American Prisoners of the RevolutionDandridge, Danske
History
American Prisoners of the Revolution
Dandridge, Danske
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Prisoners and prisons
The doctor spoken of by Jabez Fitch as Dr. Dibuke is perhaps the
notorious character described by Mr. Elias Boudinot in the Journal from
which we have already quoted. On page 35 of this book he gives us the
following:
“AN ACCOUNT OF THE FRENCHMAN WHO POISONED. AMERICAN PRISONERS IN NEW
YORK, AND WAS REWARDED FOR SO DOING BY GENERAL, HOWE
“When the British Army took possession of New York they found a
Frenchman in Goal, under Condemnation for Burglery and Robbery. He was
liberated. He was a very loos, ignorant man. Had been a Servant. This
fellow was set over our Prisoners in the Hospital, as a Surgeon, though
he knew not the least principle of the Art. Dr. McHenry, a Physician
of note in the American Army, and then a Prisoner, finding the extreme
ignorance of this man, and that he was really murdering our people,
remonstrated to the British Director of the Hospital, and refused
visiting our sick Prisoners if this man was not dismissed. A British
Officer, convinced that he had killed several of our People, lodged
a complaint against him, when he was ordered to be tryed by a Court
Martial, but the morning before the Court were to set, this Officer was
ordered off to St Johns, and the Criminal was discharged for want of
Evidence. During this man having the Charge of our Prisoners in the
Hospital, two of our Men deserted from the Hospital and came into our
Army when they were ordered to me for Examination. They Joined in this
story. That they were sick in the Hospital under the care of the above
Frenchman. That he came and examined them, and gave to each of them a
dose of Physick to be taken immediately. A Young Woman, their Nurse,
made them some private signs not to take the Physick immediately. After
the Doctor was gone, she told them she suspected the Powder was poison.
That she had several times heard this Frenchman say that he would have
ten Rebels dead in such a Room and five dead in such a Room the next
morning, and it always so happened. They asked her what they should do:
She told them their only chance was to get off, sick as they were,
that she would help them out and they must shift for themselves. They
accordingly got off safe, and brought the Physick with them. This was
given to a Surgeon’s Mate, who afterwards reported that he gave it to a
Dog, and that he died in a very short time. I afterwards saw an account
in a London Paper of this same Frenchman being taken up in England for
some Crime and condemned to dye. At his Execution he acknowledged the
fact of his having murdered a great number of Rebels in the Hospitals at
New York by poyson. That on his reporting to General Howe the number
of the Prisoners dead, he raised his pay. He further confessed that he
poisoned the wells used by the American Flying Camp, which caused such
an uncommon Mortality among them in the year 1776.”
Jabez Fitch seems to have been mistaken in thinking that General
Robertson instead of Lord Howe was commanding in New York at this time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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