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Prisoners of War during the Revolution

Prisoners of War during the Revolution. Image NOT historically accurate, but oh if it were!. “Cruelty Presiding over the prison ship”. Prisoners during the Revolution.

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Prisoners of War during the Revolution

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  1. Prisoners of War during the Revolution Image NOT historically accurate, but oh if it were!

  2. “Cruelty Presiding over the prison ship”

  3. Prisoners during the Revolution • The great majority of Americans taken prisoner during the war were confined in and around NYC, since that was the nerve center of British operations in the colonies. • New research has revealed that the number of prisoners during the war was over 30,000 and that 18,000 (60 percent) of those prisoners did not survive. • The British did not set out to intentionally harm and intend so many prisoners to die, but many factors might explain why this happened. • During this time period of the 1700s, there were no official treaties or laws in the books that said that prisoners had to be treated a certain way. There were expectations, but nothing written into law. • So, why might this have happened? • One has to do with the fact that the British thought the Americans were an “undisciplined rabble” and were not to be held to the code of proper gentlemen. • There was also the problem of supply. The British had an invasion force of over 30,000 men and it would be hard to supply their troops as well as prisoners with proper resources.

  4. By custom, prisoners were entitled to 2/3 the daily rations of active soldiers. This would calculate to about 1,640 calories per day. • Prisoners did have options for being free of imprisonment: 1) escape, 2) enlisting in the British armed forces, 3) parole, or 4) exchange. All four of these did happen, but not in massive numbers. Exchanges did happen during the war, but there was no general prisoner exchange or permanent agreement. • In November of 1782, representatives of the US and Great Britain signed an early peace treaty that agreed to the prompt return of all captives. • Between 1782-1787, American diplomats negotiated treaties with foreign powers that took steps towards ending some of the evils of war. A treaty with Prussia in 1785 included parts designed to prevent the destruction of prisoners of war. • The history of American prisoners during the Revolution has fallen into memory. Part of it has to do with the fact that during certain stages of our history, especially WWI, we had a partnership with Britain and many thought it would be unpatriotic to badmouth our greatest ally with bad memories of the past.

  5. Infamous Prisons Van Cortland’s “Sugar House”, stood near Trinity Church in NYC. The Provost, near current-day City Hall Park, NYC Docked in the waters near NY Harbor.

  6. Interior scene of the Jersey prison ship.

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