Prisoners of War in Britain 1756 to 1815 / A record of their lives, their romance and their sufferings

by Francis Abell

As to the second influence. It is difficult to account for the fact that so interesting a page of our history should have remained unwritten. Even authors of fiction, who have pressed every department of history into their service, have, with about half a dozen exceptions, neglected it as a source of inspiration, whilst historical accounts are limited to Mr. Basil Thomson’s Story of Dartmoor Prison, Dr. T. J. Walker’s Norman Cross, and Mr. W. Sievwright’s Perth Depôt, all of which I have been permitted to make use of, and local handbooks.

Yet the sojourn among us of thousands of war prisoners between the years 1756 and 1815 must have been an important feature of our national life—especially that of officers on parole in our country towns; despite which, during my quest in many counties of England, Scotland, and Wales, I have been surprised to find how rapidly and completely the memory of this sojourn has faded; how faintly even it lingers in local tradition; how much haziness there is, even in the minds of educated people, as to who or what prisoners of war were; and how the process of gathering information has been one of almost literal excavation and disinterment. But the task has been a great delight. It has introduced me to all sorts and conditions of interesting people; it has taken me to all sorts of odd nooks and corners of the country; and it has drawn my attention to a literature which is not less valuable because it is merely local. I need not say that but for the interest and enthusiasm of private individuals I could never have accomplished the task, and to them I hope I have made sufficient acknowledgement in the proper places, although it is possible that, from their very multitude, I may have been guilty of omissions, for which I can only apologize.

FRANCIS ABELL

London, 1914.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER			PAGE
I.	International Recriminations		[1]
II.	The Exchange of Prisoners		[25]
III.	The Prison System—The Hulks		[37]
IV.	Life on the Hulks		[54]
V.	Life on the Hulks (continued)		[75]
VI.	Prison-Ship Sundries		[92]
VII.	Tom Souville: A Famous Prison-Ship Escaper		[103]
VIII.	The Prison System—The Prisoners Ashore. General		[115]
IX.	The Prisons Ashore:
	1.	Sissinghurst Castle	[125]
X.	2.	Norman Cross	[133]
XI.	3.	Perth	[155]
XII.	4.	Portchester	[166]
XIII.	5.	Liverpool	[186]
XIV.	6.	Greenlaw—Valleyfield	[196]
XV.	7.	Stapleton, near Bristol	[207]
XVI.	8.	Forton, Portsmouth	[215]
XVII.	9.	Millbay, Plymouth	[220]
XVIII.	10.	Dartmoor	[235]
XIX.	Some Minor Prisons		[262]
		Winchester	[262]
		Roscrow and Kergilliack	[264]
		Shrewsbury	[266]
		Yarmouth	[268]
		Edinburgh	[269]
XX.	Louis Vanhille: A Famous Escaper		[278]
XXI.	The Prison System—Prisoners on Parole		[284]
XXII.	Parole Life		[299]
XXIII.	The Prisoners on Parole in Scotland		[316]
XXIV.	Parole Prisoners in Scotland (continued)		[338]
XXV.	Prisoners of War in Wales		[357]
XXVI.	Escape Agents and Escapes		[365]
XXVII.	Escapes of Prisoners on Parole		[376]
XXVIII.	Complaints of Prisoners		[395]
XXIX.	Parole Life: Sundry Notes		[412]
XXX.	Parole Life: Sundry Notes (continued)		[432]
XXXI.	Variorum:
	1.	Some Distinguished Prisoners of War	[442]
	2.	Some Statistics	[449]
	3.	Epitaphs of Prisoners	[451]
INDEX			[455]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

		PAGE
Plait Merchants trading with the French Prisoners of War at Norman Cross		[Frontispiece]
From a painting by A. C. Cooke, Esq., in the Town Hall, Luton; reproduced here by permission of the artist.
French Sailors on an English Prison Ship		[42]
After Bombled.
Prison Ships		[45]
From a sketch by the Author.
Memorial to French Prisoners of War in the Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham		To face p. [46]
Garneray drawing an English Soldier		[62]
After Louis Garneray.
The Crown Hulk seen from the Stern		[67]
After Louis Garneray.
Exterior View of a Hulk		[72]
After Louis Garneray.
The Vengeance Hulk		[74]
After Louis Garneray.
Orlop deck of Brunswick Prison Ship, Chatham		[101]
After Colonel Lebertre.
Sissinghurst Castle		To face p. [126]
From an old print in the possession of Henry Neve, Esq., by whose permission it is reproduced.
Articles in Wood made by the Prisoners at Sissinghurst Castle, 1763		To face p. [132]
Reproduced by permission of the owner, Henry Neve, Esq.
Memorial to French Prisoners of War who died at Norman Cross. Unveiled July 28, 1914		[134]
Norman Cross Prison		[137]
Hill’s Plan, 1797–1803.
Coloured Straw Work-box, made by French Prisoners of War		To face p. [148]
Presented to the Author by Mrs. Ashley Dodd, of Godinton Park, Ashford, Kent.
The Block House, Norman Cross, 1809		To face p. [152]
From a sketch by Captain George Lloyd in the United Service Museum, Whitehall.
Portchester Castle		To face p. [166]
From the ‘Victoria History of England—South Hampshire’, by permission of Messrs. Constable & Co.
Plan of Portchester Castle, 1793		[168]
Clock made in Portchester Castle, 1809, by French Prisoners of War, from bones saved from their rations		To face p. [173]
In the Author’s possession.
Bone Model of H.M.S. Victory made by Prisoners of War at Portsmouth		To face p. [176]
In the possession of Messrs. Doxford & Sons, Pallion, Sunderland, by whose permission it is reproduced.
The Old Tower Prison, Liverpool		[187]
From an old Print.
Monument at Valleyfield to Prisoners of War		[199]
Stapleton Prison		To face p. [212]
From the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’, 1814.
Dartmoor War Prison, in 1812		[236]
From a sketch signed ‘John Wethems’ in the Public Record Office. Reproduced by permission of Basil Thomson, Esq., and Colonel Winn.
Dartmoor. The Original Main Entrance		[248]
From a sketch by the Author.
Wooden Working Model of a French Trial Scene made by Prisoners of War at Dartmoor		To face p. [251]
In the possession of Maberley Phillips, Esq., F.S.A., by whose permission it is reproduced.
Bone Model of Guillotine made by Prisoners of War at Dartmoor		To face p. [256]
Now in the Museum, Plymouth, and reproduced here by permission of the owner, Charles Luxmoore, Esq., from a photograph by Mr. J. R. Browning, Exeter.
Dartmoor Prison, illustrating the ‘Massacre’ of 1815		To face p. [260]
From Benjamin Waterhouse’s ‘Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts’.
Jedburgh Abbey, 1812		To face p. [347]
From a painting by Ensign Bazin, a French prisoner of war. Reproduced by permission of J. Veitch, Esq.
Bone Model of H.M.S. Prince of Wales made by Prisoners of War		To face p. [416]
Now in the United Service Museum, Whitehall.
La Tour d’Auvergne defending his Cockade at Bodmin		[443]
From Montorgueil’s ‘La Tour d’Auvergne’.

CHAPTER I
INTERNATIONAL RECRIMINATIONS

He who, with the object of dealing fairly and squarely with that interesting and unaccountably neglected footnote to British history, the subject of prisoners of war in Britain, has sifted to the best of his ability all available sources of information both at home and abroad, as the present writer has done, feels bound to make answer to the questions: