In 1812 prisoners broke their parole in batches. From Tiverton at one time, twelve; from Andover, eight (as recorded on pp. [384]–5); from Wincanton, ten; and of these, four were generals and eighteen colonels.
In the Quarterly Review, December 1821, the assertion made by M. Dupin, in his report upon the treatment of French prisoners in Britain, published in 1816, and before alluded to in the chapter upon prison-ships, that French officers observed their parole more faithfully than did English, was shown to be false. Between May 1803, and August 1811, 860 French officers had attempted to escape from parole towns. Of these, 270 were recaptured, and 590 escaped. In 1808 alone, 154 escaped. From 1811 to 1814, 299 army officers escaped, and of this number 9 were generals, 18 were colonels, 14 were lieutenant-colonels, 8 were majors, 91 were captains, and 159 were lieutenants. It should be noted that in this number are not included the many officers who practically ‘escaped’, in that they did not return to England when not exchanged at the end of their term of parole.
From the Parliamentary Papers of 1812, I take the following table:
Transport Office, June 25, 1812.
| Number of all French Commissioned Officers, Prisoners of War, on Parole in Great Britain. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total No. Com. Officers on parole. | No. that broke parole. | Been retaken. | Escaped. | ||
| Year ending 5th June 1810 | 1,685 | 104 | 47 | 57 | N.B. The numbers stated in this account include those persons only who have actually absconded from the places appointed for their residence. A considerable number of officers have been ordered into confinement for various other breaches of their parole engagements. (Signed) Rup. George. J. Bowen. J. Douglas. |
| Year ending 5th June 1811 | 2,087 | 118 | 47 | 71 | |
| Year ending 5th June 1812 | 2,142 | 242 | 63 | 179 | |
| 5,914 | 464 | 157 | 307 | ||
| Besides the above, the following other prisoners of rank entitling them to be on parole, have broken it during the three years above mentioned. | 218 | 85 | 133 | ||
| 682 | 242 | 440 | |||
During the above-quoted period, between 1803 and 1811, out of 20,000 British détenus, not prisoners of war, in France, it cannot be shown that more than twenty-three broke their parole, and even these are doubtful.
Sometimes the epidemic of parole-breaking was severe enough to render drastic measures necessary. In 1797 orders were issued that all French prisoners, without distinction of rank, were to be placed in close confinement.
In 1803, in consequence of invasion alarms, it was deemed advisable to remove all prisoners from the proximity of the coast to inland towns, the Admiralty order being:
‘At the present conjunction all parole prisoners from the South and West towns are to be sent to North Staffordshire, and Derbyshire—that is, to Chesterfield, Ashbourne, and Leek.’
General Morgan at Bishop’s Waltham resented this removal so far away, in a letter to the Transport Office, to which they replied: