National Intelligencer. (Washington City [D.C.]), Vol. 13, No. 2025, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 14, 1813 Page: 1 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
■.A:&
■
\ l
YOL XIII
WASHINGTON CITY, TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 14/1813.
[No 2025
PUBLISHED BY GALES AND SEATON,
Three times a week, at five dollars per an-
num, paid in advance. No subscription will
be received for less than one ear. All let-
ters to the editors must be post paid.
WASHINGTON CITY.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13.
SIXTH NAVAL ACHIEVE-
MENT.
Copy of a letter from captain William
Bainbridge' to the Secretary of the
Navy, dated Boston, September 7.
SIR,
•Th.e enclosed letters will give you
the information of a brilliant victory,
gained by the U. S. brig Enterprize,
ove*’ his Britannic m;ijvsty!s bcig
er, of considerable superiority of force.
Nothing that I can £ay would add to
the lustre of the gallant action, which
so decidedly spe ks for itself. But I
cannot restrain my deep regret for the
loss of so, valuable an officer, as the
brave iieut. Burrows.
1 have the honour sir,
To be with great respect,
your obedient servant,
W. BAIN BRIDGE.
Honourable William Jones,
Secretary of the Navy, Washington City.
Copy of a letter from Sa?n. Scorer £sq.
Aavy agent, Portland, to capt. Hull,
^transmitted to coin. Bainbridge, and
oy him to the Navy Department.
Portland, September 6, 1813,
3 oxlbck P. M.
Sir—
I have the happiness to inform
you that another glorious achievement
has been added to the list of those al
ready acquired by our navy; but the
pleasure and satisfaction with which I
should give you the following account,
is greatly lessened by the death of the
"brave Captain Burrows.
On Friday last the U. S. brig Enter-
prize, William burrows commander,
left this port on a cruise, and, yester
day afternoon fell in with, II. B. M.
br'g Boxer,J.Biyth commander, mount-
ing 16 181b. carronades ami 2 long nine
pounders, between Cape Elizabeth and
Sequin ITands, off this harbor when a
severe action took place, which ended
after a conflict of 45 minutes by the
capture of the Boxer. The loss on board
the Enterprize is her brave and lament-
ed commander and two men killed, and
seven wounded; and on board the Box~
er, the commander killed and between
forty and fifty officers and men killed
and wounded. The Enterprize and her
prize are now at anchor under the
guns of Fort Preble. The fresh
wind from n. n. w. has prevented their
getting up to the town ; but they will
get up this evening on the turn of the
tide. Several small vessels and boats
went off tiiis morning, as soon as the
two vessels appeared in sight, in which
several surgeons from this town went
to offer their professional assistance, as
.from the appearance of the sails and
*ir.asts of both vessels it seemed they
must have had a severe action.
One of the boats which went down
has just come up from the En erprize
from which I have received the forego-
ing particulars ; but we must wait a
few hours for more correct details,
which shall be forwarded to you as soon
sxs they are received. In the mean time I
am providing the necessary and com-
fortable accommodations lor the wound-
ed of both vessels; £c shall dispatch this
to you by express ; with a request
that, if there are any particular direc-
tions wfiich you would wish to give
respecting the interment of the body of
the brave captain Burrows, as well as
the late commander ol the Boxer, you
would be so good as to let me know,
and they shall be properly attended to.
There will undoubtedly be every mark
of respect and honour paid to the fune-
ral by the citizens of this place, which
the time will permit of, but it would be
desirable to have your wishes known
on this subject—The funeral will not
take place until Wednesday the 8th in-
stant.
With great respect,
I have the honor to be
Sir, ’
Your most obedient servant,
SAMUEL STORER.
Navy agent.
Isaac Hull, Esq. commander U. S. na-
vy, Portsmouth, H.
