Kaminkow, Marion and Jack. Mariners of the American Revolution. (Magna Carta Book Company, 1967.)
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution. (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
The following post was compiled from four previous posts all dated between 10/29/2015 and 11/16/2015. These posts are titled and dated as follows:
"'The First and Second Rosters of the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. I' - Possible Previous Imprisonments by the British of Members of the Crew and Marines of the Frigate South Carolina - Information Collected and Presented - Last Names: A-M"
10/29/2015
"'The First and Second Rosters of the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. II' - Possible Previous Imprisonments by the British of Members of the Crew and Marines of the Frigate South Carolina - Information Collected and Presented - Last Names: N-Z"
11/05/2015
"'The First and Second Rosters of the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. III' - Possible Previous Imprisonments by the British of Members of the Crew and Marines of the Frigate South Carolina - Information Assessed and Hypotheses Drawn - Last Names: A-M"
11/10/2015
"'The First and Second Rosters of the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. IV' - Possible Previous Imprisonments by the British of Members of the Crew and Marines of the Frigate South Carolina - Information Assessed and Hypotheses Drawn - Last Names: N-Z"
11/16/2015
The impetus for these four separate posts was to attempt to assess which of the crew and marines of the frigate South Carolina may have come to the patriot frigate directly from British prisons by means of a prisoner cartel from England. The writer of this blog realized that some of the names appearing in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", pages 135-170, are rather common names that have a high frequency of appearance on rosters and might possibly present difficulties in ascertaining whether or not they actually served on board the frigate South Carolina. Yet, leaving some of these more common names aside, the writer of this blog has endeavored to continue the search of the means by which at least some of the crew and marines of the frigate South Carolina came to be on board the patriot frigate when she set sail from The Texel, Holland on August 4, 1781. The means by which this will be in part achieved is by examining the dates of the prisoner exchange cartels and the individual mariners and marines who were scheduled to be exchanged on those cartels. The writer of this blog will also refer to pension applications in an attempt to determine whether or not another man's name appears in it as being a member of the crew and marines on the first voyage of the frigate South Carolina.
There was one of two manners in which a "rebel" mariner or marine could be liberated from incarceration in a British prison - escape or a prisoner cartel. Escapes did indeed occur but, not with any type of regularity and usually it was only a single prisoner or a few that would manage to succeed at this dangerous and almost forlorn attempt. Escape was also dangerous in that if a prisoner was caught, which frequently they were, they would be intentionally returned to their initial prison and thrown into the "black hole" as an example to the other prisoners contemplating escape. The "black hole" was an 18th century version of solitary confinement and usually consisted of a small, damp, dark space cut off from sunlight, living sound, and all human contact. The apprehended prisoner would spend a considerable period of time, usually months, in this new, extremely uncomfortable incarceration with his diet consisting of bread and water at best. In addition, as a direct result of his attempt to escape, he would have his name moved to the bottom of the list for any ensuing prisoner cartel that might arise. This last consideration alone could easily be enough to convince a prisoner to "stay put" and await his turn in the upcoming cartel.
An examination of the four posts cited above and dated "10/29/2015", "11/05/2015", "11/16/2015", and "11/16/2015" were examined for any evidence of crew and marines that may have served on board the frigate South Carolina on her maiden voyage to America but, may well have reached the patriot frigate through the means of an earlier prisoner cartel. Disappointingly, the records only seem to indicate twenty-nine names of men who might possibly fit this definition. Almost certainly, there were others who fit this category if for no other reason than Commodore Alexander Gillon's first crew and marine contingent must have consisted overwhelmingly of recent released mariners and marines hoping to find a passage home to America.
The writer of this blog had also supposed that the men would all have been set free from the same prison. This is due to the fact that a prisoner cartel always seemed to consist of incarcerated men drawn from a single place of incarceration. Again, the writer of this blog was surprised to find that both Forton Prison in Gosport, England and Old MIll Prison in Plymouth, England were represented as places of incarceration for this group of men released on December 11, 1779. Forton Prison released twelve men who are cited alphabetically below along with their "position" on board the frigate South Carolina:
Name: Position:
Josiah Arnold Sea Captain, volunteer
Richard Briggs Surgeon's mate
Elias Elwell Captain, volunteer
Benjamin Hicks First Mate
Daniel Manchester -------------
Samuel Rice Sailor, volunteer
John Roberts ------------- (Lewis's citation), carpenter (Kaminkow's citation)
William Thomas Sailor
Jacob Tucker Marine, volunteer
Richard Wall Midshipman
Jacob Wetherall Master's mate
Thomas White First Lieutenant
In contrast, Old Mill Prison released seventeen men who are cited alphabetically below along with their "position" on board the frigate South Carolina:
Jonathan Bartlett Lieutenant of Marines
John Brickford Carpenter's mate
(Bickford, Beckford)
John Buckley ---------------
John Craw ---------------
(Crow)
John Cushing Surgeon's mate
James Dick Midshipman
William Fowler Sailor
John Hopes Midshipman
John Jones Sailor
Daniel Lane Carpenter
Henry Lawrence Master's mate
--------- McLaughlin Sailor
Robert Pearce Sailmaker
(Pierce)
William Riley -------------
Samuel Treadwell Marine
Reuben Tucker Carpenter's mate
William White Landsman, (Midshipman), Legionnaire?
The prisons some of these men were incarcerated in can be confirmed in that several of the men cited in the above two lists filed pension applications well after the conclusion of the American Revolution. In referencing their participation in the war in their respective applications, these men frequently referred to the prison in which they were held. The first of these references was made by Richard Briggs (W10458) and in referring to his capture, made the following statement:
"In the month of October 1778, I sailed in a small privateer from Boston in Massachusetts to cruise off Rhode Island and was captured by the British 74 Gun ship Culloden Capt. Belfast and carried in November or December to Milford Haven in England where I remained a prisoner on board till the following Spring when we moved round Portsmouth, where we placed in Fortum Prison [sic, Forton Prison] where I remained about 7 months. I then made my escape and went to London from which I got a passage to Ostend from which place I went to Paris and got some small relief from Dr. Franklin and proceeded from thence to L'Orient.
At L'Orient in the month of April or May 1780, I engaged as Surgeon's first Mate on board the Frigate South Carolina belonging to the State of South Carolina, Capt. Joyner under Commodore Gillen [sic, Alexander Gillon] then lying at Amsterdam, and traveled overland to that place and joined the Ship the 28th day of August.".
According to the pension application of Richard Briggs (W10458) he escaped from Forton Prison at some undisclosed point, probably during the autumn of 1779, some months prior to the prisoner cartel of December 11, 1779. If he had been caught before making his escape across the English Channel, his spot in the prisoner cartel would most likely have been revoked and his name moved to the bottom of the cartel lists. Instead, Richard Briggs did successfully cross the Channel, landing at the seaport of Ostend which is today located in the province of West Flanders within the modern-day country of Belgium. In late 1779, this region would have been a part of the Austrian Netherlands and under the control of the Austrian Empire.
(Note: Of all the eight men who were due to be exchanged in the prisoner cartel of December 11, 1779 and left behind pension applications that recorded their experiences during the American Revolution, Richard Briggs was "unusual" in a few ways that the other prisoners of war were not. First, he is the only prisoner of war who claims to have successfully escaped from his prison and, ultimately, English soil. He made this escape only a few months prior to his exchange which, as recorded above, could have easily failed and left him last on the list for exchange. Second, Richard Briggs's pension application is the only one of these applications that was prefixed by a "W" instead of an "S" or "SC". This prefix of "W" indicates that the pension was ultimately awarded to his widow instead of to the actual veteran of the American Revolution. Her name was Huldah Briggs and she filed for "...a widow's pension..." on "...September 2, 1839, in Bond County, Illinois..." after confirming that her husband, Richard Briggs, had died on April 11, 1835.)
A second pension application also makes reference to that specific individual's incarceration in a specific, named prison. This is the pension application of John Cushing (S16356) and in referring to his capture, he made the following statement:
"In November A.D. 1776 entered aboard the privateer Schooner Warren of Salem Massachusetts and after being out about 3 weeks was taken by the British Ship Thomas Letter of Marque from Liverpool -- was carried into that place & kept a prisoner till May following when he was sent to Mill Prison and confined there 2 years & 7 months. He was then exchanged and was sent to St. Marlowe in France & thence 'L Orion [sic, L'Orient] at which place he enlisted for 12 months in the service of the United States on Board of the Ship Carolina [sic, South Carolina] from South Carolina, Commodore Alexander Gillon commander, John Joiner Capt., Nicholas Bartlett first Lieut., he enlisted in May or June A.D.1780 as a surgeon's mate at $20 per month. From L'Orion he went to Amsterdam and remained in the service with said ship 19 months & 21 days, and then left the ship on her return to America at Havana from where he returned to salem and a brig commanded by Capt. Waters.".
(Note: John Cushing, surgeon's mate on board the frigate South Carolina, was one of the only members of the crew and marines who filed his pension application in New Hampshire and claimed that he was a resident of New Hampshire. He declares that he was born "...at Haverhill, Count[y] of Essex & State of Massachusetts..." in 1749 but, when he entered the service of the United States he claimed that he was "...a resident of Goffstown in the County of Hillsboro and the State of New Hampshire...".)
John Cushing is one of the more typical crew members that served on board the frigate South Carolina in terms of the nautical events he encountered on his return journey to America. He served on board another ship and was captured while serving there. In this case, it was the privateer schooner Warren out of Salem, Massachusetts. When he was captured, he initially was held in detention at another location, in this case Liverpool, England. After several months (November 1776 - May 1777), he was transferred to Old Mill Prison in Portsmouth, England and confined there for "...2 years & 7 months...". His pension application indicates that at this point in the American Revolution, he was exchanged and was sent to St. Marlowe in France. If one computes the passage of time between the capture of John Cushing November 1776 and his time spent in Liverpool, England as well as in Old Mill Prison, his exchange would have taken place around the December 11, 1779 prisoner cartel. Even though, he does not specifically state so, he was almost certainly one of the prisoners-of-war released in this particular prisoner cartel. John Cushing would sign on and serve on board the frigate South Carolina while he was in L'Orient, France and travel to Amsterdam where he would actually board the patriot frigate. Once in Amsterdam, John Cushing:
"...remained in the service with said ship 19 months & 21 days, and then left the ship on her return to America at Havana from where he returned to Salem and [on] a brig commanded by Capt. Waters.".
