Prisoners of War at Dartmoor
American and French Soldiers and Sailors in an English Prison During the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812
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About the Book
The incarceration of French and American prisoners of war in Dartmoor Prison, at a time when Britain was at war with both its traditional enemy and the young nation of former British colonies, was a dark and unusual episode. Acts of cruelty and degradation were countered by defiance and a spirited loyalty by the prisoners to their respective countries. Much of the story is told firsthand by those who were there, against a background of warfare and glorious victories on all sides.
The author relates how a barren landscape that was (and is) subject to the worst of winter weather was transformed into a thriving township by one very determined man, Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, and why such a place was chosen to build a prison. The design and construction of the prison are described, as are the experiences of the men held in the harsh, overcrowded conditions of Dartmoor. From May 1809 to February 1816, 271 American and more than 1100 French prisoners of war died in confinement.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Trevor James
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 244
Bibliographic Info: 56 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7407-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0342-1
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by John Lawrence 1
Preface 3
Introduction 7
Prologue: A Sad Corner of England in 1812 9
1. The Saga Begins 13
2. A Start Is Made 24
3. The Prison Is Built 33
4. The Militia 44
5. How the Depots Were Run 48
6. Life Inside the War Depot 56
7. French Freemasons at Dartmoor 68
8. Ways Out of Dartmoor and the Hulks 74
9. The Americans Arrive 82
10. Yankee Ways 91
11. More Tribulations, Then Better Times 100
12. Dartmoor Becomes an American Depot 108
13. Escapes 114
14. Frustration and a New Regime 121
15. The Princetown Massacre 129
16. The Inquiries into the “Melancholy Occurrence” 140
17. Privateers 153
18. Voices from Dartmoor Prison 158
Benjamin Brown 158
Benjamin Palmer 162
Charles Andrews 166
George Little 171
Perez Drinkwater 175
Other Journals 178
19. Survivors 183
20. The Depot’s Final Days 186
21. Mortality Rates and the Price of Victory 194
22. Princetown Church and Memorials 199
Epilogue 213
Appendix 1: Those Who Died 215
Appendix 2: Chronology of Dartmoor Prison 222
Chapter Notes 224
Bibliography 228
Index 231
Book Reviews & Awards
“dozens of images…dramatically illustrate the depot and prisoners’ lives…James knows the material and has walked the ground”—Naval History; “full of interesting details of the origins of the prison itself and life within its walls”—The Mariner’s Mirror; “This author is a well known authority on Dartmoor Prison and here in his new book he tells us what it would have been like to have lived in this hell hole they called the Dartmoor Depot”—Dartmoor News; “James’s study of the harrowing captivity of more than six thousand Americans in the British prison called Dartmoor is a significant contribution to our knowledge about the conflict and the treatment of prisoners of war more broadly”—H-Net Reviews.