[In addition to the above, it is stat-
ed in the public prints, that the En-
terprize rates 14, but mounts sixteen
guns, viz. fourteen 18 pound carron-
ades, and two long nines ; and bail on
board, when she sailed from Ports-
mouth, 102 persons, including officers,
seamen and marines. The Boxer is
stated to be nearly a third heavier ton-
nage than the Enterprize.
The despatch from Com. Hull stated,
that the officers who fell on board the
Enterprize. and Boxer were to be buri-
ed with martial honors, on the 8th, in
Portland ; and requested that all naval
and other officers, who could conveni-
ently, would attend the funeral.]
It •ppejis hy an article in a Jute Mo-
bile G'-zette', that another buttle has
been recently fought near St Antonio,
between the Republic, ns and Royalists
of South America, in which the latter
were defeated with the loss of 200 kill-
ed, several pieces of cannon, 350 static!
of arms- 1000 head of mules and horses,
a quantity ol provisions of all kinds,
£>6000 in specie, camp equipage, &c
8cc. The loss oi the Republicans was
comparatively trifling—16 killed and
about as many wounded.
BARBARITIES OF THE ENEMY
DOCUMENTS
m
Accompanying the Report of Committee
of the House of Representatives, ap-
pointed to enquire into the spirit and
manner in which the war has been
waged by (fee enemy.
No. 1.
BAD TREATMENT OF AMERICAN PRI-
SONERS BY THE BRITISH.
Washington, May 24th, 1813-
SIR, I have received your favour of the 2£ri
instant, and hasten to reply to the questions
therein, respecting the case of captain Jedu-
thun Upton, late commander of the privateer
brig Hunter, of Salem. Captain Upton was
taken in the month, I believe of November last,
off the western islands, by the British frigate
Pha-be, captain Hilliard. In chase, dhptain
Upton, as is usual in such cases, threw his guns
overboard to ease his vessel, in hopes by that
means to facilitate h.is escape from the enemy:
but this not availing, he Was, as above stated,
taken and carried into Plymouth, in England,
where, on his arrival, he was immediately, with
his first lieutenant, Mr Wayne, put into Mill
Prison .and refused his parole on the plea that
he had not on board, when captured, fourteen
mounted carriage guns above the calibre of
four pouitders. After having been thus close-
ly confined for three or four months in a filthy
j-'il, they were in the month of March t ken
out and sent on board the prison ship at Chat-
ham, where, when I left England in April last,
they still were, in a worse situation, if possible,
than in Mill prison. The allowance, sir, to
American prisoners in England, you are ac-
quainted with ; it is, therefore, not necessary
for me to mention it here. It is but justice to
3tate, that the captain of the Phccbe petitioned
the transport board and used every exertion in
liis power to obtain the paroles of captain Up-
ton and Mr. Wayne, but all would not do ; they
were deaf to his petition, lost as they arc to
every sentiment of honor, and every principle
of humanity.
Except Captain Upton'und his first Lieuten-
ant, all the rest of his officers and crew were
sent on board the prison ship on their first ar-
rival at Plymouth; .amongst them was the doc-
tor of the Hunter, Mr. Carter, who came home
in the Cartel Robinson Potier. Whai I have
stated respecting the treatment of Captain Up-
ton and Air. Wayne, I know to be tacts, as 1
had the honor of spending 24 hours in Mill pri-
son with them, and heard those facts related
by themselves.
Very respectfully, he,
ALEXANDER COFFIN, Jr.
. J. Mason, Esq.
Commissary General of Prisoners,
Navy Yard, Charlestown,
June 3d, 1813.
Sir—I have the honor to enclose you a de-
position respecting inhuman treatment, which
Mr. Nichols, late commander of the private
armed ship Decatur, belonging to Newbury-
port, has received from the .British govern-
ment at Butbaddes. I have been credibly in-
formed that Capt. Nichols is a very respectable
and correct man, therefore a fair presumption,
that he has not commuted himself in such a
manner as ought to deprive him of the estab-
lished rights of a prisoner of war. Any mea-
sure which the government of our country may
see proper to adopt in consequence of this
communication, 1 shall readily attend to.
