Loading your reading…

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 — John Shaqi

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

We 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 humour. 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
Halifax than the ordinary run of American seamen, who seemed too often
to look and speak as if they longed to try 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 States used to come
round the prison to gratify their evil eyes, instead of going to a
place of worship, with the sight of what they called "_rebels_." These
are generally Scotchmen, 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 minister 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 insult,
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 prisoners 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.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

No reviews yet