John Cushing, Surgeon's Mate on board the frigate South Carolina, was most certainly not the only member of the crew and marines of the patriot frigate to leave the service of the ship at The Havana, Cuba. Yet, he appears to be one of the few to actually state how he managed to obtain passage home from The Havana, Cuba to Salem, Massachusetts with enough cited information in order to identify the ship and her captain. In contrast, Samuel Rice in his pension application (S39833) only stated that:
"...he served as a Seaman on board said Frigate in cruising against the Common Enemy for the time aforesaid until the 26th day of February A.D. 1782, when the period of his enlistment having expired, he was honorably discharged by Commodore Gillon at Havana --...".
Samuel Rice never states how he managed to return to his native Rhode Island after disembarking for the frigate South Carolina in The Havana, Cuba. But, he most certainly did reach his homeland because it was there on July 7, 1820 in the County of Kent Special Court of Common Pleas that he personally appeared and filed his pension application.
Only one remaining pension application from the above cited lists refers to the actual prison that the individual was held in before joining the frigate South Carolina. But, this pension application is different, to say the least. The individual in question here is Richard Wall (S22032) and when he was captured by the British, he was serving on board another ship-of-war, the famous frigate Bon Homme Richard under the command of Captain John Paul Jones. The circumstances of his capture are unusual in that he was pursuing runaway mariners of the patriot frigate off the western coast of Ireland when he and his fellow pursuers were captured by British scout boats sent out from the mainland. His captivity narrative continues as such:
"The said Richard Wall was taken to Ireland from thence sent to England and then detained in Forton Prison near Portsmouth until the autumn of 1782, exposed to more than the usual hardships and privations a prisoner of war is usually compelled to submit to, being put on very short allowance and daily threatened with execution as a rebel and traitor to the British Government.".
The very next sentence in his pension application states:
"After his discharge from prison the said Richard Wall entered on board the frigate South Carolina and served in the capacity of Midshipman -- until she was captured...".
This refers directly to the final capture of the frigate South Carolina by the three Royal Navy men-of-war off the Capes of the Delaware on December 21, 1782. Midshipman Richard Wall's second incarceration with the British Crown would be markedly different from his first. Instead of a lockdown type of prison like Forton Prison in Portsmouth, England with short rations and daily threats against his person, after the capture of the frigate South Carolina on December 21, 1782, the officers and gentlemen of the captured patriot frigate were given their liberty at parole instead of being confined in a damp, dark prison cell. So, Richard Wall's experience with Forton Prison was while he was serving on the frigate Bon Homme Richard under John Paul Jones and his services on board the frigate South Carolina came much later in the American Revolution. By the time of his release from Forton Prison in the autumn of 1782, the frigate South Carolina had already been moored in Philadelphia, PA harbor from several months. Richard Wall would have reached her decks by means of a prisoner cartel that crossed the Atlantic Ocean to deliver these prisoners to wherever they might be safely landed in rebel-controlled territory and there exchanged. There is some indication that Richard Wall and his fellow released prisoners were landed into Philadelphia, PA. The ease with which Richard Wall briefly describes his entry to the patriot frigate is one indication of this fact.
Of the twenty-nine men whose place of incarceration is known, only eight filed pension applications. Only three of those eight referenced the actual prison they were incarcerated in at the time. Richard Briggs claimed to have escaped from Forton Prison and evaded recapture until he reached the continent. John Cushing claimed to have been incarcerated and held at Old Mill Prison until he was exchanged through a prisoner cartel that landed he and his fellow Americans at St. Marlowe in France. Richard Wall would be incarcerated in Forton Prison but, was actually serving on board the frigate Bon Homme Richard at the time under Captain John Paul Jones. Later, after he had been exchanged through a prisoner cartel that crossed the Atlantic Ocean, he would sign on board the frigate South Carolina to only be captured a second time by the British and held until the end of the war. John Cushing and Samuel Rice, as mentioned above, would both seek and be granted discharges from the service of the frigate South Carolina while she lay in harbor at The Havana, Cuba. They would seek alternate means of reaching their homeland. Richard Briggs would serve all the way to Philadelphia, PA and the completion of the trans-Atlantic voyage of the patriot frigate. It would be there that Richard Briggs would part with the patriot frigate and be discharged from her service. Richard Wall would only seek service on board the frigate South Carolina after his successful return via a prisoner cartel and exchange in the autumn of 1782. Thus, each of these men held a very different perspective on the frigate South Carolina because they each experienced her at a different time and in a different way in her service to the Cause during the American Revolution.