Notwithstanding the hatred of Hamilton and De Jeane; I spent the forepart of the winter very happily, until the 25th of Jan. 1778, when several Merchants of the town got permission to go to Sandusky to trade, and as they proposed encamping about two leagues from the town, myself and several others in a friendly manner, proposed and did accompany them in our sleighs to their first stage; but on our return, I being a head, was challenged by De Jeane, at the head of thirty or forty soldiers, by asking who came there? To which I replied, John Dodge; he then ordered the soldiers to seize me and the two gentlemen in the sleigh with me, and forced us to return to the encampment we had just left, where he seized the whole of the gentlemen who were going by permission to Sandusky, with their goods, sleighs, &c. and carried the whole of us the next morning back to the fort, and charged us with sending out goods to supply (as he politely termed it) the rebels.
After being detained three days in prison I was taken to De Jeane's house to see my papers, books, desk, &c. examined. They broke open my desk pretending to have lost the key. On searching, they could not find any thing worth their notice, or what they expected to find. De Jeane then gave me my keys, and told me to send for my desk and take care of myself as he would watch me: I told him, as he had taken it from my home and broke it, he should mend it and send it home before I would receive it: Stop a little said he, I will speak to the Governor and fix you yet if I can; he then gave me into the case of the guard, and ordered me to goal. About the fifth day after this, not hearing any thing from him, I sent for my violin, and was diverting myself, when Governor Hamilton passed by, and inquired who was playing on the violin, to which the Corporal of the guard answer'd it was me. The next day De Jeane waited on me with a Blacksmith, who soon clapped on a pair of hand-bolts; and now, says De Jeane, I have fixed you, you may play the violin until you are tired; I asked him what I had done to be treated thus; for that you must apply to the Governor said he, for it is his pleasure that you are so: He then threatened to put on my leg bolts; on which I told him I did not value his irons, but if he kept me prisoner, I should look to him for my property, (about 3000l.) Yes, says he, we will fix you and your property too, and then left me. About six days after, I was taken to my own house, where two English and two Frenchmen, by order of the Governor, took an inventor of my goods, and soon after sold the whole at vendue, for about 1900l. New-York currency. Thus being a second time robbed of my property, I lay a prisoner as contented as possible, without any thing material happening until the first of May.
On the first of May 1778, I was put on board a vessel to go down to Quebec, and by some of my friends furnished with provision and necessaries for the voyage; but of these I was robbed by De Jeane, and had it not been for some gentlemen, passengers in the same vessel, I must have suffered with hunger. On the first of June I arrived at Quebec, where I was conducted to Mr. Printices the Provost Marshal! Ha! ha! says he, Mr. Dodge, are you here? I have often been told you were a damn'd rascal doing all you could against government. It is a pity Governor Hamilton did not hang you when he was about it, as he would have saved government a great deal of trouble. From hence I was conducted on board the prison ship Mariah, with a number of Farmers, taken off their plantations by the Savages.
Two days after I was put on board the prison ship, we were visited by Mr. Murray, Commissary of Prisoners, to whom I gave an account of my capture and ill usage; he told me, he would speak to the General, and give me an answer. Two days after, he came on board, and told me, as it was very difficult times, I could not have a hearing at present; I told him I wanted nothing but what the English constitution allowed, and if I could not get that in Quebec, I would apply to England; to which he replied I had better be easy, for if I did not, he would put me in irons again.
I remained on board the prison ship until the begining of August, when Mr. Murray came on board, and informed me that I was not to go with the prisoners; but if I would give my parole, I should be allowed the liberty of Quebec. I asked him the occasion I could not be sent with the other prisoners; he replied it was the Governor's orders: I asked him if I was to be allowed any support; he said, not any. I told him it was very hard to be dragged from my house, robbed of my property, deprived of my liberty, sent 1200. miles in irons, and still be held a prisoner in the town of Quebec, without any allowance for support: All my applications were in vain, I was set on shore under parole the fourth of August, and the ship sailed with the other prisoners soon after.
The cause of my detention, as I was afterwards told by Mr. Murray, was, that Governor Hamilton, of Detroit, had wrote the General not to send me round with the other prisoners; for if I got into the United States, he knew I would come immediately upon him, and as I knew the country, was well acquainted with the languages of the different Indians about the lakes, and had great influence among them, should be the means of their losing the fort, which would be much against the crown.
On my enlargement, I soon got acquainted with a number of gentlemen, who were friends to the United States, and the cause in which they were engaged. Some days after going on shore, I fell in company with a Mr. Jones, who happened at that time to be reading a letter sent by General Montgomery, while he lay before Quebec, to Gov. Carlton, and on concluding it said he hoped General Montgomery was in hell, and that all the rebels would soon be with him; to this I made a reply, words ensued, and then blows; he drew on me, but I parried his thrust with my cane, so that I only got a small wound on my knee: He then made a complaint and I was sent for by the General, who threatened to put me in confinement, if I did not find security; this I soon found, and bonds were given for me for two months: at the end of which, as they neglected renewing them and left me without parole or security, I hired an Indian guide, and on the ninth of Oct I quitted Quebec. After a fatiguing march through the woods, on the 20th of Nov. I arrived at Boston, where I was kindly received and politely treated by General Gates who supplied my wants and forwarded to me to his Excellency, General Washington; I, waited on him, was politely received and sent on to Congress, having some matters relating to Canada, worthy of their hearing.
Had the love of my country no ways prompted me to act against the tyranny of Britain. I leave it to the world to judge whether I have not a right to revolt from under the dominion of such tyrants and exert every faculty God has given me to seek satisfaction for the ill usage I received than if I had ten thousand lives, and was sure to lose them all: I think should I not attempt to gain satisfaction I should deserve to be a slave the remainder of my life.