In the Revolutionary War, many captured soldiers, sailors, and rebellious civilians were held in hellish “prison ships”. These forgotten men were among the most patriotic Americans because almost all turned down British offers of pardon and a bounty in exchange for joining the British navy. Only about 8% were successfully recruited. The first prison ship was the Whitby which was anchored in New York harbor. Soon, several prison ships were anchored off New York City. Other sites were Charleston, Savannah, and Norfolk. Thousands of prisoners of war were held over the course of the Revolution. It is estimated that as many as 11,000 died. This means more prisoners died on British prison ships than those killed in action. The most infamous ship was the Jersey. It was an old 64 gun man of war. One victim described the mistreatment. “I soon found that every spark of humanity had fled the breasts of the British officers who had charge of that floating receptacle of human misery: and that nothing but abuse and insult was to be expected.” The nights were the worst because the prisoners had to sleep below deck. You had little room to yourself. You might be in suffocating heat or bitter cold that could cause frostbite. It was hard to sleep due to the groans of the sick and dying, the curses or prayers of men, and the ravings of the insane. The air was so foul that sometimes a lantern could not be kept lit. It was said that sometimes dead bodies were not discovered for several days. In the morning, the dead would be removed and buried in the sands of the harbor, but not deep. Often the bodies would get exposed to where comrades on board could see the skeletal remains of friends. It is estimated that 6 men per day perished on the Jersey at the height of the Revolution. Men died from diseases like small pox, yellow fever, and dysentery. Some died of starvation, especially if you could not stomach the terrible food. This consisted of wormy bread and boiled beef or pork. After a few months, the men looked like skeletons with raggedy cloths. Lice and rats were an additional horror. Escapes were rare. Chris Hawkins, aged 17, managed to smash open a porthole during a thunder storm and swam several miles to shore, arriving naked, but with his hat. Conditions did improve after George Washington wrote letters to the British authorities complaining about the mistreatment. But it still was horrible. Let’s tip our historical hat to these super-patriots who chose not to become traitors just to get out of hell.
https://www.history.com/news/british-prison-ships-american-revolution-hms-jersey
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1935/march/new-york-prison-ships-american-revolution
https://allthingsliberty.com/2019/03/walking-skeletons-starvation-on-board-the-jersey-prison-ship/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoners_of_war_in_the_American_Revolutionary_War
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