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 : $b Interspersed with observations, anecdotes and remarks, tending to illustrate the moral and political characters of three nations. To which is added, a correct engraving of Dartmoor prison, representing the massacre ofWaterhouse, Benjamin
History
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 : $b Interspersed with observations, anecdotes and remarks, tending to illustrate the moral and political characters of three nations. To which is added, a correct engraving of Dartmoor prison, representing the massacre of
Waterhouse, Benjamin
Dartmoor Prison; United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Prisoners and prisons
A disturbance took place last night, which deprived all of us of
sleep. It was owing to the unaccommodating disposition 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 not 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 off early in the morning, they would only detain the tender, if
they had their hammocks to take down and pack up again, on which
account he refused to let them have their usual accommodations for
sleeping.--The men went below, very much dissatisfied at the churlish
disposition of the commander; and as they despaired being able to
sleep themselves, on bare boards, they all determined that Osmore
should not himself sleep. They waited quietly till about ten o'clock,
when the commander usually went 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. Sometimes 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, and frightened their wives out of their beds.
The noise and jarring were so great, that it seemed as if they were
breaking up the ship, for 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 that 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 commander 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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