the nature of Iheir evi- 
 dence, and the necessity of a full hearing on both sides of the ques- 
 tion. No ANSWER BEING RETURNED TO THIS REttUEST, and still 
 
 waiting with the anxious hope that they would soon send for some of 
 us, when we were told by one of the turnkeys, that the commissioners 
 Were prepared to depart, having finished the examination. Astonish- 
 ed to think they meant to leave the depot without clearly investigat- 
 ing the circumstances that were the cause of their meeting, and feel- 
 ing indignant that a cause of so much importance should be passed 
 over so partially, the committee addressed a note to Mr. King, beg- 
 -ging him not to shut the door of communication against the prisoners, 
 by closing the inquiry without giving them the privilege of a hearing, 
 as the greatest part of our witnesses were yet unexamiued, and their 
 evidence they eonceived to be of the utmost importance to the inves- 
 tigation. JVb reply was mads to this note ; but. in a few moments, 
 we were told, that the commissioners had left the depot. How far 
 they are justifiable in saying they examined ALL, the evidences that 
 offered themselves, we think is sufficiently shewn. 
 
 The commissioners next go on to mention the insurrection of the 
 prisoners about the bread, on the 4th, two days previous to the event*, 
 the subject of that inquiry. Although the report correctly stai. 
 ^prisoners quietly returned to their own yards, after their demands hav- 
 *figiceu complied with, Mr. King forgot to mention, that itwasclearjgr 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 r"j,r< -ented to him, had the prisoners been so disposed, on that night, 
 ihcy could have easily made their escape. Although that transaction 
 had nothing to do, as relates to the prisoners, with the events of the 
 Mb, we merely represent this circumstance to show, that there was 
 no intention whatever on their part to break out of the prison, as 
 Shortland and his adherents have attempted to prove. 
 
 The report now goes on to mention, that on the evening of the 6th 
 of .April, about six o'clock in the evening, a hole was made in one of 
 the Avails of the prison sufficient for a full-sized man to pass, and oth- 
 ers had been commenced, but never completed, and that a number of 
 the prisoners were over the railing erected to prevent them from com- 
 municating with the sentinels on the walls, and that they were tear- 
 ing up pieces of turf, and wantonly pelting each other, in a noisy 
 manner. 
 
 As to the hole made in the wall, we believe the causes and rea- 
 sons have been already sufficiently explained by the affidavits laid be- 
 fore the public. With respect to the prisoners being between the 
 iron paling and the wall, it could have been, if it was not, easily ex- 
 plained to Mr. King, had he given an opportunity. It seems, that on, 
 the afternoon of the 6th, some of the prisoners having obtained leave 
 of the sentinels on the walls to go over and lay upon the grass, others 
 hvfing them laying so much at their ease, went over to enjoy the same 
 privilege ; and as the sentinels made no objection to this proceeding, 
 the number was soon increased to such a degree, that it became no 
 longer an enjoyment to those who first obtained the privilege ; some 
 scuffling then ensued among themselves, and they began to pelt each 
 other with turf and old shoes, principally in play, and among so many, 
 no doubt, their must have been considerable noise ; but how they can 
 possibly connect this circumstance with the hole made in the wall, 
 is entirely out of our power to conceive, as the iron railings separated 
 them from the pretended breach in the wall, and distant from it more 
 than half the length of the yard ; of course, had the hole been intend- 
 ed as a breach, the iron paling would have become a barrier, instead 
 of facilitating the means of an escape- 
 As to that part of the report which mentions the guard-barracks be- 
 ing the repository for the arms of the guard off duty, and of its stand- 
 ing in the yard to which the hole in the wall would serve as a com- 
 munication, and of its being a further cause of suspicion and alarm to 
 Captain Shortland to one acquainted with the situation of the pris- 
 on, such an idea would be ridiculous ; but to those who are not ac- 
 quainted with it, it will be only necessary for us to mention, that if 
 the prisoners had the intention of breaking out through this passage, 
 and had actually got into the barrack-yard, the difficulties they would 
 then have to encounter would be much greater than to break a pas- 
 sage through the market square, or the back part of the yard. As to 
 the idea of their possessing themselves of the muskets standing in the 
 racks in the guard-barracks (even if the;y knew of any being there) it 
 i childish ; for how easy would it have been for the commanding of- 
 ficer, on the shortest intimation of such an attempt, with one blast of 
 hi? bugle, to have called all his guards to the spot before a hundredth 
 19 
 
222 JOURNAL. 
 
 part of the prisoners could have got into the yard, and by that mean? 
 instantly put a stop to any further proceedings on their part. 
 
 We cannot conceive how Mr. King can poe.-ibly come forward arid 
 say, on these grounds, it appeared to him that Captain Shortland was 
 justified in giving the order for sounding the alarm bell, -when, if he 
 found the prisoners were conducting themselves improperly, hud he- 
 sent for the committee (as always had been his custom heretofore, 
 when he had any charge against the prisoners for improper conduct) 
 and told them that the" prisoners were breaking the wall (which cir- 
 cumstance, as has been published before, was not known to one tenth 
 of the prisoners) and requested them to have represented to those en- 
 gaged in it, the consequences that must ensue if they persisted in such 
 conduct, we have not a moment's hesitation in saying, they would 
 fcave put a stop to any further proceedings of that kind. 
 
 That part which relates to the breaking of the iron chain which 
 fastened No. 1 gate, and which follows next in the report, says there 
 was no evidence to show whether it was done before or after the 
 alarm bell rang. As this was a material point on which they grounded 
 Shortland's justification, we have to regret that the evidence we had 
 to lay before the commissioners, and which would, in our opinion, 
 Iiave sufficiently cleared up that point, was not examined. 
 
 On the ringing of the alarm bell, the rush towards the gates leading 
 ifcto the market square was so great (attracted as has been before stat- 
 ed by curiosity) that those in front were irresistibly pushed forward 
 by those in the rear, and if the chain had not broke, the lock must 
 have given way to the pressure, and by this opening, it is but natural 
 to suppose, that a number must have been shoved into the square, iu 
 front of the soldiers, who were drawn up in a line across the square., 
 wi<h Shortland at their head. 
 
 If, as the report now gees on to stale, there was no direct proof 
 fcefore them of a previous concert or preparation on the part of the 
 prisoners, and no evidence of their intention or disposition to effect 
 their escape on this occasion, excepting that which arose by inference 
 from the whole of the detailed circumstances connected-together, had 
 Mr. King examined the evidence on the part of the prisoners, as mi- 
 nutely as it seems he examined those on the part of Shortland, he 
 could not even have drawn the shadow of em inference of that being 
 their intention. 
 
 Where the commissioners got their evidence for assert fog that 
 Captain Shortland, by quiet means and persuasion, endeavored, to 
 persuade the prisoners to retire into their respective yards, is unac- 
 countable to us, as those who know Captain Shortland, know he h 
 Bot a man of persuasion. It is correct that Dr. M'Grath used every 
 exertion to persuade the prisoners to retire out of the square, which ii" 
 ShorOand had allowed sufficient time, would have been quietly done ; 
 but the crowd, by this time, had become so great, and the pressure 
 from the rear so strong, that those in front could not retreat until time 
 should be allowed for those in the rear to fall back, but the hasty, 
 haughty, and overbearing temper of Shortland, could not allow him ta 
 use, such conciliatory means. He orders (the report ?ay=) fifteen uk- 
 of ttie guard fronting the open, gate, to the charge ; and after some 
 
JOURNAL. 2^o 
 
 time the charge was so effectual, with but very little or no inju- 
 ry to the prisoners, as to drive them, for the most part, quite out of the 
 -square, with the exception of a small number who continued their 
 resistance about No. 1 gate. Under these circumstances, continued 
 the report, the firing commenced. 
 
 Here we beg leave to request an attentive perusal of the affidavits 
 of some of the" prisoner?, taken by the committee, and which relate 
 particularly to this part of the transaction. It is there positively stat- 
 ed, that on the soldiers coming to the charge, tiie prisoners ALL re- 
 treated into the yard, and pushed the gate to after them. If the com- 
 missioners had examined the evidence, this part of the report ought 
 to have been differently expressed. 
 
 We cannt>t conceive how Mr. King finds it difficult to reconcile the 
 testimony respecting Captain ShortlaruPs giving the orders to fire ; 
 when he reports that SEVERAL of the Americans SWEAR POSITIVELY, 
 that Captain Shortland gave that order and many of the soldiers and 
 the English witnesses heard the word given by some one, but could 
 not swear it was by Captain Shortland ; and some of them (among 
 whom is the officer commanding the guard) THINK, if Captain Short- 
 land had given such an order, they must have heard it, which they 
 did not. Thus, then, stands the foundation for tliis part of the report. 
 An English officer THINKS it is not so, and several Americans SWEAR 
 it i.f so ; and he finds it very difficult to reconcile their testimony. 
 The lightness with which thy seerrt to have passed over this most im- 
 portant point of that day's transaction, cannot but be deeply regret- 
 ted by those who feel for the unhappy sufferers, when they go on to 
 state, " It may remain a matter of doubt whether the firing first began 
 in the square by an ORDER, or whether it was a spontaneous act of 
 the soldiers themselves ; it seemed clear it was continued^ and renewed 
 both there arid elsewhere, without orders und that on the platforms 
 and several places about the prison it was certainly eom/ntnced with' 
 out any authority." We must once more request the attention of 
 *he public to the affidavits already published ; it is there sworn by one 
 of the witnesses, that PREVIOUS to the alarm bell being rung, and 
 while walking in the yard, a soldier called to him from the wa/y, and 
 told fiim to go in. as thty would soon be fired upon. How, then, can 
 it be possible, that a soldier on the walls should know that they would 
 soon be fired upon, if the order had not been previously given to that 
 effect ? And had the bugle-man been examined, he could have stated, 
 that, previous to the ringing of the alarm bell, he received orders to 
 sound fo fire ; so that when the soldiers took their stations on the 
 walls, they were charged and prepared for that purpose. With such 
 information, we conceive the committee to stand fully justified in stat- 
 ing in their report, the belief of its being a pre-concerted plan, on the 
 part of Shortland ; and if the commissioners had possessed them- 
 selves with a knowledge of these circumstances, which they could 
 and ought t6 have done, would they, then, reported Shortland as jus- 
 tifiable, even in a military point of view ? 
 
 The next thing we have to notice in the report is, that very singu- 
 lar paragraph, which says, u from the fact of the crowd being so close, 
 and the filing oijirst being attended with ury little wjury^ 
 
224 
 
 probable, that a lar^e proportion of the muskets xrere, as stated by 
 one or two of the witnesses, levelled over the heads of the prisoner?, 
 a circumstance, in some respects, to be lamented." h it, then, to be la- 
 mented, that the soldiers did not level their pieces, on the first fire ; , 
 directly into the crowd, which they have stated to be so great and so 
 close that a soldier declared he could not come fairly down to a charge ? 
 or is it to be lamented, that one or two hundred were not killed at the 
 first discharge, and a thousand or two wounded ? If so, we think it 
 much to be lamented, that the reporters were not there, and placed' 
 foremost in the crowd. 
 
 The circumstance of so few being hurt at the first discharge is not 
 strange to those who are acquainted with the situation ; and this oc- 
 currence alone corroborates <3ie American evidence, and ought lo 
 have been sufficient proof to the v commissioners, that the prisoners up- 
 on being charged upon, retreated through the gates, and shut them 
 after them, before the firing commenced ; and which circumstance, 
 alone, should hove shut the door of justification against Shortland foe 
 commencing a fire upon them, as they were in their own yards. As 
 this was the actual situation of the prisoners on the first discharge, and 
 the soldiers having to fire through the iron paling, and the prisoners, 
 retreating on a descending ground, of course brought the musket?, 
 "when down to a level, over the heads of the prisoners it was owing 
 lo tim fortunate circumstance that so few were injured on the first 
 <jisehc.rge of the musketry ; and it seems the inhuman Shortland was- 
 aware of tki circumstance, when he was distinctly heard to order his 
 soldiers to fire low. This does not appear to correspond with that 
 part cf then report which says, * ; Captain Shortland was in the mar- 
 ket square, exerting hintteif in giving orders to stop the firing." 
 
 That there was any provocation givdh to the soldiers to justify -their 
 subsequent brutal conduct, the commissioners themselves seem to 
 find it very difficult to trace any evidence, although they say, it ap- 
 vtr.rs. that there was some resistance made to the turnkeys in shut- 
 ting the prison, and that stones were thrown at the military. Had 
 they examined the prisoner? sufficiently, they would have been con- 
 vinced that no resistance was made lo the turnkeys in shutting the 
 door-. As to throwing stones ut the military, while they were chasing 
 ff.im from corner to corner, and firing at them in every place where 
 they had taken shelter from the balls, could it be expected but they 
 would teize on something for self defence, when they saw the sol- 
 tliers running at them with their bayonets, and having no possible 
 means of escape, as it bus been before stated, all the doors in the 
 prirons had been previously closed except one, and that one perhaps, 
 the length of the prison from him. Is there a man, in such a situation, 
 but would seize on the first weapon that offered itself, and sell his life 
 as dear as possible. How can they, then, make that the slightest jus- 
 tification for such outrageous conduct on the part of Shortland or the 
 military ? 
 
 As to most of the officers being absent is erroneous ; it could have 
 been proved that there was an officer in every yard, and in one in- 
 Ft:>rce where he was heard to give the order to fire on a party of prk-- 
 *>nf rs close by the door, and nmninj and making every exertion t*> 
 enter the prises , 
 
225 
 
 As fo Captain Shortland being busy in the square with the turnkeys, 
 receiving and taking care of the wounded, certainly shows the com- 
 missioners' want of correct information, for it is already before the 
 public, in affidavit, the cruel manner in which the wounded were 
 treated by him, and of his abuse to the prisoners who were bearing the 
 wounded x to the hospital gate. That part of the report which relates 
 that the time and commencement of this transaction was the officers' 
 dinner hour, is too ridiculous for a comment. We do not believe 
 that there was a prisoner in the depot that knew when or where the* 1 
 officers dined, and therefore, can be no ground for an argument, that 
 the prisoners were taking this opportunity to escape. 
 
 The report goes on to 'state, " the cross fire, which was kept up 
 from several of the platforms on the walls round the prison, and di- 
 rected against straggling parties of prisoners, running about the yard, 
 endeavoring to enter the prison by the door which the turnkey left 
 open, according to their usual practice, does seem to have been with- 
 out object or excuse, and to have been a wanton attack upon the 
 lives of defenceless, and, at the same time, unoffending individuals.'' 
 In answer to this paragraph, we shall only reply, that had the com- 
 missioners examined' ALL the American evidence, and attached the 
 same credit to it, which it appears they have done to ALL the Eng- 
 lish evidence, similar expressions would have been made use of against 
 Sbortland's conduct throughout the whole of their report. 
 
