A Relic of the Revolution

by Charles Herbert

2. A man in prison received a letter from his brother, who is in the fleet. He informed him that he was in the engagement, and there was only twelve sail of the English fleet that engaged the French fleet; but I suppose that he was not allowed to write the particulars.

3. For these two months past, since we have been allowed pens, ink and paper, I have employed them to as much advantage as possible. Most of the time, I have busied myself in writing and cyphering. I have had as much writing to do as I could accomplish; and to-day I sent out to buy books and instruments to learn navigation. To-day a number more Frenchmen were brought to prison.

4. To-day one of the two shattered ships that lay in the Sound warped up, went to Ammoors, and the other lays opposite to our prison. To-day I began to study navigation.

5. A gentleman, who came to see us to-day, gave in half a guinea, to be drank by the prisoners; but we thought it better to divide it among the sick of the respective crews.

6. The masons and carpenters have been at work repairing an old prison in the yard; and this afternoon, as one of the laborers was at work, he pulled off his coat and hung it up against the prison, in the yard, and left the basket, that he had to bring slate in, with it. One of the prisoners went and put on the coat, and put the basket over his head, and went to the gate; and the turnkey, thinking it to be the laborer, let him out. As he was walking through the street, the laborer met him, knew his coat, and ran and alarmed the guard, who went in pursuit of him and soon took him.

7. We have been waiting impatiently to hear from the commissioners, for some time past, hoping that they would settle affairs; but we have had a flying report for some weeks, that they are likely to return as they went, without doing any thing. When they first sailed, it was the opinion of many in prison, that they were invested with full power to settle it; but soon after, we were convinced to the contrary.

8. From the Exeter paper we learn that there was only twenty-five sail of the line of battle-ships that engaged the French fleet, and that they had but five hundred and six men killed and wounded; but the royal hospital, where the wounded are, is but a small-arms’ shot from this prison, and we have been repeatedly and credibly informed by those who reside in the neighborhood, that there is upwards of a thousand wounded men in the hospital, and a cart is seen to carry away the dead every day. The engagement took place on the 27th of July.

9. Sunday. Last evening, as four men went to empty their tubs, two of them took to the water to swim away, but were soon taken up. The commissioner who was here a few weeks ago, came again to-day, to regulate affairs.

10. This afternoon the guard came in and turned us all out, and locked the doors, which aggravated many, who wanted to be in prison—some reading, some writing, some cyphering, and some studying navigation. Some went and picked the locks, opened the doors, and went in; upon this the guard came in again, and turned us all out and placed a sentry at the prison doors. Two men, out of spite, went to fighting, and it took most of the guard to separate them. Soon after, another fight happened, and about the same time the commissioner came into the yard, and ordered one of them to be sent to the Black-hole. In all this disturbance, the officers of the guard appeared very mild and calm; they are officers in the militia. Most of those that have been on guard since we have been guarded by the militia, have behaved very well towards us, and very much like gentlemen, as they are chiefly gentlemen of fortune. To-day the other three men were brought back that made their escape from prison on the 30th of July, in the evening.

11. Those who were brought back yesterday, were sent up out of the Black-hole to-day. They tell us that they would not go out again if the gates were set open; for they said it is a thing impossible, to get off the island. While they were out, they saw a number of ships belonging to Admiral Keppel’s fleet, which lay where we cannot see them from the prison, that were very much shattered and disabled in the engagement.