I have the honor, sir, to be, &c.
Wm. BAINBRIDGE.
Hon. Wm. Jokes, Secretary
ofthe Navy, City of Washington.
I, James Foot, of Newburyport, in the coun-
ty of Essex and commonwealth of Massaclm-
settss, mariner, testify and depose, that 1 was
a prize-master on board the private armed brig-
antine Decatur, of Newburyport, in her last
cruize, William Nichols commander; That
on the 18th day of January, now last past, the
said brigantine was captured by liis Britannic
Majesty’s frigate Surprize, commanded by
Captain Cochran, and carried into Barbadoes.
After our arrival in IJrabadoes, Capt. Nichols,
with the other officers of the Decatur, w<yr
paroled. About two months after cur arrival,
his Britannic Majesty’s frigate Vesta arrived
in Barbadoes, and through the influence of the
commander of the Vesta, Capt. Nichols, with-
out any known or pretended cause, was arrest-
ed and held in close confinement, without
liberty to speak to any of his officers or any
other American. The place where Captain
Nichols was confined was about four feet in
width and about seven feet in length, on board
a prison ship, where he remained for thirty-
four days, as nearly as I can recollect, and
was then taken on board his Majesty’s ship
Tribune and carried to England, What the
cause of the unwarrantable and unjustifiable
conduct of the enemy towards Capt. Nichols
was,. I am unable to stale: there were several
reports in circulation ; one was, that lie was to
be. c irritsd to England and held a prisoner un-
til the release of certain men in France, from
whom captain Nichois recaptured his vessel,
which had been taken by the British before the
commencement of the present war between the
two countries: another report was, that he
was to he held until the close of the war on ac-
count of his having been active against the ehe
my sines (he commencement of hostilities, and
having been fortunate, in a former cruize.
JAMES FOOT.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
Essex, ss. ‘ ‘ h ' '
On this, thirty-first day of May, in the year
of our Lord 1818, personally appeared JWnes
Foot, the subscriber to the foregoing d^osi-
tion and made solemn oath that the same is t£ue.
Before line t .
JACOB GERRISH,
J notice of the Peace.
Extract of a leftrv from the Commissary Genera^fY,
oj prisoner.’:, to Alexander Stewart} Esq. Unit-
ed. State)’ (tg.ni for prisoners, at Jamaica,
dated ■ ■■ ■.
" May 1st, 1813.
“1 enclose you a. eb#y uf an advertisement,
said to have been taken, from a Jamaica news-
paper, apparently put forth by the British
agent for prisoners, proposing to hire out Ame-
rican prisoners: you will enquire intp this
matter, and if it be, as has been stated, you
will remonstrate strongly against such a prac-
tice ; and inform me of the practice, > and the
result.”
[Referred to in the preceding extract.]
Port Royal, 25th November, 1812.
Masters of vessels aijout to proceed to Eng-
land with convoy, are informed that they mal
be supplied with a limited number of American
seamen (prisoners of war) to assist in naviga-
ting their vessels, on the usual terms, by apply-
ing to
GEORGE MAUDE, agent.
Extract from a memorial addressed to the Secre-
tary of State by James Orm Joseph B. Cook,
Thomas Humphries and others, masters of Ame-
rican vessels, who were prisoners of war in Eng-
land, and returned to the United States in the
cartel ship Ro/nnson-Potter.
“ We shall now proceed to give as correct a
statement as we can of the treatment of our
countrymen (prisoners of war) by the British
in England, On the arrival at Plymouth of the
masters, first mates, supercargoes and passen-
gers, hey are sent to Mill prison for one day
and night; they have an iron bedstead to sleep
on, with a small matrass which might easily be
put into a country man’s wallet, and a small
coarse blanket. The allowance for Pfventy-four
hours is three small salt herrings or about the
same weight of salted cod fish, or half a pound
of beef, one and a half pounds of black bread,
a little salt, he. The second day they are pa-
roled and sent to Ashburton, twenty-four mil^j
from Plymouth; they must pay their own ex-
pences to get there. While they are there, they
are allowed In. 3d. per diem, or 8s. 9d. sterling
per week. Beef is lOcl. per pound, bread in pro-
portion, and every other necessary equally dear.
The mates, who have nothing but their pay to
live upon, join together 8 or 10 in a nicas, hire
a room and do their own cooking, washing, &c.
and in this way make out to keep from starv-
ing. Masters, supercargoes and. passengers
generally have other resources, through their
correspondents in England, and make out to
live, by great economy, at from 30 to 35a. sterl-
ing per week; the second mates and other of-
ficers are sent on board the different prison
ships. On board some of them they are treat-
ed by the commanding officer as well as the na-
ture of the situation will admit; on board of
some others they are very badly treated. This,
it will naturally occur to you, sir, i3 owing to
the different characters of the different cum-
mar.ders Their allowance is 10 1-2 lb. brown
bread, 2 1-2 lb. beef, 2 lb. bad fish, 2 lb. pota-
toes, and 10 ounces barley per week for each
man, and 5 ounces of salt per week for ten men.
The prison ships are kept very filthy, and the
prisoners are confined below at 4 P. M. and are
kept in that situation until 7 or 8 A. M. At
Portsmouth particularly, the^ are very sickly,
and we are informed die very fast, some days
from 8 to 10 ; in fact, they are very sickly on
board all of them ; several of this description
came home with us in the Robinsop-Potter car-
tel, apd had, when they came on board, the ap-
pearance of having mt\de their escape from a
church yard. It is not, perhaps, amiss that we
should state what we firmly believe; that is,it
is (he policy of the British government to se-
lect the sickly to be first sent in cartels, and
keep the hale and hardy seamen until they be-
come sickly, thus rendering-the whole of those
gallant sons of Neptune who escape deaih,
when they return to their homes, at least for
sometime, perfectly useless to themselves and
quite so to their country from their debilitated
state; and, in faot, the probability is, that many
of them will carry to tiieir graves the indelible
stamp upon their constitutions of the treatment
which they received on board British prison
ships ; for that nation seems to have lost its
boabted humanity, and if we did not find the
word in their vocabulary we should suppose it
had never found a place there. Many of the
seamen, prisoners on board those prison-ships,
arc impressed Americans who have given them-
selves up, refusing to fight against their coun-
try. Four hundred on board the fleet in the
Mediterranean, a short lime before we left Eng-
land, surrendered themselves and were sent to
Gibraltar h England; several of them were most
severely flogged for refusing to do their duty,
were put in irons, and most of them to their im-
mortal credit, submitted to the severest punish-
ment in preference to assist the enemies ofllieir
country. Suine of us, whose signatures are an-
nexed, were witnesses to the cruel fact. A tablet
of gold :s not rich enough to inscribe the names
of such men upon, and when a country can
boast of such seamtn, she bus nothing to fear
from the,enemy on the ope n on an equal foot-
ing. Captain Judathan Upton, late master of
the private armed brig Hunter, of Salem, of 14
guns, because he threw them overboard in
cliase, was not allowed liis parole, but kept in
close confinement for a long time in Mill prison,
and lately has been sent on board a prison-ship
at Chatham. We mention these facts in hopes
dial government will retaliate exactly in the
same way. Capt. Samuel Turner, late master
of i lie Purse schooner, of New-York, was taken
on his passage to France in October, 1811,
prior to the war, and in re-taking his vessel,
the prize-master, a British midshipman, was
killed; lie arrived safely in France, and on liis
return to America was again taken, in June,
1812, and sent to England, when being recog-
(board the St. Salvador, admiral Calder’s flag
snip, at Plymouth, where he remained a close
prisoner until about January or February las;,
when he was sent on hoard the prison ship a;
. Chatham, where we fear lie will remain uni it
death relieves him : he has been very ill treat
ed, much abused, put in irons, and after-
wards threatened to be hanged. These facts,
some of us who sign tiiis, were witness to. We.
