AMERICAN PRISONERS OF THE REVOLUTION

CHAPTER VI

THE CASE OF JABEZ FITCH


In presenting our gleanings from the books, papers, letters,
pamphlets, and other documents that have been written on the subject
of our prisoners during the Revolution, we will endeavor to follow
some chronological order, so that we may carry the story on month by
month and year by year until that last day of the British possession
of New York when Sergeant O'Keefe threw down upon the pavement of the
Provost the keys of that prison, and made his escape on board a
British man-of-war.

One of the prisoners taken on Long Island in the summer of 1776 was
Captain Jabez Fitch, who was captured on the 27th of August, of that
year. While a prisoner he contracted a scorbutic affection which
rendered miserable thirty years of his life.

On the 29th of August he was taken to the transport Pacific. It was a
very rainy day. The officers, of whom there were about twenty-five,
were in one boat, and the men "being between three and four hundred in
several other Boats, and had their hands tied behind them. In this
Situation we were carried by several Ships, where there appeared great
numbers of Women on Deck, who were very liberal of their Curses and
Execrations: they were also not a little Noisy in their Insults, but
clap'd their hands and used other peculiar gestures in so
Extraordinary a Manner yet they were in some Danger of leaping
overboard in this surprising Extacy." On arriving at the Pacific, a
very large transport ship, they were told that all officers and men
together were to be shut down below deck. The master of the ship was a
brute named Dunn. At sundown all were driven down the hatches, with
curses and execrations. "Both ye lower Decks were very full of Durt,"
and the rains had leaked in and made a dreadful sloppy mess of the
floor, so that the mud was half over their shoes. At the same time
they were so crowded that only half their number could lie down at a
time.

"Some time in the Evening a number of the Infernal Savages came down
with a lanthorn and loaded two small pieces or Cannon with Grape shot,
which were pointed through two Ports in such a manner as to Rake ye
deck where our people lay, telling us at ye same time with many Curses
yt in Case of any Disturbance or the least noise in ye Night, they
were to be Imediately fired on ye Damned Rebels." When allowed to come
on deck "we were insulted by those Blackguard Villians in the most
vulgar manner....We were allowed no water that was fit for a Beast to
Drink, although they had plenty of good Water on board, which was used
plentifully by the Seamen, etc.

"Lieutenant Dowdswell, with a party of Marines sent on board for our
Guard; this Mr. Dowdswell treated us with considerable humanity, and
appeared to be a Gentleman, nor were the Marines in General so
Insolent as the Ships Crew....On the 31st the Commissary of Prisoners
came on Board and took down the names, etc, of the prisoners....he
told us Colonel Clark and many other Officers were confined at
Flatbush. On Sunday, September 1st, we were removed to the ship Lord
Rochford, commanded by one Lambert. This ship was much crowded. Most
of the Officers were lodged on the quarter deck. Some nights we were
considerably wet with rain."

The Lord Rochford lay off New Utrecht. On the third of September the
officers that had been confined at Flatbush were brought on board the
snow called the Mentor. "On the fifth," says Fitch, in his written
account, of which this is an abstract, "we were removed on board this
Snow, which was our prison for a long time. * * * We were about 90 in
number, and ye Field Officers had Liberty of ye Cabbin, etc. * * *
This Snow was commanded by one Davis, a very worthless, low-lived
fellow. * * * When we first met on board the Mentor we spent a
considerable time in Relating to each other ye particular
Circumstances of our first being Taken, and also ye various Treatment
with which we met on yt occasion, nor was this a disagreeable
Entertainment in our Melancholy Situation. * * * Many of the officers
and men were almost Destitute of Clothes, several having neither
Britches, Stockings or Shoes, many of them when first taken were
stripped entirely naked. Corporal Raymond of the 17th Regiment after
being taken and Stripped was shamefully insulted and Abused by Gen'l
Dehightler, seized by ye Hair of his head, thrown on the ground,
etc. Some present, who had some small degree of humanity in their
Composition, were so good as to favor them (the prisoners) with some
old durty worn Garments, just sufficient to cover their nakedness, and
in this Situation (they) were made Objects of Ridicule for ye
Diversion of those Foreign Butchers.

"One Sam Talman (an Indian fellow belonging to the 17th Regiment) was
Stripped and set up as a mark for them to Shoot at for Diversion or
Practice, by which he Received two severe wounds, in the neck and arm
* * * afterwards they destroyed him with many hundreds others by
starvation in the prisons of New York.

"On October first orders came to land the prisoners in New York. This
was not done until the seventh. On Monday about four o'clock
Mr. Loring conducted us to a very large house on the West side of
Broadway in the corner south of Warren Street near Bridewell, where we
were assigned a small yard back of the house, and a Stoop in ye Front
for our Walk. We were also Indulged with Liberty to pass and Repass to
an adjacent pump in Ye Street."