 It appears to us, after an attentive examination of this report, that 
 the commissioners meant to justify Shortland in commencing his mur- 
 derous attack upon the prisoners, and to condemn the soldiers for 
 continuing it. Singular as this idea appear.*,, it is no less strange to 
 us, how it can be possible they could reconcile it to their feelings to 
 make up a report containing such a direct contradiction to reason ; 
 for surely if Shortland could be justified in using coercive measures 
 in the first instance, the military certainly should be acquitted for the 
 subsequent massacre, as the whole was conducted under his- immedi- 
 ate command ; and if he had A RIGHT to kill one, on the same 
 ground he might have extended it to a thousand, And,, on the other 
 hand, if any part of the transaction is to be condemned, Shortland 
 should answer for the whole ; for what necessity could there be made 
 to attempt mdentifying any of the soldier.- ? Basely the commission- 
 ers could not think of bringing them to punishment, as they acted by 
 the direct orders of Shortland and his officers ! and if any one could 
 cr ought to be made to answer for the outrage,, it should be Shortland. 
 
 In addition to the contradictions contained in the commissioners* 
 joint report, Mr. King, in his ktte? to his excellency J. Q... Adams, al- 
 most .denies the ground oiv which they have, i-i part,- founded Short-- 
 land's justification, when he say-i (alluding- to have heard several 
 Americans snvear., posilitrly^ that Shortland dkl give ths order- to fire,, 
 and an eiiicep of 'the guard thinking that he did net, as he should have 
 heard him) u perhaps the bias of my miivl' was, that Shorland did 
 give that order ; and wishing the report to go forth und^r. our joini. 
 s^iiature.?, I forbore to press some oi' the points so far as otherwise I 
 r have done." 
 
 If. taen, any part has be^n Begleciedj or pass 
 
226 JOURNAL. 
 
 dation. or any other purpose (and one there certainly has, in not Cor- 
 ing the same attention to the American as vras done to the Englisti 
 evidence) it is to be regretted that Mr. King should so far forget the 
 sacred duties attached to the appointment of a commissioner^ en- 
 quire into the murder of his countrymen, as to pass over any points 
 \vhich might have brought to light the means of punishment i'or the 
 murder, or obtained in some measure an indemnity for the surviving 
 unhappy suil'erer-. 
 
 Will not the shades of the departed victims haunt him in his mid- 
 night slumber?, and, pointing to their lacerated bodies, say, these still 
 remain unavenged ? Will not the unhappy survivors show the stumps 
 of their amputated limbs, and say T these wounds fester, and still re- 
 iriuiii unatoiicd I "Will not the widow and the helpless orphan raise 
 their innocent hands to heaven, and cry, why was justice denied us ? 
 Why was the heart so callous to our sufferings ? And why was the. 
 bosorn shut to sympathy ? Let Mr. King point out some means to 
 appease these bitter complaints, and we shall be satisfied. 
 
 We shall now close these unpleasant remarks, by noticing another 
 unaccountable error in Mr. King's letter to Mr. Adams, where he- 
 mentions, speaking of Shortland, u and his general conduct, previous 
 to this occurrence, as far as I could with propriety enter into such de- 
 tails, appears to have been characterized with great fairness, and even 
 kindness, in the relation in which he stood towards the prisoners." 
 We shall not pretend to ask Mr. King where he obtained the evi- 
 dence on which he grounds this assertion - r we are sure it was not 
 from the prisoners, who oiight to have been the best judges of that 
 circumstance ; but. instead of all that, all the Americans who were 
 permitted to express an opinion on that subject, at the examination, 
 declared, without reserve, as would all the prisoners in the depot, had 
 they been asked the question, that Shortland T s conduct, from the 
 .commencement of his appointment to that station,, had been cruel, 
 oppressive, and overbearing ; and. instead of taking measures to alle- 
 viate the distresses of the wretched objects under him,, as a feeling 
 jnsn \yo\ild have done, he seemed to take a pleasure in hanassing 
 them whenever he could mid the slightest pretext for so doing. 
 
 W. Col Ion. Joseph Swain, ArrlCd Taylor, David Ingalls, Reuben? 
 JtrcMd I. Mac-kay, Philip Llack, Homer Hall, James B*. 
 * .Alr^m JWIntire, Wr.i. Cochran, Htnnj Dottirer, John 
 >->K Wm, .Demcr'.IL Thomas Ward, WiltiamK. Whitt, 
 
227 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 35ii presenting to the world the record of a transaction, probably the most barbarous- 
 vhich the history of modern warfare can furnish, we cuui.ot rt train from remarks 
 Whatever our feelings may be-, upon a subject so amply calculated to excite the indigna- 
 tion 1,1 id abhorrence, of every in; i,d to huuUETiity, anU every one who has respect for the 
 ktw of tivilized and mitigated wanare, we will, nevertheless, refrain, so far as the cir- 
 cumstances of outraged humanity will permit, from the violence of invective, and whol- 
 ly from unwarranted crimination". Those, into whose hands these documents may iall, 
 will, however, pn serve them as a monument erected to the memory of their slaughtered 
 countrymen, and a memento ot the unfeeling crutlty of our late enemy. 
 
 Though we are far from believing that there are not persons of noble and humane 
 minds in the English nation, yet, a uniformity of conduct, on the part of the Govern- 
 ment and its agents, h;u taught tu to believe that they, at least, are blood thirsty and 
 
 The incarceration of Americans in the Jersey Prison Ship at New-York, and Mill Pri- 
 son, in England, m the Revolutionary war, raised its the minds of the sainted heroes of 
 those times', the most exalted Kelings'of indignation and abhorrence. The history of 
 those prisoners, where hundreds were compelled to wear out an existence, rendered 
 miw-rabie by the cruelty of an enemy, professing a reverence for the sublime principles 
 of Christianity, is already familiarised to the minds of the American people. If the 
 feelings of Americans were then indignant, what should they be, on beholding those 
 cruelties renewed with more th:>.n ten fold severity ? The conduct of Thomas George 
 Shortlaud, the agent at Dartmoor Prison, is such as should " damn him to everlasting 
 fame." 
 
 Upon what principles the conduct of this man, precedent to the ever memorable 6th 
 of April, 1815, can be justified, we cannot determine. The indiscriminate confinement 
 of both oillcers and men in the same prisons, and those the most unfit, decayed, and loath- 
 some of any which the Government coukl furnish, was an infraction of the established 
 laws of civilized nations for the treatment of prisoners of war. It was equally abhor- 
 rent to the principles of humanity, ai;d only sanctioned by British governmental agents, 
 and those petty Nations of Savages, whose known usages of warfare have hitherto kept 
 them beyond the pale of national law. The history of modern European wars can fur- 
 nish uo'paralkl to this part of the history of Dartmoor. But when we arrive at the 
 slaughter of prisoners on the 6th of April, the climax of barbarity is complete, and t>u? 
 mind is sated with the contemplation of principi s as shocking to humanity as the con- 
 sequences are degrading to the character of the English nation. 
 