pray, in the name of justice, that goverwnen.
will take without delay, the case of captain Tur-
ner into tiieir serious consideration; itiaacasc
which we think demands it, and the only way
to prevent that nation from committing further
outrages so degrading to hurrian nature. \7e
find in Roman history, that an injury or^insult
offered to a Roman citizen by a foreign power
was considered as an insult offered the wh.de
Roman nation, and hope this, will also be the
American creed, because we believe it will be
the surest way of putting a slop to those indig-
nities wfiich Americans have so often been obli-
ged to suffer. We are, imwever, no advocates
for cruelty, but on tlie'contrary, for lenity ; yet
Ave ill still believe, that in certain cases ref-
lation is not only necessary hut becomes a duty
to prevent further
enemy.”
cruellies on the part of an
Arassau, Aoveinber 27, 1812.
Deati Brother—»I embrace this, live earli-
est opportunity of communicating to you, that
on the 9th inst. fifteen day s out, we fell in
with and ca. tured the fine copper-bottomed
ship Venus, vessel and cargo worth at least
twenty-five thousand dollars, On the 12th,
pursuing our course and within five days run
of your place, we were captured by his majes-
ty’s sloop Moselle, George Moubray comman-
der, a id brought into this place. We remain-
ed on board the sloop two or three days, and
on tiie 19 ii were transferred from thence to
the prison ship where we are now imprisoned,
with an allowance of 6 oz. of bread, 3 gills of
nee, 8 oz. of the worst of beef, including
bone, which is as much hS meat, with as much
brackish water as we can use; guarded day
and night by' 10 or 15 savage Africans, who
are total strangers to humanity, and confined
every evening at sun down, not to be released
until next morning sun rise, abused to the low-
est degree by tke guard, and compelled to find
salt for and cook our own victuals with green
mangoes. None of us are ever permitted, un-
der any conditions whatever, to visit the shores,
with many other barbarous acts, which are too
numerous to describe. 'This will be conveyvd
by the cartel sloop, captain Cooper, being the
second cartel which lias sailed since our arrival
here. A sni.ooner from Baltimore was only al-
io wed 8 men, and Cooper, who brought 64 pri-
soners, is only allowed 18 in return, v, bile we,
18 in number, are detained in this miserable
pLc'a; for which we cannot assign any reason,
except to punish us as privateersmen, or as
hostages for those 12 lately detained in Charlss-
ton ; this lyst is the general belief, and as such,
I deem a communication of the circumstance
essential to commodore Dent, commander of
the southern station, that he may look to it
and enquire the cause whv Americans are to
be detained here two or three months, while
more prisoners have been received here, by a
great many, than what have been sent to the
United States. Men who have arrived here
since we, have been sent off; they proceed
with no degree of regularity in the exchange
of prisoners, and act in open contradiction to
everything right, and really believe, that ex-
cept you make known the circumstance and
use some favorable exertions, tlpit some of us
will be intentionally detained until the end of
our present contest with G. Britain. As I wish
your exertions for our exchange, I have sub-
joined a list of those who are thus miserably
treated, that we may' be demanded in a proper
way. The li'.pid’s crewxhave been imprisoned
here near three months, and have now no pros-
pect of getting away, while the crews of two
other privateers have been released.
Crew of the Lovely Lass,
Lieut Autine Lambert John Gamache
Win. L. Robeson
William Thomas
John Crandel
David Ashton
Rapid’s Crew.
Captain Lamcson James T. Miller
Feter La Vella Francis Martin
George Alexander Gaugion Bigulovvs
Other Prisoners.
Simon West Mathew Bridge''
I wrote Mr. Peck and requested him to for-
ward me a letter of introduction to some one
here, and also a protection shewing that I am
an American. As it is possible that he may not
get my letter, you will notice my request and
pay that attention which it deserves. I men-
tioned in my letter to Mr. Peck, that any
funds which I received here would be return-
ed on application, as my expedilures will, thro’
ari economical principle, be as small as possi-
ble. I indulge the hope that you will conform
to my wishes in this particular, and also inform
Mr Kelly of our imprisonment here, and re-
quest his influence ir. facilitating our exchange,
with any other service.
