John ShaqiResearch Library

Opening the text

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

During the war it was stated to our government that _six thousand two
hundred and fifty-seven_ seamen had been pressed 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 what stye he is in. Others not quite so brutal, have
said--"hush! it may be so; but we must bear it; England is mistress of
the Ocean; and her existence depends on this practice of impressment;
her naval power must be submitted to--give us, merchants, commerce,
and these Jack Tars will take care of themselves; for it is not worth
while to lose a profitable trade for the sake of a few ignorant
sailors, who never had any rights; and who have neither liberty,
property or homes, but what we merchants give to them."

The American Seamen on board the Crown Prince, were chiefly _men who
had been impressed into the 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 remembered that they were all citizens
of the United States, sailing in merchant ships; and yet the
merchants, at least those of Boston, and the other New-England
sea-ports, have, very generally, mocked the complaints of impressed
seamen, and derided their representations, and have even denied 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 Massachusetts, and a few others will never be forgotten by the
inhabitants of the prison ships at Chatham, at Halifax, and in the
West Indies.

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