 An euiineut writer upon national law, has formerly extolled the " English and French 
 fbr their treatment given to prisoners of war," and at the same time mentions the case 
 of Charles I. King of Naples, who, having defeated and taken prisoner Conrade, his 
 competitor, caused bun, together with his fellow-prisoner, Frederick of Austria, to be 
 beheaded at Naplrs. Upon this case our author has the following pertinent remarks : 
 " This barbarity raised an u;/A\rsal horror, and Ptte? the third. King of Arragon, re- 
 proached Charles with it, as a detestable crime, till then unheard of among Christian 
 princes. Ho\\ ever, the case was. of a dangerous rival contending with him for the thrones 
 But, supposing the claims of his rival were unjust, Charles might have kept him in pri- 
 son until he liad renounced them, and given security for his future behavior." If this 
 sift of Charles raised an " universal horror," what should be the excitement produced by 
 the cold blootkd massacre of a number of unarmed and unoffending prisoners of war in 
 confinement ? Humanity shudders at the thought, and language furnishes no appropri- 
 ate epithet with which to brand the infamous perpetrator of so foul, so liitherto unhi ard 
 of a crime. Did that writer i,ow live-, he would no longer extol the humanity of th; 
 English nation, but in common with the friends of humanity, he would join in the " uni- 
 \t-rsal horror" which British cruelty has excited. 
 
 The complexion of this transaction is tendered still more dark and barbarous, and its 
 criminality most shockingly enhanced, by the circumstances under which many of those 
 unfortunate men became prisoners, and finally were offered up. as victims to gratify the 
 cruel and insatiate feeling of the British agent. They were Ammcau Citizens, who had 
 been impressed into, the sendee and bondage of Great Britain, in time of peace. They 
 had served that government from a necessity, arising from the assumed principle of a 
 right to search neutral vessels for British seamen, and the practice of taking Americans 
 and compelling them to service. We canuox, however* too much applaud the magnan- 
 imity of those inen, in refusing to tight against and slaughter their countrymen^ nor 
 < an we too much detest the conduct of Great Britain, in confining them as prisoners or 
 
 This practice assumed as a right in the first moment* of our existence as an indepen- 
 dent and commercial nation, bus "grown with our growth," and the evil thereof has in- 
 m fl.sed in proportion as ; our commercial rival&hip has become more ahtrn>iug to the 
 jriide suit! injustice of Great Britain, It is a praofjet whteh cannot be traWfltQ % 
 
228 JOURNAL. 
 
 principle of justification; and yet we have seen the legislators of Mas^chu^'m, clotltfd" 
 with a garb of official sanctity, send to the world a report, amounting almost to a denial, 
 tuat such a practice was in existence ! We pretend not to judge of their motivts : but, 
 we remark, how soon they are confounded by the report of ' Shortland and MagrMh. 
 By that instrument it appears, that of thirty-tight who were killed or wounded, uuku 
 were of the number of Impressed Amtricans, w : ho had given themselves up as prisonn-s 
 of war, upon the commencement of hostilities. If this be tlie correct proportion 01' ih ir 
 prisoners, who have been impressed from American vtssi-ls, ai.d as it is an official docu- 
 ment of British authority, we cannot believe the ratio to b;j k , we see the advocates of 
 British magnanimity confounded and put to shame, by the testimony of those same Brit- 
 ish agents, whose justification they have so eagerly, though unsuccessfully attempted. 
 It might, indeed, have been supposed, that after having so frequently been treated with 
 the same contempt, they might have learned sufficient caution, at least, to stay then- 
 measiu-es until the pleasure of their transatlantic friends should be known. But their 
 overweening anxiety has only tended to plunge them in deentr emharraMiuents, and 
 should teach them, that more prudence and It ss zeal in the cause of a national enemy, 
 might secure them a- safer retreat in the moments when those whose friendship thty had 
 so anxiously sought, had deserted, and condemned them. 
 
 By the report of the Legislature of Massachusetts upon thesubject of impressments, it 
 would appear that no more than sixteen had been impressed from t!ti<: Commonwealth. 
 What must be our conclusion upon a comparison of this report, with that of Mt SMS. 
 Shortland and Magrath ? It is irresistable,' either that, the former did not report the full 
 numlxT of impressments, or that the latter have aggravated their guilt and condemna- 
 tion, by swelling the number to a degree beyond what the facts would justify, from some 
 cause, unknown to their American advocates, and in favor of the facts and priucipl j, 
 for which the American government have uniformly contended. A few of those assum- 
 ed as facts, by the present dominant party in New-England, may aid us in this enquiry, 
 and perhaps conduct us to a correct conclusion. They have repeatedly told us, that 
 New-England, and more particularly Massachusetts, has ever been the nursery of our. 
 seamen. That this section had furnished more than the whole remaining part of the 
 United States. Admitting the correctness of the report of Shortland and Magratb, we 
 are wholly unable to reconcile the report of our Legislature wit'.i those whieh they as- 
 sume as facts, and upon which the principles of their report were, in part, predicated. 
 It exhibits to our view a disposition to fritter away the enormities of the British C-ioveri> 
 ment, and a determination to justify them in every act of barbarity, however unjustifia- 
 ble in its circumstances, or however shocking in its operation. 
 
 The report of Messrs. King and Lnrpent may here claim a portion of our attention. 
 Unpleasant as the task inay be, to reflect, even indirectly upon the conduct of one of 
 our countrymen, acting in the high and solemn capacity to which Mr. King was called, 
 we cannot, however, without doing violence to our own feelings, and crimiuiaiiig nunv- 
 bers of our countrymen, perhaps equally entitled to credibility with Mr. King himself, 
 afford our credence to his singular report ; especially when we see it contradicted 
 Unconditionally, by the unfortunate witnesses of the unhappy and barbarous transac- 
 tion. 
 
 Even Mr. K'.ncr himself, in his letter to Mr. Adams, furnishes a tardy acknowledg- 
 ment, that Ii<- 'i.wl not completed the duties to which he had been called. " Conaderinr 
 it of Hiii eh iinportanee (he says) that the report, whatever iv might lx>, should go forth 
 under our j<snt signature--, I have forborne to press some of the points which it involves 
 as far as otherwise I t::i,:ht have done," And why did Mr. King forbear to press every 
 point involved in me it-port ? Was it from a disposition to perform his whole duty to 
 fiis eouatry ; or, raUier, froai a too coiiunon admiration of British principles and British 
 characters. 
 
 The numeiour afridruits accompanying the report made by the committee of the pri- 
 son( rs, ti r to the ' .--.'port of Messrs. King and Larpint, afford tlie 
 
 mi.,} positive testimony ht eomi-adictin ta many of its prom intnt features. W< can 
 form EO other opiiv.ia .-' -f,r j:.g this report, tkian either that Mr. Kit.;? was overreached 
 by his colleague, (r r; ,'ued vo fritt"r down the abuses which the 
 
 British Ciovermne.it ana its agents iiat lavished upon thtir Americssn prisoners. Whv 
 fitl.v.-r Mf su-s. Kr.H! or I.a; '-eru rhouid decliiK-! \he examination *f ail ihe witnesses of- 
 fered by tho vr; -.i t y inexpbcnble, unless we attribute to them a mutual and 
 fixed determination to jr.: (ify ale conduct of Shorthnd and his accomplices, at tlu ex- 
 rni',i;.'.^::ii;. btindrk!sof AmericanfjV.Iwwere irj >> ^ < ntitled to credibilitj than 
 
 pjenseof criiiMiv..^-!!;; Lu/idn-i'sof A- i 
 
 Hereafter " lei. n o such meu be trustt'.i. 
 Tbe frei.niH . . to -r:e p; isoners appears to .rave pr./emled from the same principles of 
 inhumanity, \vhlc-h have piveii rise to t-ie Lostiie operations of the- British Commandew 
 upon our mari>ui' and in!ano frontiers, during t.r tuniinuuiicv of the late contest. 
 Suchprinci >g only to Savages or tieir allies. The outra^b at the river Raiiin, 
 
 RtHnptODi .-ton,anu those attempted at Kew-Qrleaa> it wa* 
 
 .. .,e of Brhhh barbav.il ies. Jiut to thi; j)irv;.is<,, 
 
 Dartmoor was ironi-AmO iiies:eT;e ot" its ce'imleuou. Ai - d indfcfence yf 
 
 their wiV, ihtir Cor.t:--;xio3,Rd natural xigfivs, '*tr 1w imvkieiblt tu tl* M 7 " 
 
JOURNAL. 229 
 
 ^onquerors of the East. Prisoners of war in confinement, and without arms, were Se- 
 lected as the objects upon which they might glut their malice. 
 