We have no chance of gaining information
here. Every person uses every exertion to
keep us in ignorance; however, we are enabled
to say, that the English prisoners have gene-
rally combined in speaking of the treatment
they received in the U. States.
I arn your affectionate brother,
WM L. ROBESON.
Capt. Thomas J. Robeson.
!v. B. The MoSeRe, Rhodian and Variable,
three men of war, have just convoyed 5 «r 6
vessels over the bar bound to some part of Eng-
land, it is supposed that they will return to
cruize off Charleston. In case you addresser
send any thing for me to this pi ce, you will
direct to the care of Messrs. Bain, Dunshe &
Co. merchants here. I am yours, he.
W. L. R.
Hartford, May .9, IS 13.
Sin—Annexed is captain Samuel Chew’s de-
position taken before judge Edwards at New
Haven. Wc expected it in season to have for-
warded it by Mr. Dodd, but received it last
evening by Mr. Huntington, the U. States’ At-
torney for Connecticut district, and now for-
ward it to you per mail. Yours respectfully,
LU I'lIER SAVAGE, St Co.
lion. James Monroe.
Connecticut District, ss.
On this day, the 7li of May, in the year
of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirteen,
personally came before me, Pierpont Edwards,
judge of the district court of ihe U. State..,
tor the district aforesaid, Samuel Chew, ol
the city of New Haven, in the said district,
and being duly sworn, deposeth, that h.,
was at Bridgeloy n, in the island of Bar.
John Hynes
Darius Swain
John M’Kenzie
nized, he VW i®mediut$lyau’ested ajid Benton J badpes, in the West Indies, in the month
of February, now .last past; that on lo,.il
a British prison-ship, at Barbadoes, there
were confuted about 523 Anieric n pri*
soiiers, of the crews of private rmed vessels
of the United St .tes and mercKantm'giij cap-
tured since the war. At the time tire depo-
nent was at. Ii .rbadoes the American prisoners
were supplied with bread, and sov.e meat; atf
to vegetables, the deponent was not informed.
The regulations on board the said priS'V-ship
compelled the prism ers to go below decks,
where they were c nfined at evening and until
iciorijing; :is many as could, were suspended
in hammocks, and still there was not snfnrfont
room below them for all to lie down. Ir. this
respect the situation of the prisoners was not
only extremely ui comfortable, but hazardous,
and more especially, should there be, as was
apprehended, a scarcity of provisions during
th.e approaching hot months. The deponent
was riot permitted to go on board said prison
ship, but-dt rived his information from masters
of vessels, prisoners at said island, who were
allowed occasionally to goon board said prison
ship, with whom the deponent is personally
acquianted, and in whose representations he
lias the most perfect confidence, and entertains
no doubt ofthe facta by them stated ; and thi»
statement is givvn at tfie request of the friends
of some of the prisoners at Barbadoes, pai Mcu-
larly ofthe crew of tfie priVateer Blockade, of '
Hartford. - ; ! .
PIERPONT EDWARDS.
District Judge of Conn cticut district.
I, Pierpont Edwards, judge of the district
court ofthe United States for the Connecticut
district, do hereby certify and make known to
all whom it may concern, that captain Samuel
Chew, the within named depohent, is a gentle-
man to me well known, having known him for
many years; lie is the son of captain Samuel
Cnev, fate of the city of New Haven, deceased,
and who fell by a cannon ball on board an
American vessel during.the revolu ionary war: *
that the said deponent is a man of sti icr int g-
rity, and attached to the constitution and go-
vernment of the United States, and the most
perfect confidence is due to his said representa-
tions so as aforesaid sworn to.
PIERPONT EDWARDS.
