The captain of the sloop kindly kept us on board his vessel for two weeks; after which we were sent on board of a prison ship, where we remained eight months. While here we fared very poorly, having only half a pound of meat, a pound of bread and a gill of peas per day. There were nine hundred American prisoners confined in this vessel, shut out from home and all its many endearments. Many of them were sick with yellow fever, and met here their final exit far from friends and home.
After the expiration of the above time, six of us got away, by swimming about a fourth of a mile to a vessel which lay at anchor in the harbor, the jolly boat of which we made bold to take into our possession, and steered out of the port through a great number of men-of-war in safety.
Early the next morning, we captured a small fishing canoe manned by five slaves, from which we took a turtle, four fish, a sail and three paddles. Immediately afterwards we heard the alarm guns fired aboard of the ship from which we had but just made our escape. We then made for shore, drew our boat into a swamp, and lay concealed all of that day. When night came, we drew our boat to the water and pulled away for St. Domingo. The next day we discovered an English Drogger, manned with slaves, seventeen in number, and loaded with porter and cheese. This craft we boarded and took possession of, after putting the slaves aboard of our craft and giving them a small part of the loading of the vessel. We then steered away for New Orleans, but ill luck again attended us, for we had not had possession of her but a few hours before an English man-of-war gave chase to, and compelled us to run ashore to save being retaken. But we had not been on shore long before we were again taken by some soldiers and marched about thirty miles back into the country, and lodged in a stone jail, where we remained 25 days. Then we were marched down to the sea shore and put aboard the Sea-Horse frigate, and carried back to Port Royal, where we were put in irons and again placed on board the prison ship. Thus were all our hopes of freedom again destroyed, when we thought our liberty was almost within our grasp. After this we were kept on half the usual quantity of provisions for about a month, to pay us for our love of liberty and fresh air, and hard pay we thought it was too.
We were again put in irons and otherwise harshly treated, and had given up all hope of ever seeing our native shores, when one day soon after this, Captain Joseph Merryhew, from Wilmington, in Delaware, was brought on board the prison ship with nine other prisoners. This man knew, and inquired of me how long I had been a prisoner. I told him, and he promised to help me to obtain my freedom; which promise he faithfully kept. He was a freemason, and a kind hearted man, and to his influence I own my early release from the miseries of imprisonment, which I had borne for nearly a year. This humane man procured not only my release but a large number more of my poor countrymen. This was a happy change to men who were sighing for freedom.
We hoisted sail sometime in the month of August, 1814, and steered away for Baltimore. Our ship was called the William Penn. Captain Turner. In about eighteen days after leaving Port Royal, we made Cape Henry, on the Virginia coast, where we found a British blockading fleet at anchor, the commander of which ordered us to Philadelphia, to which port we steered away, but we had the bad luck to strike upon the shoals of Barnegat, during a thick fog that came on that afternoon, but after three hours hard labor we got off and went on our voyage and soon made the Delaware bay, which was also blockaded. Here we were again refused the privilege of going into port, but were ordered to Boston, and were told by the British officers to get out to sea within three hours or they would fire into us. At this time we were almost out of provisions and water. Of this we made the tyrant officers acquainted, but they utterly refused either to furnish us with these necessaries or permit us to enter Philadelphia. So we were again compelled to go to sea with one day's provisions and water, and steered away for Boston. The next day about 10 o'clock, A.M., we made Great Egg Harbor. The crew then told the Captain that he must go ashore, for they would not stay aboard and starve.—He said he dared not do it. They then told him that they would give him half an hour to think of it, and if he did not then comply that they should take the ship ashore. He however complied, and we steered away accordingly. We were soon aground and were compelled to throw overboard all the ballast, casks, and every thing on board; however, after much hard struggling with the sand and waves we got over the bar, and got as near shore as possible, where we drove stubs down to keep the vessel. After which, we stripped her of all her rigging and sails. The next morning we saw the shore lined with the militia of New Jersey, who took us to be an enemy, but they soon found their mistake. Instead of an enemy, they found us a poor set of weather-beaten, starved fellows. Soon after this, the Custom-House officer sent down boats and took us off, and carried us to the village that was near by, and gave us all a good dinner; after which, we dispersed; some went to New-York, and some to Philadelphia. This was about the middle of September, 1814. Two hundred and seven of the crew started the next day after we got ashore, for Philadelphia by land, which was about one hundred and fifty miles. With this number I journeyed. We suffered much on our journey, being destitute of money, and being compelled to beg what little we eat on the road. At night we slept in the woods. We were seven days in getting to the place of our destination, two of which we eat nothing but whortleberries, which we picked by the way side. On the third day a Friend Quaker kindly provided us with a good breakfast and gave us money to pay our bridge fare. This man's name was John Rogers; and of him it may be truly said, "he did unto others as he would have them do unto him." How few of the pious of this covetous age can be found to exhibit as much real disinterested benevolence as this man did. After this we did not suffer for want of food.
