AilERICAE COPIPION SEAPIEN PRISONERS DB WAR fM BRITAXM DURING THE BBERICAN BEVOLUTfON Ralph Nelson Skinner B. A,, Occidental College, 1867 1 A THESIS SUBBITTED IN PABTIAL FULFILLBENT OF THE REQBLREHENTS FOR THE DBGfEE OB BASTER OF AWTS in the Departseat History > @ RALPH lJ3lSON SRINIBR 1975 SIMON f BBSEB UNZVEBSITX , September 1975 All sights reserved, This thesis way not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, vitbout pernission of the author, Don 5. Kirschner --w--*-~~-'~L"L-VII*I*--kZ-L->-y---------w----**--M------ I - Xean S. ronen fxtetnaf Exsetnsr 4ssoctste Profsfsar tlccioental Catfega~Cos dngefast Ca!ifi?rnia Data Bp~rovaa: ,,,Segfwber ,,,,,,,L,,,,,, 8 1975 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis I~issertation: American Revolution. Author: - . - - - / I ., / / (signature) Ralph Nelson Skinner (name ) December 9, 1975 (date) ABSTRACT The history of the coB@on man has &t to be uritten, This thesis atteatpts to begin that task by exploring the material left by the American common seaaten prisonefs of war: in Britain during the B merican fevolutioa, The secondary literature on the prisoners in the war for Aserican indepenuence has failed to distinguish between the experience of officers and that of the comaaq soldiers and seamen, Using the numerous diaries, journals, letters, petitions, and re~iniscencesof the prisoners during the American revolution, as well as the British documents and other contewporary scurces, resulted in the ~oaclusioathat distinguishing between the differeat captiye experiences of officer and comoner was treaendously significant Eor an understanding of the com~tan=an as WEPI as the pzisoner of war in the American revolutisa, Essential prereguisites for uaderstanding the outlook and reactions oi the Aaerican coaiaon seamen prisoners of war sere the oppressive relatienship of the British navy togard the colonial seamen, the lack of opportunities for advaaceatent irr colonial society, the manpawer needs of the British in the face of a naval war of attrition, and the iii uncertain legal status as grisoner or rebel, The expansion of the British e~pirenecessitated an enlarged nawy with ever increasing duties, Britain relied on the ancient prerogative of impressment to raise tbe needed men* Colonial seamen were eretapt f roop irapxessment in theory, thongh hardly in practice, A legacy of resentasat toward the Bzitish navy and a tradition of resistance aad desertion on the part of the colonial seamen set the stage for their loyal service on privateers in the war for isdependenae, The lack of other opportunities for advancement from the bottoa strata of colonial society resulted in a side range of people trying their hand at a life at sea, Aunavaf slaves, Indians, and Earmboys joined the traditional pool of seaboard citizens, making the group of seamen who fought for a chance to make their fortune as well as independence anything but a unified class of radical rebels. The traditional **psivate vatusen adprivateer prize shares tended to give the coaaon seaaan the look of the aspiring petty entrepreneur rather than working class ahlitant, A large number of the seaBen raised through impressment deserted British service, causing a continual strain on Britaints ability to supply crews for the waiting vessels, As a partial solution to this dileama, pressure was brought to bear on captured seamen to join the British service, The ambiguity over whether these captured seameu were traitorous rebels or prisoners deserving the protection of internationai precedents ccocerning tzea tment of prisoners of war was used as part of the British pressuring tactics, The prisoner resgoase was i~pressiveia its frequent escape attentpts and low number of en.listiwnts into British service. British reliaace upcn t ransputatioa of convices overseas prior to the outbreak of hostilities resnfted in aa less than adequate facitlities being available for prisoners of war and resorting to the *temporary expedientn qf using hulks ol decominissioaed ships for their confinement, Bhile Bulks continued to be used throughout the war, hospitals and barracks were converted to serve as the ~aiadepots for Baerican prisoners at Pf praioukh and Portsnoutft, With spacious grounds and relatively uncrowded bui2dings, these prisons were generally heal thy places of confine~eat, The low death rate of the prisoners confined in England is best attribnked to the efforts of the prisoners %henselvesto oktain adequate food and clothing and the suppport they recei~edfroa sympathizers in Britain, The role of the Baerican yovernraent thfough the agency of Benjaain Franklin in Prance has been much orerrated, The aid provided gas &ore in the fora of exteosion of credit to cover the expense of escape than maintenance of a healthy regimen for aff those remaining in prison, Efforts made by Franklin touafd expediting an exchange failed repeatedly, Cansideration of the harshness of the prisoa experience in Britain in the Americaa Revolution must take into account the two vorfds of experience--officer and common seaman, The difference between official British policy and the practice at the local level is also i~portant,the significant factor governing the coadition of the prisoners was the subscription funds raised by humanitarians and friends of the American cause, Concentration solely on the situation of the prisogers and crediting the low deatb rate to enlightened British policy is misguided, Likewise, a8 emphasis on the coapiaints of the prisoners without an analysis of the changes in their condition through the course of the gar leads to inaccurate conclusions, The treatma& of prisoners of war sust be viewed in a larger context including the need for manpower by the expanding British navy, the conf 1iytiag economic forces between Britain and the colonies, alwd the typical job conditions of the seaman in the eighteenth century- Oqly in comprehending these perspectives does an accurate picture of the common man begin to eBerge, TABLE CP CONTEKTS CHAPTER 1: IITRODUCTION FOOTNOTES CBAPTEZ 11: TBE BRITISH NAVY BBD TBE COLONIAL SEA&AN CHAPTER 1x1: HATUBE OF THE WAR CBAPTER IV: STATUS OF PRISCIEBS OF WAR FOOT NOTES CBAPTEB V: THE BRfTfSH PBISQN SYSTEM FOOTNOTES P CHAPTEB VI: P$ISOBEf EXPEBEENCE f N BBITAIN The history of the prisoner of war in the American R~VO~U~~QZ~is vesy much a record of the common man- Siaply in terms of nuwbers, enlisted soldiers and sailors constituted the vast mjority of the men Caken captive in the war of American indiependeace, The history of She cowon iaan in the American Re~olutionhas yet to be mitten, and, despite his numerical i~portanceas prisoner of war, he Bas not been the focus of the work done on prisoaers of war in the American Revolution- (3) This thesis is an attieapt to begin the task of writing that history of the common Ban. When historians have written about the coaaon soldier or seama, they have usually been concerned with his performance, 42) That is, the emphasis has bees placed on such things as the results of battles and the performance of the navy- This focus has left the actors in the dark, with only their collective deeds in the 3. ight 02 history, One of the difficulties of shedding fight on such actars is the paucity of primary source ~ateriafabout them- The prisoner in the American revolutionary war is an exceptioa to the dictum that the conmon man is coamon by the fact that he left no material with vhich the historian could work, To a senarkable extent, first hand sources, in the form of diaries, letters, sopgs, and rertliniscences, do exist, (3) The prisoner of war in the American Bevofution is a particularly revealing topic of study because of certain aspects 02 the eighteenth century view of gar: and its captives, Officers were considered to have a bond of honour, even though they ~ighthave been officers of a rebellious colony the sovereign status of which was not only unrecognized buk also a ~a-jor issue of the conffict- When officers were not for some reason permitted a parole of honour, they were confined separately froa the common soldiers and seaitken, Past of the season far separation was a concern for security, It was feared that officer coatact with coamon prisoners would he1p thea organize escape attempts and strengthen their will to resist enlisting with the captive forces, The separation policy had soae i~pqrtantkeseficial results for the historian interested in examining -the attitudes and activities of the coemner in this period of history, uncomplicated by the direct influence 02 his nbetters*g, the com@Qn prisoner was left on his oua to organize daily routine and prisoner regulations within the parameters set by the prima officials, Since, in the eighteenth century, these prison regulations were f ev and seldom enforced, the latitude open to the prisoner was quite wide, Due to the raature of the ccefinement and the lack of facilities