American Prisoners of the RevolutionDandridge, Danske
History
American Prisoners of the Revolution
Dandridge, Danske
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Prisoners and prisons
“I then went on shore and quitted her and engaged in the garrison there
to do duty as a soldier for my provisions till some ship should arrive
there bound for England. After serving there a month I entered on board
a ship called the Stormont, but orders were soon after received that no
Indiaman should sail without convoy; and we lay here six months, during
which time the Captain died.
“While I was in St. Helena the vessel in which I came out from England
arrived here, homeward bound; she being on the return from her second
voyage since I came from England. And now I made known my case to
Captain Kerr, who readily took me on board the Princess Royal, and used
me kindly and those of my old ship-mates on board were glad to see me
again. Captain Kerr on first seeing me asked me if I was not afraid to
let him know who I was, and endeavored to frighten me; yet his conduct
towards me was humane and kind.
“It had been very sickly on board the Princess Royal, and the greater
part of the hands who came out of England in her had died, and she
was now manned chiefly with lascars. Among those who had died was the
boatswain, and boatswain’s mate, and Captain Kerr made me boatswain of
the ship, in which office I continued until we arrived in London, and it
protected me from being impressed upon our arrival in England.
“We sailed from St. Helena about the first of November, 1781, under
convoy of the Experiment of fifty guns, commanded by Captain Henry, and
the Shark sloop of war of 18 guns, and we arrived in London about the
first of March, 1782, it having been about two years and a half from the
time I had left it.
“In about a fortnight after our arrival in London I entered on board the
King George, a store-ship bound to Antigua, and after four weeks passage
arrived there.
“The second night after we came to anchor in Antigua I took the ship’s
boat and escaped in her to Montserrat (in the West Indies) which place
had but just before been taken by the French.
“Here I did not meet with the treatment which I expected; for on my
arrival at Montserrat I was immediately taken up and put in prison,
where I continued twenty-four hours, and my boat taken from me. I was
then sent to Guadaloupe, and examined by the Governor. I made known my
case to him, by acquainting him with the misfortunes I had gone through
in my captivity, and in making my escape. He seemed to commiserate
me, gave me ten dollars for the boat that I escaped in, and provided
a passage for me on board a French brigantine that was bound from
Gaudaloupe to Philadelphia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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