 We have heard much from a certain class of our politicians of the burning of Newark 
 and St. Darid's : but little have they said of the destruction of Buffalo, of Washington 
 City, or the massacre of our unfortunate countrymen at Dartmoor ; and that little has 
 ln.vh directed to the justification of the perpetrators. The conflagration of our Capitol, 
 with the appendages' of art and taste, and even the slaughter of our countrymen, could 
 not excite m those minds one feeling of indignation; whilst the unauthorized destruc- 
 tion .of a few houses, withiu the territorial limits of our enemy, not only excited their 
 warmest sympathies for the enemy, but their foukst denunciations of our own Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 We might here attempt a comparison of the treatment of each Government to their 
 prisoners. Bat the contrast is so evident, that we shall commit it to our readers without 
 remark. 
 
 Where is the American, whose feelings do not become indignant, after a full and dis- 
 passionate view'of all the circumstances connected with this savage transaction. Though 
 we may again be told, that Great Britain is the ' Bulwark of our Religion ;' yet it may 
 be hoped, that few, indeed, will be found to w-orship in a temple stained with the blood 
 of their countrymen, or consign their consciences to the keeping of the upholders of the 
 ferapte of Juggernaut, or the restorers of Papal power. 
 
 Though our policy as an Independent Republic is pacific, yet should our rights again 
 be assailed, and future wars eiisne, WE WILL REMEMBER DARTMOOR ! 
 
 We here subjoin a letter from the Right Honorable Lord 
 Castlereagh to our Commissioners at Ghent, with their an- 
 swer, together with the reply of our Secretary of State to the 
 British charge ties affairs at Washington : 
 
 Lard Castlereagh to Messrs. Clay and Gallatin. 
 
 Foreign Office, May 22, 181.?. 
 
 GEBTLEMEN I lost no time in laying before the Prince Reg* nt 
 the report made by Mr. Larpent arid Mr. King-, respectfully appoint- 
 ed on the part of his majesty's government, and that of the United 
 States of America, to enquire into tiie circumstances of the late un- 
 fortunate occurrence at Dartmoor Prison. 
 
 His Royal Highness has commanded me to express, through you, 
 to the government of America, how deeply he laments the conse- 
 quences of this unhappy affair. 
 
 If any thing can tend to relieve the distress which his Royal High- 
 ness feels on this occasion, it is the consideration, that the conduct of 
 the soldiers was not actuated from any spirit of animosity towards the 
 prisoners, and that the inactivity of the officers may be attributed ra- 
 ther to the inexperience of militia forces, than to any want of zeal or 
 inclination to afford that liberal protection which is ever due to pri- 
 soners of war. 
 
 But as his Royal Highness has observed, at the same time, with 
 sincere regret, that although the firing of the troops upon the prison- 
 ers may have been justified at its commencement, by the turbulent 
 conduct of the latter, yet that the extent of the calamity must be as- 
 cribed to a want of steadiness in the troops, and of exertion in the 
 cre, culling for the most severe animadversion. His Royal High- 
 hug ','<?! pleased to direct the command.^ in chief tp Address to 
 
 
JOURNAL* 
 
 (he commanding officer of the Somerset militia, his disapprobation of 
 the^conduct of Die troop?, which it is trusted will make a due im- 
 pression on the minds of the officers and men who were engaged in 
 this unfortunate transaction. 
 
 As an additional proof of the sentiments which animate the Prince 
 Recent on this occasion, I am further commanded to express his Roy- 
 al Highness 1 desire to make a compensation to the widows and fami- 
 lies of the sufferers ; and I have to request that you, gentlemen, ^would 
 make this known to your government, inviting them, at the same 
 time, to co-operate with his majesty's charge d'affairs in the United 
 States, in investigating the respective claims, for the purpose of fulfil- 
 ling his Royal Highness' benevolent intentions upon this painful oc- 
 casion. 
 
 I request that you will accept the assurance of the distinguished 
 Consideration with which I have the honor to be, &c. 
 
 (Signed) CASTLEREAGH. 
 
 To Henry Clay, Esq. and Albert Gallatin, Esq. 
 
 Copy of a letter from Messrs. Clay and Gallatin, to Lord Ca-stlertagh. 
 Hanoyer Street, Hanover Square* March 24, 18 15. 
 
 MY LoTtD We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 lordship's official note of the 22d inst. 
 
 Having, as we have already informed your lordship, no powers on 
 (he subject to which it refer?, we will lose no time iw transmitting it 
 to our government. We will also place in the possession of the 
 American minister, Bear his Britannic majesty's government, whose 
 arrival here we daily expect, a copy of your lordship's note, together 
 with a statement of what had previously passed respecting the unfor- 
 tunate event at Dartmoor. 
 
 We embrace the opportunity of tendering, &c. 
 
 (Signed) H. CLAY, 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 The Right Honorable Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State for 
 the Foreign Department, &c. &c. 
 
 The Secretary of Slate to Anthony St. John Baker, E$q> his Britannic, 
 tnajtsty's charge & affairs. 
 
 Washington, Department of State, December 11, 1815. 
 
 SIR I have the honor to receive your letter of the 3d of August, 
 communicating a proposition of your government to make provision 
 for the widows and families of the sufferers in the much to be lamented 
 occurence at Dartmoor. 
 
 It is painful to touch on this unfortunate event, from the deep dis- 
 tiess it has caused to the whole American people. This repugnance is 
 increased by the consideration that our governments, though penetrat- 
 ed with regret, do not agree in sentiment, respecting the conduct of 
 the parties engaged in it. 
 
 Whilst the President declines accepting the provision contemplated 
 by his royal highness, the Prince Regent, he nevertheless does lull jus- 
 tice to the motives which dictated it, I have the honor to be, etc. 
 (Signed) ' JAMES MONROE. 
 
 Anthony St. Jolui Bakcr,E*q. hi? Britannic majesty's charge d'a/Faire*. 
 
JOURNAL. *i3l 
 
 all which it appears that nothing further can now 
 be done relative to this shocking transaction. The govern- 
 ment and the people of America have similar feelings. Hte 
 Royal Highness the Prince Regent of England offers to give 
 money by \vay of compensating the widows and families of 
 the slain, as was offered in the affair of the Chesapeake ; but 
 the PRESIDENT very properly refused the price of blood. 
 There is now no constituted earthly tribunal before which 
 this deed can be trie^ and punished, it is therefore left, like 
 some other atrocities from the same quarter, with the feel- 
 ings of Christian people. They have already tried it, and 
 brought in their verdict But, "vengeance is mine, and I 
 nill repay saith the Lord;" and to HIM we leave it. 
 
 The night following the shocking massacre was spent 
 in deep disquietude. As we knew not what had actually 
 occasioned this, in some degree, deliberate slaughter, so 
 we were filled with anxiety as to its final termination. 
 The horrors of Paris, under Robespiere, rose to view, and 
 deprived us of sleep ; or if wearied nature got a moment's re- 
 lief, many waked up screaming with the impression, that 
 they were under the hands of a murderer dressed in red. 
 
 The gates of our prison were closed up in the morning, 
 and each one seemed describing to his neighbor what he had 
 seen and heard ; and every one execrating the villain who 
 had occasioned the massacre. In the course of the day, a 
 British colonel, whom we had never before seen, appeared 
 at the inner gate, attended by the detestable Shortland, who 
 was pale and haggard like ordinary murderers. The col- 
 onel asked us, generally, What was the cause of this unhappy 
 state of things? We related some particulars as well as we 
 could; but all united in accusing captain Thomas Shortland 
 of deliberate murder. On Shorthand's denying some of the 
 accusations, the colonel turned round to him, and said, in a 
 very serious tone, " Sir, you have no right to speak at this 
 time" Upon which I thought the valiant captain would 
 have fainted. He, doubtless, thought of a halter. The 
 colonel went to the other yards, and received, as we were 
 informed, statements not materially differing from what he 
 first heard. The colonel's manner left an agreeable impres- 
 sion on our minds. He appeared to be seriously grieved, 
 and desirous to find out the truth. 
 
 The next day major general Brown came up from Ply- 
 mouth in the forenoon, and made some tnfliflg enquiries in. 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 the afternoon. Soon after came admiral Rowley, and a. 
 captain in the navy, whose name I do not remember. They 
 went into the military walk over the gates, when the space 
 below was soon filled with prisoners. The admiral did not 
 impress us quite so agreeably as the colonel, who seemed to 
 speak and look his own good feelings ; while the former ap- 
 peared to have got his lesson, and have come prepared to 
 question us like an attorney, rather than like a frank and 
 open seaman. The admiral informed the prisoners that he 
 was appointed by the commander in chief at Plymouth, to 
 inquire, whether the prisoners had any cause for complaint 
 against the Brilish government, as to their PROVISIONS ? 
 There ensued a short silence, until our countryman, Mr. 
 Cotton, a man who was neither intimidated by rank, nor dis- 
 concerted by parade, answered him and said, that " the af- 
 " fair of provisions wasnotthe occasion of their preseutdistress 
 c; and anxiety, but that it was the horrid massacre of their 
 ' unoffending and unresisting countrymen, whose blood cried 
 " from the ground, like the blood of Abel, for justice. We 
 cc have nothing now to say about our provisions ; that is but 
 c; a secondary concern. Our cry is for due vengeance on the 
 " murderer, Shortland, to expiate the horrors of the (Hh of 
 " April. We all complain of his haughty, unfeeling and 
 " tyrannical conduct, at all times, and on all occasions."- 
 " THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH," said the admiral, 
 and then repeated the former question, relative to the British 
 government and the provisions ; to which Mr. Colton re- 
 plied in a still more exasperated tone of accusation against 
 the murderer and the murder. " Then you do not? said the 
 admiral, "complain cf the British government for detaining 
 you here ?' " By no means," said our spokesman, " the pri- 
 soners, one and all, ascribe our undue attention here, to a 
 jsieglect of duty in our own agent, Mr. Beasly." " Then 
 I hope" said the admiral, " that you will all remain tranquil. 
 I lament AS MUCH AS YOU, the uiifortunaic occurrence that l>as 
 taken place? Upon this Mr. Colton mentioned particularly 
 the murder of the boy who was shut up in No. 4, after the 
 prisoners were all driven in through the doors, and averr<-d 
 that he was killed by the direct order of a British 'officer, 
 who came to the door with some of the guard. " That is 
 " the lobster-backed villain" exclaimed a young man, " thai 
 " stands behind you, sir! w/io, I heard deliberately order Ms 
 a m&* to fare on ihe prisoners, after they had all got into ihf 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 * 4 building, T saw him, and heard him give llic orders, and 
 * had like to have been bayoneted myself by his soldier s"-*- 
 The admiral looked round on the officer, who reddened al- 
 most to a purple, and sneaked away, and was seen no more ; 
 and thus was ended what was probably called Admiral R's 
 examination into the causes of the massacre! 
 
 I know of no examination after this, if such an interview- 
 may be called an examination ; for, on the of April, my- 
 self and a few others were set at liberty. We had made 
 application the night before, and passed the night in sleep- 
 Jess anxiety. At 10 o'clock orders were sent down to col- 
 lect our things. We dare not call our wretched baggage, 
 by any other than the beggarly name of "duds." In con- 
 sequence of this order, the turnkey conveyed us to the upper 
 gate, where we remained a while fluttering between feai 
 and hope. At length the sergeant of the guard came, and 
 opened the gate, and conducted us to the guard room, where 
 our fears began to dissipate and our hopes to brighten. - 
 When the clerk entered, he must have seen anxiety in our 
 countenances, and was disposed to sport with our feelings. 
 He put on a grave and solemn phiz, mixed with a portion 
 of the insolence of office, as if he were about to read our 
 death-warrants, while we cast a look of misery at each other. 
 At length, with apparent reluctance, he vouchafed to hand to 
 ea.ch of us, like a miser paying a debt, the dear delicious 
 paper, the evidence of our liberty ! on which was written, 
 " by order of the transport board/' This was enough, we 
 devoured it with our eyes, clinched it fast in our fists, 
 laughed, capered, jumped, screamed, and kicked up the dirt 
 like so many mad men ; and away we started for Prince- 
 town, looking back as we ran, every minute, to see if our 
 cerebrus, with his bloody jaws, was not at our heels. At 
 every step we took from the hateful prison, our enlarged 
 souls expanded our lately cramped bodies. At length we 
 attained a rising ground ; and O, how our hearts did swell 
 within us at the sight of the OCEAN ! that ocean that washed 
 the shores of our dear America, as well as those of England ! 
 After taking breath, we talked in strains of rapture to each 
 other. " This ground, said I, belongs to the British ; but 
 that ocean, and this air, and that sun, are as much ours as 
 theirs; or as any other nations. They are blessings to 
 that nation which knows best how to deserve and enjoy 
 them, May the arm of bravery secure them all to us, and 
 20 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 to our children forever !" Long and dismal as our captivity 
 lias been, we declared, with one voice, that should our gov- 
 ernment again arm and declare war, tor "free trade and sail- 
 ors' rights" we would, in a moment, try again the tug of 
 war, with the hard hearted-Britons ; but with the fixed reso- 
 lution of never being taken by them alive; or, at least, un- 
 wounded, or unmutilated. I see, I feel that (he love of coun- 
 try is our " ruling passion ;" and it is this that has and will 
 give us the superiority in battle, by land and by sea, while 
 the want of it will cause some folks to recoil before the 
 American bayonet and bullets, as the British did at Chip- 
 pewa, Erie, Plattsburg and New Orleans. 
 
 While the British prisoner retires from our places of con- 
 finement in good health, and with unwilling and reluctant 
 step, we, half famished Americans, fly from theirs as from 
 a pestilence, or a mine just ready to explode. If the Brit- 
 ish cannot alter these feelings in the two nations, her power 
 will desert her, while that of America will increase. 
 
 After treading the air, instead of touching the ground, we 
 found ourselves at the Devonshire arms, in Princetown, 
 where the comely bar-maid appeared more than mortal. 
 The sight of her rosy cheeks., shining hair, bright eyes, and 
 pouting iips wafted our imaginations,, in the twinkling of an 
 eye, across the atlantic to our own dear country of pretty 
 girls. 1 struck the fist of my right hand Into the palm of 
 iny left, and cried out " O,for an horse with ivingsJ" The 
 girl stared with amazement, and concluded, I guess, that. I 
 was mad ; for she looked as if she said to herself " poor 
 crazy lad ! who ever saw a horse with wings :" 
 
 We called for some wine, and filling our gb.sse-s, drank to 
 the power, glory, and honor, and everlasting fyqtpiness of mr 
 beloved country; and after that to all the pretty girls in 
 America. During this, we now and then looked around us, 
 to be certain all this was not a dream, and risked each other 
 if they were sure there was no red coat watching our move- 
 ments, or surly turnkey listening to our conversation ? and 
 whether what we saw were really the wails of an house, 
 where ingress and egress were equally free ? It is incon- 
 ceivable how we are changed by habit. Situations and 
 circumstances ennoble the mind, or debase it. 
 
 From what I myself experienced, and saw in others, on 
 the day \ve left our hateful prison, I do not wonder that sud- 
 dcii transitions from the depressing effects of imprisonment, 
 
JOURNAL. 235 
 
 sorrow, chagrin, impatience, or feelings bordering on de- 
 spair, to that of liberty and joy, should so affect the vital 
 organs, as to bring on a fatal spasm; or that the sudden ex- 
 hiierations of the animal spirits, might produce phrenzy. 
 We were animated anew with a .moderate portion of gener- 
 ous liquor; but absolutely intoxicated with joy. We asked 
 a thousand questions without waiting for an answer. In the 
 midst, of our rapture we had a message from Shortland, who 
 seemed to be afraid that we should be so near him, and yet 
 out of his power, that if we did not hasten our mirch on te 
 Plymouth, he would have us brought back to prison. At 
 the sound of his hateful name, and the idea of his person, 
 we started off like so m;my wild Zebras. We, however, 
 stepped'a little out of the road to an eminence, to take an- 
 other, and a last look of the Dartmoor depot of misery, when 
 we saw waving over it, the American flag, like the colors 
 sans tache, waving over the walls of Sodom and Gomor- 
 rba. We gave three cheers, and then resumed our road to 
 Plymouth, where we soon after arrived. 
 
 While dining at the inn, an old man, in the next room, 
 hearing we were Americans, came in and asked us if we* 
 knew his son who lived in America, and mentioned his 
 name. " Yes," said one of my companions ; " he is a me- 
 chanic ; I think a carpenter I know him very well, and he 
 is a very clever fellow." The old man caught hold of him, 
 and shook him by the hand as if he would shake his arm 
 olF. " Yes, yes. you are right, my son is a ship carpenter, 
 and it almost broke my heart when he \vr-rit off to seek his 
 fortune in a far country." In the fulness of his heart, the 
 poor old man offered to treat us with the best liquor the hous& 
 afforded ; but we all excused ourselves and declined his 
 generosity. This would have been carrying the joke too 
 far, for neither of us ever had any knowledge of his son. 
 We felt happy; and we thought, if we thought at all, that 
 we would make the old man happy also. The English arid 
 Americans are equally addicted to bantering, hoaxing, quiz- 
 sing, humming, or by whatever ridiculous name we may de- 
 note this more than ridiculous folly. I never heard that the 
 French, Germans, Spaniards, or Italians, were addicted to 
 this unbetievolent wit, if cowardly imposition can merit that 
 name. 
 
 As we strolled through Plymouth, we gazed at every 
 thing \ve saw, as if we had just fallen into it from the* inoon. 
 
236 *0RNAL. 
 
 In staring about we lost our way, and accosted a grave 
 loojking, elderly man, who directed us. As we asked him 
 several questions, he thought he had a right to ask one of 
 us ; when, to our surprise, he asked us if we had any geld to 
 sell? We now perceived that we had taken for our director 
 one of the sons of Abraham, whose home is no where ; and 
 that he took us to be either privateersmen or pick-pockets. 
 Piqued at this, we thought we would be even with him, and 
 we asked him if his name was not Shortlandl He said no. 
 We asked him if he had no relations of that name. He en- 
 quired if" <lit Shortland vas Jew or Christian ?" We told 
 him he was neither one nor the other. " Pen," said Moses, 
 " he must be Turk ; for dere be hut three sort of peoples in 
 " the world ;" and this set us a laughing at the expense of 
 the despised Israelite, until we lost him in some of the dirty 
 alleys of this noisy seaport. 
 
 I slept that night at the Exchange Coffee House. It was 
 ionff since I had been cut off from the decencies of life, 
 .*. I could hardly be said to enjoy them. I could not, at 
 first, reconcile myself to 'the civil attention of servants and 
 waiters. At the hour of sleep, I was shown, to such a bed 
 a I used to sleep on in my father's house. But who would 
 believe it, that my. predominant misery during this night, 
 was z feather 'bett and a pillow, rendered uneasy because it 
 was soft as down ! Yes, astonished reader ! 1 felt about as 
 uneasy in a feather bed, as Mr. Beasly, or any other fine 
 London gentleman would, at laying on a plank, or the bal- 
 last of a transport. Such is the power of habit, and such the 
 effect of custom. 
 
 The next morning before I left my bed, I pondered over 
 the events and conduct of the preceding day, but not with 
 satisfaction, or self approbation. The seventh chapter of 
 "Ecelesiastes came fresh to my mind. I said to myself, ad- 
 versity and constraint are more favorable to wisdom, than 
 liberty and prosperity ; or to express it in better words 
 " sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the 
 countenance the heart is made better ; and for this maxim of 
 wisdom we are indebted to a Jew. 
 
 We remained a fortnight longer* in Plymouth, and learnt 
 by degrees to relish civility. We were kindly noticed by 
 several good people who seemed to be rather partial to '.>, 
 Amrrlc'-ns, than otherwise, While there, I heard but very 
 little uttered against America,, ojr Americans*. We were 
 
JOURNAL,* 
 
 spoken to, and treated infinitely better than at Halifax. By 
 the time of our embarkation, which was the 23d of April, 
 1815, we felt considerable attachment to the people about 
 us. We arrived at New-York the 7th of June following, 
 without any thing occurring in the passage worth commit- 
 ting to paper, unless it be to record the striking contrast in 
 our feelings in our passaged and FROM England. 
 
 My sensations on first setting my foot once .more on my 
 native soil, were such as I have not power to describe. 
 Tears gushed from my eyes, and had 1 not been ashamed, I 
 should have kneeled down and kissed the earth of the UNI- 
 TED STATES. I believe similar sensations, more or less fer- 
 vent, fill the bosom of every American, on returning to his 
 own country from British captivity. It is hardly possible 
 that I shall, so long as my faculties remain entire, forget the 
 horrors of the British transports, and several scenes and 
 sufferings at Dartmoor Prison : yet I hope to be able, before 
 I quit this world of contention, to forgive the contempts, the 
 contumely, the starvations and fiithiness inflicted on me, and 
 on my countrymen, by an unfeeling enemy, while we re- - 
 mained in his power as prisoners of war. 
 
 " RETURN we, from this gloomy view, 
 To native scenes of fairer hue. 
 Land of our sires ! the Hero's home ! 
 Weary and sick, to thee we come ; 
 The heart fatigued with foreign woe?^ 
 On thy fair bosom seeks repose. 
 COLUMBIA ! hope of future times ! 
 Thou wonder of surrounding climes ! 
 Thou last and only resting place 
 Of Freedom's persecuted race ! 
 jlail to thy consecrated domes ! 
 Thy fruitful fields and peaceful homes. 
 The hunter, thus, who long has toil'd 
 O'er mountain rude, and forest wild, 
 Turns from the dark and cheerless way, 
 Where howls the savage beast of prey, 
 To where yon curls of smoke aspire, 
 Where briskly burns his crackling fire ; 
 Towards his cot delighted moves, 
 Cheer'd by the voice of those he loves, 
 And welcom'd by domestic smiles, 
 Sings checrly, and forgets his toLk.' 1 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 SOME, to whom I had shown my Journal in manuscript, have 
 thought that I had, now and then, expressed my feelings too unguard- 
 edly against some of the subjects of Great Britain, and some of iay 
 own countrymen. In consequence of this friendly remark, 1 have 
 struck out a few passages, but have not been able to comply with all 
 the wishes of rny connexions. But, after all, had a political cant 
 phrase or two been omitted, some good people would have been grati- 
 fied, and the publication not the worse for it. I have severely suf- 
 fered, felt keenly, and expressed myself honestly, and without mal- 
 ice. I may not have made due allowance for the conduct of certain 
 officers and agents. I maj- not have entered, as far as I ought, into 
 their situations ; and there might have been reasons and excuses, that 
 my chafed feelings prevented me from attending to. If so, the cool 
 and candid reader, both here, and on the other side the Atlantic, will 
 make that allowance which I could hardly make myself. I must, 
 nevertheless, maintain, that I have expressed the feelings of the mo- 
 ment, and cannot now honestly alter my language ; for whenever my 
 soul calls up many occurrences in my captivity, my tongue and my 
 pen will be found the faithful organs of my feelings. 
 
 I have endeaA r ored to give due credit to the humane conduct of 
 several sailors, soldiers, and private subjects of the enemy. But, if, 
 at this period of peace, when it may be supposed that resentment was 
 cooled down, I try to obliterate the impressions made by cruelty and 
 by contempt, and find I cannot, then must the reader take, it as a trait 
 of the imperfect character of a young man, on whose mind adversity 
 has not had its best effect. 
 
 If an animosity actually exists between the English and Americans, 
 do you mend the matter by denying the fact ? This animosity has 
 been avowed to exist, within a few months past, in the parliament of 
 England. The following article is extracted from a London paper. 
 In a debate, (Feb. 14th, 1816) a member said, u the spirit of animos- 
 ity in America, would justify an increase of the naval force in the 
 West Indies." This called up Lord Castlereagh, who said " As to 
 America, if it is said great prejudices exist there against us, it must be 
 recollected that great prejudices exist here against her. It was," he 
 said, u his most ardent wish to discountenance this feeling on both 
 sides, and to promote between the two nations feejing of reciprocal 
 amity and regard." 
 
 "What has occasioned this avowed animosity in us towards the Brit- 
 ish ? Our merchants, generally, feel not this animosity ; neither is it 
 to be found, in a great degree, amongst our legislators. How came v;s, 
 'y ?V .' Oer sailors and our soldiers, who have beeji in British prisons, 
 
JOURNAL. 
 
 and on board British men of war, and transports, have brought with 
 them this animosity home to Iheir families and their friends, They 
 tell them their own stories, in their own artless, and sometimes exag- 
 gerated way ; and these are reported with, probably, high coloring ; 
 whereas, I have made it a point of honor, a matter of conscience, and 
 a rule of justice, to adhere to truth ; and am contented that the Brit- 
 ish reader should say all that fairness admits, to soften down the col- 
 oring of some of the pictures of British barbarity, provided he does not 
 attempt to impeach my veracity. 
 
 Beside individual animosity, there may possibly be a lurking nation- 
 al one, thinly covered over with the fashionable mantle of courtesy. 
 The conflicting interests of the two nations may endanger peace. 
 The source of national aggrandizement in both nations, is commerce ; 
 and the high road to them the ocean. We and the British are travel- 
 ling the same way, in keen pursuit of the same object ; and it is 
 scarcely probable, that we shall be preserved in a state of peace, by 
 abstract love of justice. 
 
 I have been disposed to allow that the conduct of our countrymen, 
 while on board the pri.-o'i ships, and at Dartmoor, was, at times, pro- 
 voking to the British officers set over them ; but never malignant, 
 much less, bloody. It could be always traced to a spirit oi'fitn and frolic, 
 which our people indulge in beyond all others in the world ; and this 
 ought to be considered as one of the luxuriant shoots of our tree of 
 liberty ; for it is too harsh to call it an excrescence. It shows the 
 strength, depth and extent of its roots, and the richness of the soil. 
 
 This Journal has not been published to increase the animosity now 
 subsisting between the American and British people. So far from it, 
 the writer pleases himself with the idea that this publication may rem- 
 edy the evils complained of, or mitigate them ; and cut off the source 
 of deep complaint against the English, for their treatment of prisoners, 
 should war rage again between Ihe two nations. If the present, race 
 of Britons have not become indifferent to a sense of national charac- 
 ter, their government will take measures to wipe off this stain from 
 her garments. Let the nations of Europe inquire how the Americans 
 iri.Mt. Ilieir prisoners of war. If we treat them with barbarity, publish 
 our disgrace to the wide world, and speak of us accordingly. But 
 tat thfin, at the same time, inquire how the English treated those of 
 us who have had the great misfortune of falling into their hands ; and 
 let them be spoken of accordingly. My serious opinion is, that this 
 little book will aid the great cause of humanity. 
 
 Although I, with some thousands of my countrymen, were inclosed 
 in a large prison during the greater part of the war, it fared with us as 
 with those people who seldom go out of their houses, who hear more 
 news than those who are abroad in the world. It was, however, pret- 
 ty much all of one sort ; for we seldom saw any other American news- 
 papers, than those of the fault finding, or opposition party. These 
 were generally filled with abuse of the PRESIDENT, and of the gov- 
 ernment generally, and with praises of the English, which, in our sit- 
 uation, produced a strong sensation ; as our support, our protection, 
 our pride, our honor, were identified in the person of the President, 
 and his administration. The efforts of the ftderal party in Mussachu- 
 
2 --SO JOURNAL. 
 
 setts to embarrass and tie the hands of our government, and disgrart 
 its brave officers, created in us all, a hatred of the very name ot'ftd- 
 erc.U.sin. I record the Jctct, and appeal to all the prisoners icho har* 
 now returned home, to confirm my assertion ; and I declare I IUIAC 
 erased not a little on this head, out of courtesy to a large and san- 
 guine party ; Avho have erred, and strayed from the right way, by not 
 knoAving the true character of the English. 
 
 I fvel no animosity, or disrespect to any gentleman of the federal, 
 or fault finding party ; but they must excuse me for remarking, ihat 
 their conduct, and their sentiments, as they appeared in messages, 
 proclamations, speeches, and resolves ; and their combinations for 
 withholding loans of money front, govetnment, with their denunciations 
 of a war, Avaaed professedly,- and as we knew, really, fos "Sailors' 1 
 Rights," made an impression on our minds so decidedly against the 
 federalists, that the very term federalism, Avas with us all, without one 
 single exception, a term of deep reproach. Let him who doubts it, 
 ask any prisoner who made a part of the six thousv.ml confined in 
 England during the two years of our late bitter war Aviih the English, 
 andf he will be satisfied that I have u nothing exleniMJtd, or stt doutt 
 !-:"Jil in malice." 
 
 I hope and pray for rMosr among ourselves ; and that all party 
 names and distinctions may be lost in that of AMERICANS. 
 
 u Henceforth, let Whig and Tory cease, 
 u An'd turn all party rage to peace ; 
 41 Rouse, and revive your ancient glory, 
 " UNITE, and drive, the, world before you ,'" 
 
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