Although paroled the officers were closely confined in this place for
six weeks. Their provisions, he says: "were insufficient to preserve
ye Connection between Soul and Body, yet ye Charitable People of this
City were so good as to afford us very considerable Relief on this
account, but it was ye poor and those who were in low circumstances
only who were thoughtful of our Necessities, and provisions were now
grown scarce and Excessive dear. * * * Their unparalleled generosity
was undoubtedly ye happy means of saving many Lives, notwithstanding
such great numbers perished with hunger.

"Here we found a number of Officers made prisoners since we were,
Colonel Selden, Colonel Moulton, etc. They were first confined in Ye
City Hall. Colonel Selden died the Fryday after we arrived. He was
Buried in the New Brick Churchyard, and most of the Officers were
allowed to attend his Funeral. Dr. Thatcher of the British army
attended him, a man of great humanity."

Captain Fitch declares that there were two thousand wounded British
and Hessians in the hospitals in New York after the battle of Fort
Washington, which is a much larger estimate than we have found in
other accounts. He says that the day of the battle was Saturday,
November 16th, and that the prisoners were not brought to New York
until the Monday following. They were then confined in the Bridewell,
as the City Jail was then called, and in several churches. Some of
them were soon afterwards sent on board a prison ship, which was
probably the Whitby. "A number of the officers were sent to our place
of confinement; Colonel Rawlings, Colonel Hobby, Major (Otho)
Williams, etc. Rawlings and Williams were wounded, others were also
wounded, among them Lieutenant Hanson (a young Gent'n from Va.) who
was Shot through ye Shoulder with a Musq't Ball of which wound he Died
ye end of Dec'r.

"Many of ye charitable Inhabitants were denied admittance when they
came to Visit us."

On the twentieth of November most of the officers were set at liberty
on parole. "Ye first Objects of our attention were ye poor men who had
been unhappily Captivated with us. They had been landed about ye same
time yt we were, and confined in several Churches and other large
Buildings and although we had often Received Intelligence from them
with ye most Deplorable Representation of their Miserable Situation,
yet when we came to visit them we found their sufferings vastly
superior to what we had been able to conceive. Nor are words
sufficient to convey an Adequate Idea of their Unparalled Calamity.
Well might ye Prophet say, 'They yt be slain with ye sword are better
than they yt be slain with hunger, for these pine away, etc.'

"Their appearance in general Rather Resembled dead Corpses than living
men. Indeed great numbers had already arrived at their long home, and
ye Remainder appeared far advanced on ye same Journey: their
accommodations were in all respects vastly Inferior to what a New
England Farmer would have provided for his Cattle, and although ye
Commissary pretended to furnish them with two thirds of ye allowance
of ye King's Troops, yet they were cheated out of one half of
that. They were many times entirely neglected from Day to Day, and
received no Provision at all; they were also frequently Imposed upon
in Regard to ye Quality as well as Quantity of their provision.
Especially in the Necessary article of Bread of which they often
received such Rotten and mouldy stuff, as was entirely unfit for use.

"* * * A large number of ye most feeble were Removed down to ye Quaker
Meeting House on Queen Street, where many hundreds of them perished in
a much more miserable Situation than ye dumb Beasts, while those whose
particular business it was to provide them relief, paid very little or
no attention to their unparalleled sufferings. This house I understand
was under ye Superintendence of one Dr. Dibuke * * * who had been at
least once convicted of stealing (in Europe) and had fled to this
country for protection: It was said he often made application of his
Cane among ye Sick instead of other medicines. * * * I have often been
in danger of being stabbed for attempting to speak to a prisoner in ye
yard. * * *

"About the 24th December a large number of prisoners were embarked on
a ship to be sent to New England. What privates of the 17th Regiment
remained living were Included in this number, but about one half had
already perished in Prison. I was afterwards informed that the Winds
being unfavourable and their accommodations and provisions on board ye
Ship being very similar to what they had been provided with before, a
large proportion of them perished before they could reach New England,
so that it is to be feared very few of them lived to see their native
homes.

"Soon after there was large numbers of the prisoners sent off by land
both to the Southward and Eastward so yt when ye Officers were Removed
over into Long Island in the latter part of January there remained but
very few of the privates in that City except those released by Death
which number was supposed to be about 1800.

"General Robertson, so famous for Politeness and Humanity was
commanding Officer at New York during the aforesaid treatment of the
prisoners. Governor Scheene was said to have visited the prisoners at
the Churches and manifested great dissatisfaction at their ill Usage,
yet I was never able to learn that ye poor Sufferers Rec'd any
Advantage thereby."

Captain Jabez Fitch was a prisoner eighteen months. After the
Revolution he lived in Vermont, where he died in 1812.

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