We arrived at Philadelphia, and from thence we went either to sea or to our several homes. After getting my pay, I went again to see my parents at Westport. Here I stayed until spring, when I again shipped aboard the ship Traveller, Jonathan Kendricks, master. The crew numbered seventeen souls, principally Cape Cod men. We sailed for the Straits of Belisle, where we went after codfish. We sailed as far north as Esquimaux bay, where we took in one hundred and sixty thousand fish in the short space of forty-five days. We then sailed for Boston. When off Nantucket we experienced a severe gale, which continued all one night, during which time the ship struck on the shoals; but after two hours we got off and put into Chatham, on Cape Cod. We lost our main-mast during this gale, and all the boats but one; besides this, we lost one man by the name of Hagars, who fell from the fore-top and was drowned. We dried our fish at Chatham and refitted before sailing for Boston, at which place we arrived some time in December. Here we disposed of our fish and returned to New Bedford and stayed until spring.
The next trip which I made to sea, was in the brig America, of 200 tons, William Dagget, master. We sailed from Boston with a crew of ten men, and twenty-five passengers, on a cruise to New Orleans, which we made in twenty days.
While Opposite Cape Florida, we fell in with a pirate schooner, which gave chase to us by coming down upon our larboard quarter, and giving us a gun which passed through our bulwark. Our Captain at this juncture advised a surrender of our vessel, but the mate declared he would not give up if the men would stand by him. The passengers told him they would fight as long as there was a man left. They then stripped off their coats, and we cleared for action. We then fired a broad side, which cut away the pirate's main-mast and killed several of her crew. We fired several broad-sides, and the passengers fired the small arms to good effect, for the enemy soon wore away to windward and got off as soon as possible by means of their oars. We saw several dead bodies floating on the water belonging to the pirate crew. We had but one man wounded and none killed.
We stayed at New Orleans three weeks, took in a load of Cotton, and again sailed for Providence, where we arrived after a passage of thirty days. Here we discharged our cargo and took in a set of ballast, and after staying about twenty days we again set sail for Richmond, in Virginia, after flour. We took in 1700 barrels of flour at the latter place and after staying about three weeks again set sail for Boston, where we arrived after a sail of fifteen days. Here we were paid off and discharged; after which I went home to New Bedford, my parents at this time being dead. Here I stayed until the next June, 1817, when I shipped aboard of the Alexander Barclay, Captain Joseph Dunbar, bound to Baltimore, for Cotton, Fustick, and Tobacco-stalks. After loading our vessel with the above articles, we set sail for Bremen, a town in Germany, on the river Weser. We had three passengers, Dr. Jamison, wife and daughter. We were four weeks in loading our vessel and thirty days on our passage to Bremen. We had an excellent Captain. At Bremen we stayed but three weeks, discharged our freight, took in ballast, and two passengers, a Swedish lady and her daughter. From here we sailed to Gottenburgh, which took us fifteen days. Here we took in a load of Iron, stayed four weeks, and again set sail for New Bedford, which place we reached in forty-seven days thereafter. We went north about between Scotland and the Ferroe Islands.—When on the banks, we saw large islands of ice which contained a number of hundred acres, and some of them one hundred and fifty feet high. We arrived at New Bedford about the first of January, 1818. The next year I spent principally around home. But in May 1819, I shipped aboard of the brig Traveller again, on a cruise to Cape Harrison, in latitude 65 degrees north, where we took in twelve hundred quintals of codfish. While here we killed four white bears. Wild geese were very plenty. We saw the Esquimaux Indians a number of times sailing in their skin canoes. We made this voyage in about six months. We sold our fish at Boston, and went home to Bedford, where all hands were paid off and discharged.
The next voyage that I made was with Captain Joseph Gardner, to Matanzas, in the ship William, for Molasses, Coffee, and Sugar. This was in the year 1820. The seas were thickly infested with pirates at this time, which detained us eighteen days after we were loaded. Captain Porter at this time lay off Matanzas, in the sloop Peacock. He had a number of schooners also under his command, two of which convoyed us with sixty other merchantmen across the Bahama banks.