District judge of Connecticut district.
MILV1LLE PRISON,
August 30, 1812.
SIR, We the subscribers, for ourselves and
our countrymen now confined as prisoners of
war in Milville prison, Halifax, Nova Sci tia,
beg leave to represent to the American go-
vernment—That most of us have tor years
past, made commerce our sole employment and
hope, in which, for seven years or more, we
have often been wantonly robbed by the Eng-
lish of what we had acquired by industry and
danger, and while they stript us of our prop, r-
ty, they often treated us with the greatest in-
dignity, and even barbarity'.
We have seen and known that they have
often violated the sacred privilege of individual
liberty and the law of nations/ Wc are con-
scious of the long forbearance of our govern-
ment, and their repeated calls upon the honor
and justice of the British nation, which, in-
stead. of redress, added other injuries; and
when the hope of amicable remuneration had
failed, and for retaliation our government wa9
forced to the last resort, an appeal to arms,
we felt the justness of our cause and hoped
for the blessng of heaven for success. To
serve our country and to make up the losses
which we had sustained, we, under com-,
missions from the President of toe- United
States, entered on board of private armed ves-
sels, and have unfortunately been captured
by the British. We would s.ate, that in
many instances after we had struck our co-
lors, we were fired upon by cannon and itius-
kets, broadsides and vq!<vys, ,and 9ome of our
men killed, and after our captors had come on
board some of us h«ve been struck and se-
verely wounded with cutlasses, without the
least provocation for such inhumanity. (Air
American protections have been forced from
ns and destroyed, and some native American
citizens have been taken out of our privateers
and put on board British ships, and there
obliged to serve. Most of us have been robbed
of every thin£, even of necessary clothing—.
When we were going from the ships to prison
the officers would not permit us to take our
clothing and biggage with us, but pledged
themselves that they should be sent to prison;
but disregarding their honor, we have lost all-
Some of us have been marched thirty, and
some sixty, and some one hundred nd sixty
miles over a miserable country, forced along
beyond our strength, half starved,' and some
in irons. Our allowance, each man per day,
one and an half pounds 6f bread, half pound
poor beef, well proportioned with bone, one gill
of peas, one-third oz. of salt. We are without
wearing apparel and without money, or any ~
means of procuring them. A cold winter in
this wretched country fast approaches, and in
our destitute situation we must endure every
thing, and many of us must perish. There are
now of us in prison upwards of twelve hundred.
Every art has been practised by the English
officers to excite disaffection in our men to
the American government, and to indupe them
to enter intp the English se vice. Necessity
may oblige some to desert us and enter into
British servitude, but w. trust that speedy re-
lief from our government will save them from
that wretched alternative of perishing with
want or joining our enemies. For ourselves
and the rest of the prisoners, we must say, we
have now no fortune to devote to the service of
our country, bytwe have hearts which yet feel
warmly the general impulse, and which we
pledge, if opportunity ever again presents,
to devote in the interest and service of our
country. We are now sufferers, but will cheer-
fully suffer every hardship of war rather than
sue for dishonorable peace.
We respectfully request an exchange or some
provision for relief. We feel ’ he fullest confi-
dence in our government, and that we need on-
ly to apprize them of our situation to insure
their assistance and protection.
Yours, he.
Joseph Starr, Boston,
Frederick Johnson, New York,
Robert M’Kearney, New York,
Richard Rhea, New Jersey,
George Balterman, Boston,
John Hazelton, Boston,
William Dyer, Boston,
Jaulles Trask, Boston,
Solomon Norton, Boston,
Alex. B. Latham, New London,
Darius Denison, New York,
Eastwick Pray, Portsmouth,
William Temold, Portsmouth,
Tobes'Dala, Portland^
Chs. Thompson, jun. New York,
Honorable James Monroe,
Secretary of State,
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
National Intelligencer. (Washington City [D.C.]), Vol. 13, No. 2025, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 14, 1813, newspaper, September 14, 1813; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth995993/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .