l^s i^ijv Glass Likir Book _— ,-.^L-^ \ ^ DARTMOOR MASSACRE. M Tfrom the new-youk national advocate.] SIR, .AVING seen in print several different statements of llie niLissacre of the American prisoners of war at Dart-- moor, and, on perusal, finding, that, though they cor- loboi-ate each other, as to the leading facts, yet it seems the public are not in possession of all the particulars ne- cessary to form a proper judgment of the same. While in prison, we having been members of the com- mittee through whom was transacted all their public busi- ness, and through whose hands passed all their correspon- dence with their agent in London, and having in our pos- session several documents relating to the beforementioned brutal butchery, we deem it a duty we owe to our mur- dered countryn:ien and fellow-citizens in general to have them published, and accordingly request that you would be pleased to lay them before the public. Respecting the conduct of T. G. Skortlaxd (com- mander of the depot of Dartmoor) prior to the bloody and ever memorable sixth of April, it was a scries of contin- ued insult, injury and vexation to the prisoners generally. Incapable of appreciating the beneficial effects of the liber-^ al policy of a gentleinan, his sole study appeared to be de- visiiig means to render the situation of the prisoners as disagreeable as possible To instance a fev/ of liis pro- ceedings will sufiiciently warrant the foregoing assertion. His conduct to the American otHcers was marked with pc cuiiar baseness and indignity. In the construction of tlie depot at Dartmoor there v/as a separate prison, built arid enclosed for the more commodious accommodation c^ those' officer*; (prisoners of war) who were not coitsidered by them entitled to a parole. Instead of Shortland allow- / *• jng those ofTiccrs to occupy that prison, they were turned into the other prisons promiscuously, with their men. His conduct to the prisoners generally was of the same stamp. There not being, at any time, a sufficient number to oc- cupy all the prisons, he kept the two best, which were built by the Fienchmen during tlieir confinement, and more conveniently fitted for the accommodation of prison- ers, shut and unoccupied, while the upper stories of those prisons in which the Americans were put were in such a state, that on every rain storm the floors were nearly inun- dated. The pernicious eflect this had on the health of the prisoners rnay be easily judged of by the great mortality that prevailed among them during the last winter season. Another instance of his murderous disposition was his ordering his guards to fire into the prisons, when, at anjr time, a light was seen burning during the night, as speci- lied in the general report. While the Frenchmen were confined in that depot, it was a custom for the turnkey, with a sentry, to go into each prison, and see the lights extinguished at a stated hour ; although frequently light- ed again, there v^'as no fuither molestation. Instead of pursuing this plan with tlie Americans, Shortland gave or- ders for the guards to fire into the prisons whenever there should be a light burning. Frequently, on the most triv- ial occasions, he v/ould prevent the prisoners, for ten days at a time, from purchasing, in the market, of the country people, such articles of comfort and convenience as their scanty means would admit of. His last act of this kind was but a short time previous to the massacre, and his ah Icdged reason for it was, that the prisofjers would not de- liver up to him a man who had made his escape from the black hole (a place of confinement for criminals) and had taken refuge among the prisoners in general, 'j'his man was one of a prize crew, who was confined in that dark, and loathsome cell, on a short allowance of provisions, from June, 1814, until the ratification of the treaty. The circumstances of that huma7ie transaction shall, at another time, be laid before the public. On that man being de- manded, the prisoners stated to Shortland, that they did not presume that the British government would expect them to stand sentr)- over each other — that he might send his turnkeys and <;oldiers in and look for the man, but thej Would not seek him and deliver him up — upon whif?h he ordered the militaiy to fire upon ihc piiscners, but owing 3 to the coolness and deliberation of the then commanding military officer, in restraining them, this order was not o- beyed. To sum up the whole in a few words, his conduct, throughout, was marked by the same illiberal prejudice, overbearing insult, and savage barbarity, which charac- terises the majority of English officers when they have A- mericans in their power. The enclosed papers, from No. 1 to 16 inclusive, are the depositions taken by the committee of investigation on the 7th. Colonel Ayre arrived from Plymouth and took command of this depot. Shortland sent in a message to the committee, requesting their attendance at his office, to which was returned for answer, that considering him ai murderer, the v were determined to have no communica- tion with him — but added, if the commanding officer fron> Plymouth had any thing to commimicate, they would wait on him; and, at his request, they went up to the gate, where they stated to him all the particulars of the affair. He expressed great regret for what had occurred, and assured the prisoners that no further violence should be vi- sed upon them. In tlie mean time Shortland made his ap- pearance. Instantly the indignant cry of murderer, scoun- drel, villain, burst from the lips of hundreds. The guil- ty wretch stood appalled, not daring to offer a syllable in vindication of his conduct ; but with a pallid visage and trembling step returned to his guard-house, from whence he was never seen lo emerge while we remained there. In tlie course of the day a rear admiral and post captain arri-i ved from Plymouth, sent by Sir J. T. Duckworth, com- mander in chief on that station, to enquire into the trans- action ; to whom ^vas likewise fully statedj by the com- mittee, all the particulars, together with Shortland*s previ- ous infamous conduct. Their scandalous misrepresenta- tion of the same to the admiraltv board, as will be seen in their statement No. 20, is truly characteristic of British official accounts. We likewise wrote to Mr. Beasly on that day, giving him a short history of the affair, but as he did not acknowledge the receipt of the letter, we con- cluded it had been intercepted. On the 14th we received a letter from him dated the 12th, of which No, 18 is a copy' — in answer to v. hich No. 19 is a copy. On the 16th we received another from him, of which No. 20 is a co- py ; 'in tlie interim he had seen a, copy of our report, sent retreated out of the square into their respective prison- yards, and shut the gates after them without making any Resistance whatever ; under such circumstances no further opposition could have been expected, and, consequently, their intcnlion must have been completely defeated. What iustification can there then be made to appear for the sub- tcquent brutal, unprecedented butchery and mutilation ? None ! The most shameless and barefaced advocates and i.pclop-izers for British injustice cannot produce anv. WALTER COLTON, ) .Manbers of THOS. B MOTT, f the WM. HOB ART, • ) committee. DEPOSITION No. I. I, Addison Holmes, being solemnly sworn on the holy e» vangelists of Almighty God, depose and say — That, on the 6th of April, about 6 o'clock in the eve- ning, I was in the market squn.re, where the soldiers were drawn up. There was a number of Americans in the square — to the best of my judgment between iifiy and a liundred. I distinctly heard Captain Shortland order the soldiers to charge q\\ the prisoners, which they did not do till the order was repeated by their own officers, when they charged, and the prisoners retreated through the gates, which they shut to after them. In this interim I had got behind a sentry box, in the square, and the soldiers went past nie. I saw captain Shortland open the gates, and dis- tinctly heard him give the word to fire, which was not im- mediately obeyed, the commanding officer of the soldiers obser\ing, that he would not order the men to fire, but tiiat he (Shortland) might do as he pleased. I then saw capt. Shortland seize hold of a musket, in the hands of a soldier, which was immediately fired — but I am not able to say wjK-ther he or the soldier pulled the trigger. At this lime 1 was endeavoring to get through the gate to the |;ri.son yard — in so doing several stabs were made at me wiiii bayonets, which I evaded. Immediately after the firing became general, and 1 retreated, with the remainder of tlie prisoners, down tiie )Mrd, the soldiers following and firing on the prisoners ; after I had got into No. 3 prison, I heard two vollies fired into the prison, that killed one man and wounded another — and further the deponent saith jiot. ADDISON HOUiEiS, We, the undersigned, being duly appointed nnd sworn as a committee to take the depositions of those per-iDnii ivho were eye witnesses of the late horrid massacre, certi- fy that the above deponents, being duly and solemnU sworn on the holy evangelists of Almighty God, did de-' pose and say as before written, which was severally read to each one who subscribed the same. JVilliam B. Orne, tVm. Ilohart^ Fi-ancis Joseph^ James Adams^ Walter Colton, James IJoffC-s. [A certificate similar to til's foreQ;oing', is attached lo each cf the dcpo&itions. The originals are now in our hands.] No. 11. We, the undersigned, being each severally sworn on the holy evangelists of Almighty God, depose and say — That on the 6th April, about six o'clock in the evening, as we were walking in the yard of No. 1 and No. 5 prisons, just before the usual time of turning in, we heard the a- larm bell ring. At this time most of the prisoners 'ivcre in the prisons ; a number v;'ith us ran up the market square, out of curiosity, to see what was the niatter ; there were about one hundred collected in the square, and a number were standing by the gates inside the prison yard ; the sol- diers were drawn up in the upper part of the square ;' or- ders were given them to charge, on which the prisoners re- treated out of the square, and some of the last \\'hich came through the gates, shut them to; the soldiers then com- menced firing on them through the iron pailings, and fu'ed several vollies in succession. The prisoners \vere, at this' time endeavoring to get into their respective prisons, when the soldiers perceived that they were all dispersed from the gates, they followed them into the yard, and continued fi- ring on them ; and after all the prisoners had got into the prisons, a party of soldiers pursuing them, came up to th^e door of No. 3 prison, and lired two vollies into tlie prison^ vvhich killed one man and mortally Vvounded another. We further solemnly declare, that there was no pre-con-- Gerted plan or intention among the prisoners to make an at- tempt to break out, or to resist, in any manner, the author . ity of the government of the depot. John T. Foster^ Charles Perry ^ Geo. Stinchifcomb, Elisha Whitten^ James Grennlaw, JFHliavi Ferry, Isaac L. Burr, Wm, B. Orne, liicharrl JXo-wpJti^, IDone at Dartmoor Pjiison, this. 7ih ilav of Apvii^ \^\k No. III. I, Andrexv Dar^is, jiin. being solemnly s\yoMi upon th^ holy evangelists of ' i-.nidity God, depose and say — That on the 6th of Apri], about six o'clock in'tlie eve- ning, while walking- in the yard of No. three prison, I heard the alarm bell ring, and I went nn towards the gate : I saw several men hearing a woun^J/o-d man towards the gate^ whom it appeared had been wounded by the soldiers' bayo- nets ; when the prisoners were retreating out of liie square, I heard Captain Shartland order a part of them to let go the wounded man, u hich some of theni did ; one of the remaining remonstrated, to Capt. Shortland, saying that the man was so .badly wound;-\l that it required several to sup- port him ; on which Capt. Shortland struck him several blows with his fisis, and he appeared to me, from the whole of his conduct to l>e much intoxicated with liquor — and further the deponent saith not. ANDREW DAVIS, Jun. No. iV. We, the undersigned, depose and say — 'i'hat on the 6th April, in the c\ening, we were in the 5'ard of No. 1 and No. 3 prisons, when we heard the firing at the gales, and saw the prisoners all endeavoring to get into their respective prisons. In going down towards the low- er doors of the prisons, we saw a party of soldi^rS; who were posted on the walls, commence firing on the prison- ers, and we saw a m:m fall, who immediately died, and sev- eral others were badly wounded before they were able to |;et into t lie prisons. Harris Ktertey, Amos Cheency, James Cojfen, fVashiugton i'ox, Thomas i/uliamSi John Smith, Henry Casey. No. V. Homer Hull, after being duly sworn on the holy evan- gelists of Almighty God, dtposeth and saith — > On the oth of April, about six o'clock in the evening, I was walking in the yard of No. 7 prison ; all being as tranquil amonp; the prisoners as usual, I observed an unu- sujil number of soldiers mounting the ^^•alls ; and one of them called to one of the prisoners and told him he (the prisoner) had belter go into t!ie prison, as the prisoners v.-ould soon be ehargcvl upon. While he was asking the. 9 fcausc of such a proceeding I heard the alarm bell ringing j I immediately run to the gates leading to the square, wheri I saw Capt. bhortland at the head of the armed soldiery marching down to the gratings, the prisoners at the same tiine running to see what was the matter ; on the soldiers coming to the gratings, Capt. Shortland ordered them to charge, which they did j the prisoners immediately run to their respective prisons ; on their passing through the in- ner gate they closed it after thern. Then I heard Captain Shordand order the soldiers to tire, which they com- menced to do in every direction of the yard, when the pris- oners were making every efibrt to reacli their prisons. I did not see any violeiice used on the part of the prisoners, nor do I believe any violence was intended or premeditated. HOMER HULL. I, Joseph C. Morffan, h.aving been duly sworn, and havirig read the foregoing deposition, do declare vhe state- ment therein mentioned to be true. J. C MORGAN. No. VI. • \Ve, the undersigned, depose and say— ^ That on the sixth of April, about six o'clock in the eve- ning, we were in the market square— we distinctly heard Capt. Shordand give oiders to the soldiers to charge on the prisoners — and after we retreated through the gates we heard him give orders to the soldiers to fire, which, oil his repeating several times was executed. Joseph Reeves, Isaac Ij. Biirr^ James Greeuhnv, Tiiomas TindaL No. vii. We, the undersigned, depose and say — That, on the 6tli of April, in the evening, after all the prisoners in No. 1 and 3 yai'ds had got into'vlicir respective ])risons, a party of soldiers came up to the door of No. 3 prison — we were standing near tile door at the time, and saw them lire two vollies into the prison, which kil- led one man and wounded another. JViHiam Scanck., John Latham, James Greenlaw, John Glass. No. viii. Enoch Burnham, having been duly sworn, deposeth-— Tluit he was standing at the market-gate at the time ^'iipt. Siiortiand came into the market square with a large 16 party of soldiers (it being then about six o'clock.) The/ imnKcliately formed a line in the square — at that time a jiuinbcr of prisoners got into the square from the yard of Ko. 1 prison, and had advanced a few steps ; the soldiers thcr.charj^cd, and tlicprisonery immediately retreated to their prisons,gwithout the least resistance. After the prisoners had retired to the yards of the prison, the soldiery formed a lin« and commenced firing in the yards, the prison gate& being closed by the prisoners ; shortly after they kept up a heavy fire, and I saw one man fall. I immediately hasten- ed to No. 5 prison, but on reaching No. 7, I found there ivas a party of soldiers on the wall, firing from every direc<. tion. I then got safe in No. 7, where, after remaining at the north end window a few moments, / saw a man fa prisoner J leaning against the wall, apparrentiy wounded^ with his Jiands in a supplicating posture — at the same time^ I saw several soldiers present and fire at the prisoner and he immediately fell dead on the spot. ENOGH BURNHAM. No. IX. Edward Coffin, being duly sworn, deposed, that on the sixth of April, about six o'clock in the afternoon, a few prisoners belonging to No. 5 and 7 prisons, broke a hole through the wall opposite No. 7 prison, as they said to get a ball out of the barrack yard, which they had lost in their play. After they had broke through the wall, the officers and soldiers that were in the barrack yard, told them to de- sist or they would hre upon them. Inmiediately after that the drum beat to arms, and the square was filled with sol- diers, and without telling the prisoners to go to their prison, immediately commenced to charge and fire upon them. I immediately started to go to No. 5 prison, and the soldiers on the platforms, on the walls conHP.enced firing, and I should think near forty fired at myself and three others, as I am sure there \vcre no other men in S3e:ht at that time be- tween No. 5 and G prisons. In going round No. 5 cook- house a prisoner was shot and killed, very near me. Jtiest, Henry Allen. EDWARD COFFIN. No. X. Thomas B. Mott, liaving been diily swcrn, deposed, About 6 o'clock in the evening of the 6th of April, I was called on by a number of persons, requesting/ me as OHc of the committee to put a stop to some boys "whom il they said were picking a hole through an inner wall, for which, they said, our provisions would be stopped to pay for. I asked what was their intentions in making the hole ? they said it was for the purpose of obtaining a ball which they had lost in their pkiy. I then repaired with a number of respectable men to make them desist ; but before we got into the yard a quick firing commenced. On my walk- ing up the yard was met by a number of prisoners retreat- ing to their prisons, much alarmed ; one of which I ob- served was badly wounded, he was bleeding freely from his wound ; I could see the yard was clear of prisoners, or not more than two or three to be seen, and they retiring fast. I requested the wounded man to Jean upon me, and I would assist him in some medical aid. We had not ad- vanced but a few steps Vv'hcn we were fired on. I advan- ced, assuring the soldiery we had no hostile intentions. I then took the fainting man in my arms, when a volley of musketry was discharged full at us. I then retired imme- diately ; there was but one of my prison doors unlocked, which was on the back of the prison. On turning the cor- ner of the cook-house, I found myself unexpectedly open to the fire of soldiers on the ramparts of the south wall ; their fire was kept up in so brisk a manner that it appeared aln^ost impossible to enter without being shot ; but find- jug my situation very dangerous, I was determined to en.- ler the prison or die in the attempt. For that purpose my- self, with a number of others that had been standing be- hind the wingpf the cook-house, sallied out for the pur-:, pose of gaining our prison door, when a volley of musket balls showered in amongst us, killing two and wounding others. On our entering the prison our doors were shut to keep them from firing in. Some little time after the turnkey inquired for me ; I went forward to the window ; he requested me to deliver up the dead and wounded ; I requested him to open the door, which he did, for that pur- pose. On passing out the dead and wounded, I was in- sulted by the soldiery, and on my replying was charged upon, and with difficulty escaped without being butcher- ed ; they likewise insulted the wounded as I gave them up, and threw the dead down in the mud, and spurned a^ them in a very unfeeling manner. THQ'S, B. MOTT, No. XL ii, IFiUlam Mitchell^ being duly sworn upon the holy e^ 12 vangclists of Almighty God, depose and say — 'i'hat, on tlie evening of tlie 6th of April, ^vhen the a Jann eommenced, I was in the lower part of No. 1 yard. I walked up towards the gate to learn the cause ; when I had got about half way, 1 heard a single musket fired, and immediately after a whole volley. I then saw several men carrying one that was wounded, the soldiers keeping up the whole time a steady fire, and the prisoners all endeav- oring to get into the prisons ; the lower doors being closed in the interim ; it was Avith much difficulty they could get in, the soldiers pursuing them the whole time and char- ging therA with bayonets ; and after getting into the pris- on, 1 heard the firing of musketry in all directions round the prison— and further the deponent saith not. WILLIAM MITCHELL. No. XIL I, John G. Gatchell, having been duly sworn, depose and say — That I was walking in the yard towards the gate. The first I knew, was the soldiers coming into the yard, with captain Shortland at their head, when an immediate fire began from the soldiers, and one man fell within six feet of me. While in the act of renderine; this man assistance, I heard captain Shortland order the soldiers to kill the damn'd I'ascal — meaning me ; immediately the soldiers came and pricked me with their bayonets, and I was forced to run to the prison at the hazard of my life, and leave the man that \\ as wcundedo JOHN G. GATCHELL. No. XIIL James Taylor, having been duly sworn, deposeth, that he was standing at the gate in the market square, at the tnne captain Shortland, with a file of soldiers, entered the square. Captain Shortland ordered a prisoner in the square to go into the prison, when he immediately complied. He then ordered the soldiers to charge ; and instantly observ- ed to the commanding officer of the military — " It is no use to charge on the damn'd Yankee rascals — FIRE"— - when thi;j comrnenccJ immediately. The prisoners at that time v.cre ru.sliing in the prisons as fast as possible and jMincip:i!!y out of the s(;[uare. After the prisoners were mubtly in the prison of No. 4, a boy, of ten years of age<^ In O was shot through the body and killed, while hi the dooc passage trying to get in, by the soldiers in the yard, in mj presence, I being inside the prison; likewise one other man v/as shot through the thigh. JAMES TAYLOR. No. XIV. Samuel Loxvdy having been duly sv/orn, deposetii ab iol- Jows : That he was in the yard of prison No. 4, at the time Robert Haywood was shot by the soldiery. lie immedi- ately took him up, for the purpose of carrying him to the hospital. In the square he met captain Shortland, and said, captain Shortland, this man is very badly v/oiinded— I want to carry him to the hospital. Captain Shortland re- plied, you damn'd son of a bitch carry him ixick to the prison; and he was obliged to comply. After getting to the prison, one of the soldiers called him back, and he. went up to the square with the man, and met capt. Short- land, who said, heave him down there (pointing to a sen- try box) and away with you to the prison ; at that time ihey were firing in the different yards. On leaving the square we found the man v/as dejid. SAMUEL LOWDY. John Battice having been sworn, corroborates the evi- dence of Samuel Lowdy. JOHN BATTICE. No. XV. JVUliam Potter, having been duly sworn, deposed — - I'hat while passing betv/een No. 5 and 6 pj isons, the soldiers commenced firing from the walls in three divisions at a few of us ; at that time there were only four prisoners iii sight. After advancing a few steps, I fouixl a maa badly wounded. I stop'd ai'id pick'd the man up ; during which time the soldiers kept an incessant fire at us, as like- >vise till we got to the prison of No. 5. WILLIAM POTTER. No. XVL I, David S. JTarren, being duly sworn on the holy e- vangelists of Almighty GoDj depose and say — That, on the evening of the 6di of April, when the a- larm commenced, I was in the lowci- part of the yard of Noo 1 prison. I walked up to' the gate to iearn the cause. 14 I there saw there were a number of prisouers in the mar- ket square, and a great number of soldiers drawn up a- .cross the same ; soon after they charged on the prisoners, who retreated out of the square into their respective pris- on yards, and shut the gates after them. I saw the sol- diers advance up to tlie gates and heard captain Shortland order them to lire, vvhjch they not immediately obeying, I saw him seize hold of a musket in the hands of a soldier and direct it towards a prisoner, and heard him again re- peat, '"'■ Ji7-e— God damn you jire P"* Immediately after- wards the firing became general ; the prisoners were all endeavoring to get into the prisons, which was attended with much difficulty, all the doors but one being closed — and further the deponent saith not. DAVID S. WARREN. No. XVII. We, the undersigned, beinsr each severally sworn orL the holy evangelists of Almighty God, for the investiga- tion of the circumstances attending the late horrid massa- cre, and having heard the depositions of a great number of witnesses — from our own personal knowledge, and froni the depositions given in as aforesaid, REPORT AS FOLLOWS: That on the 6th of April, about six o'clock in the eve- ning, when the prisoners were all quiet in their respective vards, it beins: about the usual time of turnina: in for jiight, and the greater part of the prisoners being then in the prisons, the alarm bell was rung, and many of the pris- oners ran up to the market square to learn the occasion of the alarm. There were then drawn up in the square sev- eral hundred soldiers, with Captain Shortland [the agent] at their head ; it was likewise observed at the same time, that additional numbers of soldiers were posting themselves on the walls round the prison yards. One of them obser- ved to the prisoners, that they had better go into the pris- ons, for they would be charged upon directly. This, of course, occasioned considerable alarm among them. In. this moment of uncertainty, they were running in differ- tut directions enquiring the cause of the alarm — some to- ward their respective prisons and some toward the market- jiquarc. When about one hundred were collected in the square, Captain Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge upon them, which order the soldiers were reluctant in q- 15 heying, aS the prisoners were using no violence ; but on the order being repeated, they made a charge, and the prisoners retreated out of the square into their prison yards, and shut the gate after them. Captain Shortland, himself, opened the gates, and ordered the soldiers to fire in among the prisoners, who were all retreating in different direc- tions towards their respective prisons. It appears there was some hesitation in the minds of the officers, whether or not it was proper to fire upon the prisoners in that situa-^ tion ; on which Shortland seized a musket out of the hands of a soldier, which he fired. Immediately after the fire became general, and many of the prisoners were either killed or wounded. The remainder were endeavoring ta get into the prisons, when going towards the lower doors, the soldiers on the walls commenced firing on them from that quarter, which killed some and wounded others. Af- ter much difficulty, (all the doors being closed in the en- trance, but one in each prison) the sur\ivors succeeded in gaining the prisons ; immediately after which, parties of soldiers came to the doors cf Nos. 8 and 4 prisons, and fired several vollies into them through the windows and doors, which killed one man in each prison, and severely wounded others. It likewise appears, that the preceding butchery was fol- lov/ed up with a disposition of peculiar inveteracy and bar- barity. One man who was severely wcuncled in No. 7 prison- 3'ard, and being unable to make his way to the prison, was come up with by the soldiers, whom he implored for mer- cy, but in vain, five of the hardened wretches immediatelv levelled their pieces at him, and shot him dead on the spot. The soldiers who were on the walls manifested equal cru- elty, by keeping up a constant fire on every prisoner thcf could see in the yards endeavoring to get into the prisons^ when their numbers were veiy few, and when not the least shadow of resistance could be made or expected. Sever- al of them had got into No. 6 prison cook-house, whicb was pointed out by the soldiers on the walls, to those who were marching in from the square— they immediately went up and fired into the same, which wounded several — one of the prisoners ran out with the intention of gaining his prison but was killed before he reached tliedoor. C\n an. impartial consideration, of ail circumstances oi' the case, we are indnced to l:)cUe\c that it \\a> a ]irenicdita- 16 ted sclitnic in the iiiind of Capt. Shortland, for reasonr, whicli \vc wlll'now proceed to give — as an illucidation of its orlgiji wc will recur back to an event which Jiappened some days previous. Capt. Shortland was at the time ab- sent at P]\ mouth, but before going he ordered the contrac-' tor or his clerk to serve out one pound of indifferent hard bread, instead of one pound and an half of soft bread, their usual allowance — this the prisoners refused to receive they waited all day in expectation of their usual allowance being- served out, but 'at sunset, finding this would not be the case, burst open the lower gates and went up to the store deman.ding to have their bread. The oaicers of t!]e garrison, on beingalafmcd and infor- mcd of these proceedings, observed that it was no more than right ihQ prisoners should have their usual allowance, and strongly reprobated the conduct of Capt. Shortland in v.ithhokling it from them — they were accordingly served v,lth their bread, and quietly returned to tlieir prison. — ■ This eircun^stance, a\ iih the censures that were tiirorrn on Ms conduct, reached the ears of Shortland on his return home, and he must then have determined on the diabolical plin of seizing the first slight pretext to turn in the milita- ry, to butcher the prisoners for the gratification of his mal- ice and revenge. It unfortunately happened, that in the af- ternoon of the sixth of April, some boys who were plnying Ixill in No. 7 yard, knocked their ball over into the bar- rack yard, and on the sentry in that yard refusing to tlirow it back to them, they picked a hole in the wall to get in af- u r it. Tliis aiiorded Sliortland his wished for pretcr.t, and he took his measures accordingly ; he had all the garrison drawn up in tlic militaiv walk, additional numbers posted on the walls, and every thing pieparcd drfo?~e the alarm-bell vj.is rung ; this lie naturally concluded would draw the at= tcntion of a great number of prisoners towards tlie gates^ to learn the cause of the alarnj, Vvhilc the turnkeys^were. dispatched into the yards to lock all the doors but, one of each ])rison, to preve]?t the pi isoners retreating out of the v.ay before he had sufficiently vrreaked his vengeance. \\ h;.tadds peculiar weight to the belief of its being a premeditated, determined massacre, are, Jurst — 'I'he sanguinary disposition manifested on every ceea.sion !)y Siiorthtnd, lie having prior to ihis tjme,^ rjr- dercd the soldiers to fje into the prisons through the prisoii 17 nlnclows, upon unarmed prisoners asleep in their ham- mocks, on uccount of a light beiiig seen in the prisons ; which barbarous act was repeated several nights succes- sively. That murder was not then committed, was o\v- injT-to an overrnlinp' Providence alone; for the balls were: picked up in the prisons where they passed through the hammocks of men then asleep in them. He having also ordered the soldiers to fire upon the prisoners in the yard of No. 7 prison, because they would not deliver up to him a man who had escaped from his cachot, which order the commanding officer of the soldiers refused to obey ; and generall}', he having seized on every slight pretext to in- jure the prisoners, by stopping their marketing for ten days repeatedly, and once a third part of their provisions for , the same length of time. Second/// — He having been heard to say, when the boys had j^ic'ked the hol-e in the wall, and some time before the alarm bell was rung, while all the prisoners were quiet as usual in their respective yards—-" /'// Jix the dainri'd ras- cals direct iy.^^ Thirdhj—His having all the soldiers on their posts, and the garrison fully prepared before the alarm bell rung. It could not then, of course, be rung to assemble the sol- diers,- but to alarm the prisoners, and create confusion a- mong them. Fourthly — ^^The soldiers upon the wall, previous to the alarm bell l^eing ruitg, informing the prisoners that they would be charged upon directly. Fifthly — The turnkeys going into the yard and closing all the doors but one in each prison, while the attention of the prisoners was attracted by the. alarm bell. This was done about fifteen minutes sooner than usual, and without infoiniing the prisoners it AVas time to shut up. It v.as ev- er the invariable practice of the turnkeys, from v/hich they never deviated before that night, when coming into the }ard to skiut up, ^o halloo to the prisoners, so loud as to h? heard throughout the yard, *' ttirn hi, turn in .'" while on that night it v/as done so secretly, that not one man ip a hundred knew they were shut ; and in particular their shutting the door of No. 7, prisoners usually go in and out at, and which was formerly always closed last, and leaving one open in the other (ud of tlj^ prison, Vfhich war, ej^.posed to a cross fire from the soldiers on tlie wallsj and wlilcli the prrsoricrs hud to pass in gaining the prisons. -» IS It appears to us that the foregoing reasons sufficient!} M'arrant the conclusion we have drawn therefrom. We likewise believe, from the depositions of men who were eve witnesses of a part of Shordand's conduct oit the evening of the 6th of April, that he was intoxicated with liquor at the time ; from his brutality in beating a prisoner then supporting another severely wounded, from the blackguard and abusive language he made use of, and from his frequently having been seen in the same state.-— His being drunk was of course the means of inflaming his bitter enmity against the prisoners, and no doubt was the cause of the indiscriminate butchery, and of no quarter being given. We here solemnly aver, that there was no pre-concerted plan to attempt a breaking out. There cannot "be produ- ced the least shadow of a reason or inducement for that in- tention, because the prisoners were daily expecting to be released, and to embark on board cartels for their native cc'uitry. And %ve likewise solemnly assert, that there was no intention of resisting, in any manner, the authori- ty of this depot. jV. B. Seven were killed, thirty dangerously wound- ed, and thirty slightly do. Total sixty-seven killed and wounded. ^ r TVm. B. Orne, Wm. Hobart, ' 1 p ►"• i James Bo^i'S, James Adams, \ B fe: -< J. F. Irowbridge, Francis Joseph^ Y j^. g I John Rust, Henry J lien, | ^ - L Jf'ciltcr Colton, ' Thomas B. Moit, J ^ No. XVIII. Letter from Mr. Beasley^ agent Jor American prisoners of zvar, atLo?idon, to the Committee of American prisoners of liar in Dartmoor prison, Aigency for American prisoners of war, 7 London, April 12,' 1815. 5 Gentlemen — It having been stated in sonie of the newspapers published here, that the American government intended to send som.e ships of v/ar, bound to the Mediter- ranean, to ihis country, for the purpose of completing their crews from among the prisoners ; and having been inform- ed that this idea ^las got among the prisoners, it becomes my duty to request, that you will inform them that the fact is wot so. 19 I have already informed you of the measures which liad been taken to provide conve}'ances for the prisoners. You. will let them know, that eight large transports have been enpaged, some of which must be now at Plymouth ; oth- ers will follow imtil the whole of the prisoners are sent off. It is much to be lamented, that at a moment when every exertion was making to restore them to their country, thvy should have fallen into- an excess which has proved fatal to some. And 1 am at a loss to conceive how they could, un- der such circumstances; pretend to say, that the cause of this unfortunate but shameful conduct, was the neglect of their government or its agent. This, I am informed, they have stated to the oiBccrs who were sent to examine into the affair. I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, ' R. G. BEASLEY. The Ccmmittee of the American prisoners^ Dartmoor, No. XIX. DARTMOORj APRIL 14, 1815. Sir — Yours, of the 12th inst. came to hand this morn- ing. It is v^lth astonishment we note its contents, that the officers who came to enquire into the circumstances of the late unfortunate affair, should have informed you, that the prisoners stated to them, the cause pf that event was that their governm.ent or its agent had neglected them. This is a most deliberate falsehood, let your authors be who they may. We deny not, that the anxiety of the prisoners to get released from here has been great, tb.ey have even cen- sured you as being dilatory in your preparations for that purpose — but their government they have never imphca- ted — and you may rest assured, that they have too much of the gcnuinespirit of Americans to apply to the oilicers of a foreign government for relief, or to make them a par- ty in any dispute with the government or its agents. We solemnly assure you, that v/hatever anxiety among the prisoners, or want of confidence in your exertions, as above stated, may have existed among them, that it can in no Vv-ay be construed to have any collusion or connection with the late event ; and was expressly so stated to the ad- miral who came here from Plymouth. We, on the contrary, in the name of the five tliousand prisoiiers confmed here, accuse Shortland of a deliberate, pre-determined act of atrocious murder-^we have suffi- cient evidence in our possession to prove it to the world. 20 jind wc call on you (there being at present no accredited minister or charge des affaires at tlie court of London) to make strict enquiries into the circumstances of the case, and procure all the evidence necessary for a proper investi- p-ation into the same : for well do we feel assured, that our government will not thus suffer its citizens to be sacrificed ibr the gratification of national prejndice, malice or re- venge of the petty officers of a foreign state. We are at no loss to impute the misrepresentation of the British officers to their proper motives. They artfully wish to excite in your breast a spirit of enmity and resent- jnent against the prisoners, that you might use less perse- verar.ce, or feel yourself less interested in making the prop- er enquiries into the late affair. With much respect, wc remain, sir, your most obedient and humble servants, VV ILLI AM HOBART, WALTER COLTON, HENRY ALLEN. ^ • Ji. G. Beasleij^ Esq. Jgent for Prisoners, Loiidou. •No. XX. '2.d Letter from JSIr. Beaslcy to the American Committee. Agency for American Prisonevs of War. 7 London, April 14, 1815* 3 Gentlemen — My letter to you of the 12th inst. on the subject of tiie melancholy event, was written under an im- pression Vk^hich I received from a report of it, transmitted to me by this government : I have since received your re- port of the circumstances. Had I been in possession of the information therein contained, that letter would have been differendy expressed. I am, gentlemen, your obedi- ent servant, R. G. BEASLEY. Committee of American Prisoners^ Dartmoor. P. S. I subjoin an extract of the report alluded to from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty : EXTRACT. *^ The rioters, it appears, endeavored to overpower the guard, to force the prison, and had actually seized the arms of some of the soldiers, and made a breach in the •walls of the depot, when the guard found itself obliged to liave recourse to their fire arms, and five of the rioters were killed, and thirty-four wounded, after which the tumult subsided, and the depot was placed in a state of tranquility ftnd security, '2i " Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, Coirimandcriii Cijiof at Plymouth, having* received information of this unfortu- nate event, lost no time in directing- Rear Admiral Sir Jo- sias Rowley, Baronet, K. C. 13. and Schor.nbcjg, the two senior officers at that port, to proceed to IDartmcor and to inquire into the ciicamstances : Tiiose officers accordinp^ly repaired to the depot, where they found, on examinatiij»n of the officers of the depot and «// thcylmerican prisoners who were called before them, that the circumstances of the riot were as before* stated ; but that no excuse could he as- signed for the conduct of the prisoners, but their impa- tiince tjo be released ; and the j^mericans unanirnouslv dc- Glared, that tiieir complaint of delay was not a;^iHnst the Britidi government, but ag-ainst their own, which ought to have sent means for their early conveyance home, -and in replies to-distinct qiiestions to that effecr, they declared they had no ground of compUunt whatsoevifr."' No'. XXI. DARTJIOOR, Al'LlIL 17, 1015, To Rear Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, Sir — The officers whom vou sent to this place to in- ■m A. quire into the circumstance of the unfortunate occurrence of the 6th inst. whatever rif>ht thev had to represent the conduct of Capt. Shortland in the most ilivorable manner, ive conceive it an act of gross injustice that they .should , have given to you such a false and scandalous representa- tion of what they v.-ere told by the prisoners. . In the report from the admiralty- board to Mr. Beaslcy, (a copy of v.'hich he has transmitted to us) it is stated that the prisoner's, when called u'poii to give an account of the circumstances of the sixth, exonerated Capt. Sliortlar.d and the English government from any blame respecting the some, and accused their own government arid its apeiit of being the cause. We, on the contrary, solemnly declare that it was ex- pressly stated to Admiral Rowley^ that v.'hatc\tr anxiety might have existed among the prisoners for a speedy re- lease, could, in no way whatever, be construed to have had any collusion or connexion with that event. That the pris- oners, so far from having any idea of attempting to break out, if the gates had been opened and every ono sufilrcd to ii-Q who mi«ht wish to do so, not one m a hundred would ^ h^-ve left the prisQH} having no means of subsistcr.ce in ^, 2? foreign country, and being likewise liable to impress- ment, when by staying a few days longer, they would, •probabl}', be embarked Ibr their native country. They, on the contrary, accused Capt. Shortland of be- ing the sole mover and principal perpetrator of the unpro- voked and horrid butchery. Conceiving, from your well known character in the Brit- ish navy for integrity and candour, that you would not wish to h:)ve your Uunie the medium of imposing such a gross misrepresentation and such direct falsehoods on the admi- raltv board and the British public, we liave taken the liber- ty of thus addressing you, and have the honor to subscribe ourselves vour most obedient and verv humble servants, Wm. HOBART, WAL TER COLTON, HENRY ALLEN, THOMAS B. MOTT, Wm. B. ORNE, Coinmittee of American Friso?2erSj Dartmoor. [In addition to the documents furnished by the commit- tee of the Dartmoor prisoners, we lay the following aflida- vit of Archibald Taylor before the public. Will people doubt this evidence also ? Is it likely that common sol- diers, hired assassins, tvoukl make use of similar expres- sions from their own impulses ? or is it not much more conformable to common sense to believe that this was the language held by their officers, and that they echoed it ?] City of Neiv- York ss. Archibald Taylor, late cQrhmander of the Paul Jones private armed vessel of war, being duly sv/orn, doth de- pose and say — That he was a prisoner in Dartmoor prison at the time of X\\Q late massacre of the Americans ; that after the af- fair of the 6th of April, and on the night of the same day, he was in the prison No. 3, assisting Thomas Smith, late ]iis boatswain, who was shot through his leg by the sol- diers in the 3ard, when a« order was received to have all the wounded removed from the prisons to the hospital — and while tliis deponent was carrying the said Thos. Smith to the door of the prison, to deliver him to the guards se- lected to receive him, sonic of the soldiers observed to this deponent, " this is in turn for the aftair lit New-Or= 25 kans, where you killed our men, and now we have our re- venge" — and further this deponent saith not. ARCHIBALD TAYLOK. Sworn before me this 2Qth June, 1815. AARON H. PALMER, Notary Public, KING AND LA^PENT's REPORT. Plymouth, X'&th Jpril, 1815. We the undersigned commissioners, appointed on be- half of our respective governments, to inquire into and report upon,* the unfortunate occurrence of the 6th April inst, at Dartmoor Prison ; having carefully perused the proceedings of the several courts of inquiry, instituted iiti- mediately after that event, by the orders of Admiral Sir John T. Duckworth and Major-General Brown, lespee- tively, as well as the depositions taken at the coroner's in- quest upon the bodies of the prisoners, who lost their lives upon that mclancholly occasion ; upon which inquest the jury found a verdict of justifiable homicide ; proceeded immediately to the examination upon oath in the presence of one or more of the magistrates of the vicinity, of all the witnesses, both American and English, who off^^red themselves for that purpose ; or who could be discovercd as likely to atiord any material inforn:^.tion on the subject, as well as those who had been previously examined before the coroner, as otherv/ise, to the number in the whole of about eighty. We further proceeded to a minute exami- nation of the prisons, for tlie pqrpose of clearing up some points which, upon the evidence alone, were scarcelv intel- ligible ; obtaining from the prisoners, and from the oiii- cers of the depot, all the necessary assistance and explaua-^ tion ; and premising, that we have been from necessity compelled to draw many of our conclusions from state- ments and evidence highly contradictory, we do now make upon thf whole proceedings the following report : — During the period vvhicii has elapsed since the anival ia this country of the account of the ratification of the treaty of Ghent, an increased degree of resdessness and impa- tience of confinement appears to have prevailed amongst the American prisoners at Daitmoor, which, though net exhibited in the shape of any violent excesses, has beeit- principally indicated by threats of breaking out if not 5cr>n released. On the 4th of this moi,jth \\\ particular, or.iy ^wg days 34 prcx ious io IJiC events which are the subject of this inqni- rv, a large body of the prisoners rushed into the market- square, irom n-heiice, by the reguhitions of the prison they :irc exchided, demanded bread instead of biscuit, V\hicli. liad on that day been issued by the .oflicers of the depot ; their demands having been tlien ahnost immediately com- plied with, they returned to their own yards, and the em- nlovment of force on that occasion became imnccessarv. On the evening of the Gth, about six o'clock, it was clearly proved to us, that a breach or hole had lieen made in one of the prison walls, sufiicient for a full ?,ized man to pass, and that others had been commenced in the course of the day near the same spot, though never completed. That a number of the prisoners were ov.er the railing e- rected to {)revent them from communicating with the cen- tineb on the walls, which was of course forbidden by the regulations of the })rison, and that in the space between the railing and those walls they were tearing up pieces of turf, and wantonly pelting each other in a noisy and disor- derly manner. Tliat a much more considerable number of the prison- ers was collected together at that time in one of their yards near the place \a ficre the breach was effected, and that al- though such collection of prisoners was not unusual at oth- er times (the Gauibling Tables being commonly kept in that part of ilic 3'ard) yet, when connected with the cir- ( umstances of the breach, and the time of the day, which was after the hour the signal for the prisoners to retire to their respective prisons had ceased to sound, it became a natural and 'just ground of alarm to those who had charge of the depot. It was also in evidence that in the building formerly the petty officers' prison, but now the guard barrack, -.hich ^tands in the vard to which the hole in the wall would serve as a commuiiication, a part of the arms of the guard who w trc oif duty, were usually kept in the racks, arid though there was no evidence that this was, in. any rcpect, the TTiolive which induced the prisoners to make the o}:ening in.the wall, or even that they were ever acquainted with the fact, it naturally became at least a further cause of sus- picion aiid alarm, ;ind an additional reason for precaution. Upon these grounds Capt. Shortland appears to us to liave been justified in giving the order, whicli about.this tini'j he seems to liave given, to sound ih.e iilarm bell, the s rr nsnal signal for collecting the oiBcers of the depot and put- ting: the military on the alert. However reasonable and justifiable this waS as a measure of precaution, llie effects produced thereby in the prisons* but which could not have been intended^ were most tmfor- tunate, and deeply to be regretted. A considerable num-" ber of the prisoners in the yards wh<^rc no disturbance ex- isted before, and who were eitlier already within their res- pective prisons, or quietly retiring as usual towards them, immediately upon the sound of the bell rushed back from curiosity (as it appears) towards the gates, where by that time the crowd had assembled, and many who were at the time absent from their yards, were also from the plan of the prison, compelled, in order to reach their own homes, to pass the same spot, and thus that which was merely a measure of precaution, in its operation iiicrcased the evil it was intended to prevent* Almost at the same instant that the alarm bell rung, (but whether before or subse- quent is upon the evidence doubtful, though Capt. Short- land states it positively as one of his further reasons for causing it to ring) some oiie or more of the prisoners broke the iron chain, v/hich was the only fastening of No. 1 gate, leading into the market square by means of an irou bar ; and a very considerable number of the prisoners im^ mediately rushed towards that gate ; and many of them began to press forwards as fast as the opening would per- mit into the square. There was no direct proof before us of previous con- cert or preparation on the part of the prisoners, and no ev- idence of their intention or disposition to effect their es- cape on this occasion, excepting that which arose by infer- ence from the whole of the above detailed circumstances connected together. The natural and almost irresistible inference to be drawing however, from the conduct of the prisoners by Captain. Shortland and the military was, that an intention on the part of the prisoneis to escape was on the point of bcir.g carried into execution, and it was at least certain that they were by force passing beyond the limits prescribed to ther:i. at a time when they ought to have been quietly going in for the night. It was also in evidence that the outer gates of the market square were usual!}- opened about this time to i^;i the bread '.vagi^ons pass and repass to the store, aU though at the perio'd in question they were in fact closed* 26 Under these circumstances, and with these hnpressions.'' necessarily operating upon his mind, and a knowledge that if the prisoners once penetrated through the square, the power of escape was almost to a certainty afforded to them, if they should be so disposed ; Capto Shortland in the first instance proceeded down the square towards the prisoners, having ordered a part of the different guards, to the num- ber of about fifty only at first, (though they were increas- ed afterwards) to follow him. For some time both he and Dr. Magrath endeavored by quiet means and persuasions to induce the prisoners to return to their own yards, ex- plaining to them the fatal consequences which must ensue if they refused, as the military would in that case be ne- cessarily compelled to employ force. The guard was by this time formed in the rear of Capt. Shortland, about two thirds of the way down the square— the latter is about one luindred feet broad, and the guard extended nearly all a- cross. Capt. Shortland, finding that persuasion was al! in vain, and that although some "\vere induced by it to make an effort to retire, others pressed on in considerable num- bers, at last ordered about 15 file of the guard, nearly in front of the gate which had been forced, to charge the prisoners back to their own yards. The prisoners were in some places so near the military, that one of the soldiers states that he could not come fairly down to the ch.arge r and the military were unwilling to act as against an enemy. Some struggling ensued between the parties, arising partly from intention, but mainly from" the pressure of those behind preventing those in front from getting back. After some little time, however, tliis charge appears to have been so far effective, and that with little or 110 injury to the prisoners, as to have driven tlicni for the most part quite down out of the square, with the exception of a small number who continued their resistance about No. 1 gate. A great crowd still remained collected after this in the passage between the square and the prisoners' yards, and in the part of those yards in the vicinity of the gates. — > 'I'his asseml)lage still refused to withdraw, and according to most of tlie English witnesses and some of the Ameri- can, was making a noise, hallooing, insulting and provo- king, and darin£c the military to fire, and according to the testimony of several of the soldiers, and some others v.:erc peliing the military with large stones, by \vhich some of 27 ;ihem were actually struck. This circumstance is, howev- er, denied by many of the American witnesses ; and some of the English, upon having the question put to them, sta- ted they saw no stones tlirown previously to the firing, al- though their situation at the time was such as to enable them to see most of the proceedings in the square. Under tliese circumstances the firing commenced. — With regard to any order having been given to fire the ev* idence is very contradictory. Several of the Americans swear positively, that Capt. Shortland gave that order ; but the manner in which from the confusion of the moment, they described this part, of the transaction, is so different in its details that it is very difficult to reconcile their testi- mony. Many of the soldiers and other English witnesses, heard the word given by some one, but no one of them can swear it was by Capt. Shortland, or by any one in particu- lar, and some, amongst whom is the officer commanding the guard, think, if Capt. Shortland had given such an or- der that they must have heard it, which they did not. In addition to this Capt. Shortland denies the fact ; and from the situation which he appears to have been placed at the time, even according to the American witnesses, in front of the soldiers, it ma}- appear somewhat improbable that he should then have given such an order. But, however, it may remain a matter of doubt wheth- er the firing first began in the square by order, or was a spontaneous act of the soldiers themselves, it seemed clear that it was continued and renewed both there and elsewhere without orders ; and that on the platforms, and in several places 'about the prison, it was certainly commenced with- out any authority. The fact of an order having been given at first, provi- ded the firing was under the existing circumstances justi- fiable, does not appear very material in any other point of yiew, than as shewing a want of self possession and disci- pline in the troops if they should have fired without order. VVitli regard to the above most important consideration, of whetlier the firing was justifiable or not, we are of o- pinion, under all the circumstances of the case, from the apprehension \\4iich the soldiers might fairly eiitertnin, ow. ing to the mmibers and conduct of the prisoners, that this firing to a certain extent was justifiable in a mihtary point qf view, in order to intimidate the prisoners, and compel *]iem thereby to desist from ail acts of violence, and tq re- 1 28 tire as they were ordered, from a situation in which the re-: sponsibility of the agents, and the military, could not per>. jnit them with safety to remain. From the fact of the crowd being so close and the firing at first being attended with very little injury, it appears probable that a large proportion of the muskets were, as stated by one or two of the witnesses, levelled over the Iieads of the prisoners ; a circumstance in some respects to be lamented, as it induced them to cry out " blank car- tridges," and merely irritated and encouraged them to re- new their insults to the soldiery, which produced a repeti- tion of the firing in a manner much more destructive. The firing in the square having continued for some time, by which several of the prisoners sustained injuries, the greater part of them appear to have been running back with the utmost precipitation and confusion to their respec-. tive prisons, and the cause for further firing seem.s at this period to have ceased. It appears, accordingly, that Cap- tain Shortland was in the market square exerting himself and giving orders to that effect, and that Lieut. Fortye had succeeded in stopping the fire of his part of the guard. Under these circumstances, it is very difficult to find a- ny justification for the further continuance and renewal of the firing, which certainly took place both in the prison yards and else Vv here ; though we have some evidence of subsequent provocation given to the military, and resis- tance to the turnkeys in shutting the prisons, and of stones being thrown out from within the prison doors. I'he subsequent firing rather appears to have arisen from the state of individual irritation and exasperatic;> on the part of the soldiers, who followed the prisoners into their yards, and from the absence of nearly all of the officers who might have restrained it, as well asVrom the great dif- ficulty of putting an end to a firing when once commen- ced under such circumstances. Capt; Shortland was from this time ijusily occupied with the turnkeys in the square, receiving and taking care of the wounded.*^ Ensign White remained with his guard at the breach, and Lts.'Ayelyne and Fortye, the only other subalterns known to have been present, continued with the main bodies of their rcspcc- tive guards. The time of the day, which was the oflicers' dinner hour, V. ill in some measure explain this, as it caused tlie absence of every officer from the prison whose j^restace 29 was not indispensable there. And this circumstar.re, which has been urged as an argument to j^rove the inten- tion of the prisoners to take this opportunity to escape, tended to increase the conlusion, and to prevent th.ose great exertions being- made whicii might perhaps have ol^viated a portion at least oi' the mischief which ensued. At the same time that the firing was going on in the square, a cross fire was also kept up from several of the platforms on the walls round the prisoners where tjjc sen- tries stand, by straggling parties of soldiers wlio ran up there for that purpose. As far as this fire was directed to disperse the men assembled round the breach, for v»hieh purpose it w^as most eliectual, it seems to stand uj)on the same ground as that in the first instance in tlie square. — But that part which it is positively sworn was direcled a- gainst straggling parties of prisoners rimning about die yards and endeavoring to enter in the few doors whioli the turnkeys, according to their usual practice, had left open, does seem, as stated, to have been wholly without oh'ect or excuse, and to have been a wanton attack upon thclivcs of defenceless, and at that time, unoffending individuals. In the same, or even more severe terms, we must re- mark upon what W'as proved as to the firing in the door- ways of the prisons, more particularly into that of No. 3 prison, at a time when t!"ic nien were in cro'\ds at the en- trance. P'rom the position of the prison and the door, and from the marks of the balls which were pointed out to us, as v/ell as from the evidence, it was clear this firing must have proceeded from soldiers a very few feet from the door )vay ; and although it \vas certainly swxjrn that the prison- ers were at the time of part of the firing at least, continu- ing to insult and occasionally to throv^- stones at the sol- diers, and that they were standing in the way of, and im- peding the turnkey, who was there for the purpose of cio-, sing the door, yet still there was nothing stated which could, in our view, at all justify such excessively harsh and severe treatment of helpless and unarmed prisoners, v.hcn all idea of escape was at an end. Under these impressions, we used every endeavor to .(•-.certain if there was tlie least prospect of identif;»ing any ■'{■ the soldiers who had been guilty of the particulp.r out- ragci^^.ere alluded to, or of tracing any particular death at iiiii.t lime to the Bring of iuiy particular indi\ idual, but 30 without success ; and all hopes of bringing the offenders to punisliment would seem to be at an end. Jn conclusion, we, the undersigned, have only to add^ that whilst we lament, as we do most deeply, the unfortu- nate transaction which has been the subject of this enqui- ry, we find ourselves unable to suggest any steps to be ta- ken as to those parts of it which seem to call for redress and punishment (Signed) CHARLES KING, FKANCIS SEYMOUR LARPENT. Plymouth^ April 26, 1815. Sin — In pursuance of the instructions received fronj ^lessrs. Clay and Gallatin, I have now the honor to trans- mit to you the report prepared by Mr. Larpent and myself on behalf of our respective governments, in relation to the unfortunate transactions at X^artnioor Prison of War, on the 6th of the present month. Considering it of much importance that the report, whatever it might be, should go forth under our joint signatures, I have forborne to press some of the points which it involves, as far as otherwise I plight have done, and it therefore may not be improper in this letter to enter into some little explanation of such parts of the report. Although it does appear that a part of the prisoners were on that evening in such a state, and under such cir- cumstances as to have justified, in the view which the com- mander of the depot could not but take of it, the interven- %\Q)W of the military force, and even in a strict sense, the first use of fire arms, yet I cannot but express it as my set- tled opinion, that by conduct a little more temporising this dreadful alternative of firing upon unarmed prisoners might ^ave been avoided. Yet as this opinion has been the re- sult of subsequent examination, arid after having acquired ;i knowledge of the comparatively harmless state of the prisoners, it may be but fair to consider, whether in such a moment of confusion and alarm, as that appears to have been, the officer commanding could have fairly estimated his danger, or have measured out with precision the extent and nature of the force necessary to guard against it. But when the firing bccarne general, as it afterwards ap- pears to have been, and caught with electric rapidity from (he square to the platforms, there is no plea nor shuftlow of excuse for it, e^icept h, the personal cxaspj^rution of the 51 soldiery, nor for the more deliberate, and tlicrcforc more unjustifiable firing which took place into three of the pris- ons, No. 1, 3, and four, but more particularly into No. 3, after the prisoners had retired into them, and there was no longer any pretence of apprehensions as to their escape. — < Upon this ground, as you, sir, will perceive by the rcjx)rt, Mr. Larpent and myself had no difFerence of opinion, and I am fully persuaded that my own regret was not greater than his at perceiving how hopeless would be the attempt to trace to any individuals of the military these outrageous proceedings. As to whether the order to fire came from Capt; Short- land, I yet confess myself unable to form any satisfactory opinion, though perhaps the bias of my miud is, that he did give such an order. But his anxiety and exertions to stop it after it had continued for some little time, are fully proved, and his general conduct previous to this occur- rence, as far as Vi^e could with propriety enter into such de- tails, appears to have been characterized with great fliirness, and even kindness, in the relation in whicii he stood to- ivards the prisoners. On the subject of any complaints against their own gov- ernment existing among the prisoners, it was invariably answered to several distinct questions put by me on that head, that none whatsoever existed or had been expressed by them, although they confessed thcmsei\es to entertain some animosity against Mr. Beaslcy, to whom they attrib- uted their detention iii this countrj' ; with what justice you, sir, will be better able to judge. They made no complaint ^vhatsoever as to their provisions and general mode of liv- ing and treatment in the prison. I have transmitted to Mr. Beasley a list of the killed and wounded on this melanclioly occasion, with a request that he would forward it to the United States for the informa- tion of their friends at home, and I am pleased to have it in my power to say, that the wounded are for the most part doing well. I have also enclosed to Mr. Beasky the notes taken hf me of the evidence adduced before us, with a request that he would have them fairly copied, as also a copy of the depositions taken before the Coroner, and desired him Xu submit them to you when in order. I cannot conclude, sir, without expressing my high sense of the impartiality and manly fairness with nlnch ilm en- qmry Iras been cowduclcd on the part of Mr. Larpeiit, rior without nicntioiiing tliat every facihty was afTordcd to us in its prosecution, as well by the mihtary officers comman-^ din;^ here and at the prison, as by the magistrates in the vi^ tlulty. I have the honor to be, with much respect, your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) CHARLES KING, His ILxcellcnvy John Q. Adams, ^c. Isc. KEPLY TO King and Jiarpent's Report. TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UA^ITED STATES, Ilavlntr perused, with attention, tlie report of Mr. Charles Kikg, and Francis Seymour LaIipknt, on their examination of the &iifjr[unate occurrence at Dailmoor, on the 6lh of April last — We, the undersigned, being there at the time this loi- fortunate occurrence took place, deem it a duty we owe to tiiz surviving sufferers of that bloody transaction, to our fciiow-citizcns, and ourselves, to make some remarks up- on such a singular report. Although we presume the door is forever closed against any further investigation of that e in tiie rear, Und if the chain had not broke the lock, must have,.i;iven ^vay to the pressure, and by this opcnini^, it is but natural to suppose, that a number must have been siiovcd into the square in front of the soldiers, wlio were drawn up in a line across the square, with Shortland at their head. If, as the report now i^oes on to state, there was no di- rect proof before them of a previous concert or preparation on the part of the prisoners, and no evidence of their inten- tion or disposition to eifeet their escape on this occasion, exceptiui;; ihut wiiich arose b}' inference from the whole of the detailed circumstances connected tOP[ether, had Mr. King; examined the evidence on the part of tiie prisoners, as minutely as it seems he' examined those en the part of Shortland, he could not even have drawn the shadow of an inference of that beinp; tlielr intep.tion. Where the commissioners g-ot their evidence for assert, ing that Capt. Shortland, by quiet means and persuasion, endeavored to persuade die prisonei's to retire into their re- spective yards, is unaccouritable, to us, as those who know Captain Shortland, know he is not a man of persuasion. — It is correct that Dr. M'Grath used every exertion to per- suade the prisoners to retire out of the. square, Vi hich, if Shortland had allowed suHicient time, would have been quietly doue-r— -but the crowd, by this time, had become so great, and the pressure from the rear so strong, that those in front could not retreat until time should be allowed for those in the rear to fall back, but the liasty, haughtv, and overbearing temper of Shortland could not allow him to use such conciliatory means. He orders (the report says) fifteen file of the guard fronting llie open gate, to the charge ; and after some little tmie the charge was so efiec- tu:.il, with but v<^vY httie or-no injury to the prisoners, as to drive them, for the most part, quite out of the square, with the exception of a small number who continued their re- sistance about No. 1 gate. Under these circumstances, continues the report, the firing commenced. Here we beg leave to request an attentive perus.il of the affidavits of some of the prisoners, taken by the con^rnit- tee, and which relate particularly to' this part r f th.j trans- action. It is there positively j.tated, that o.. die soldi, rs coming to a charge the jjri.-joners ALL rttieated i.uo the I'ard and pushecl the gate to after t! -ui. If iLc ten. mis- S3 sioners had examined that evidence, this part of the re. port ought to have been differently expressed. We cannot conceive how Mr. King finds it difficult to reconcile the testimony respectinp; Captain Shortland's giv^ ing the orders to fire ; when he reports that several of the Americans swear positively, that Capt. Short- land gave that order — and many of the soldiers and the English witnesses heard the word given by some one, but could not swear it was by Capt. Shortland ; and some of tlicm (among whom is the officer commanding the guard) THINK, if Capt. Shortland had given such an order, they must have heard it, which they did not. Thus, then, stands the foundation for this part of the report. An En- glish officer THINKS it is not so, and several Americans SWEAR it is so ; and he finds it very difficult to reconcile their testimony. The lightness with which they seem to have passed over this most imj)ortant point of that day's transaction, cannot but be deeply regretted by those who feel for the unhappy sufferers, when they go on to state, " It may remain a matter of doubt whether the firing first began in the square by an order, or whether it ■ was a spontaneous act of the soldiers themselves ; it seemed clear it was continued and renewed, both there and else- where, without orders — and that on the platforms and several places about the prison it was certainly . com- pienccd without any authorky.^^ We must once more request the attention of the public to the affidavits al- ready published ; it is there sworn by one of the witnesses, that previous tothealarrii bell being rung, and winle walking in the yard, a soldier called to him froiri ihc wails and told him to go in, as they would soon be fired upon. How, then, can it be possible, that a soldier ;on the walls should know that they would soon be fired up- on, if the order had not been previously given to that ef- fect ? And had the bugle-nian been examined, he could have stated, that previous to the ringing of the alarm-bell, Jie received orders to sound to jirc ; so that when the sol- diers took their stations on the walls, they were charged and prepared for that purpose. ^With such information, we conceive the committee to stand fully, justified in sta- ting in their report, the belief of its being a pre-concerted plan, on the part of Siiortland ; and if the commissioners had possessed themselves with a knowledge of these cir- ctjn-jstauccsj which they could and ought to have d'onc^ 3^ would they, then, reported Shortland as justifiable, cveiif ill a military point of view ? The next thing we have to notice in the report is, that very singular paragraph, which says, *' from ilie fact of the crowd being so close, and the firing at Jirst being at tended \vith very little injury, it appears probable, that a large jjroportion of the muskets were, as stated by one of two of the witnesses, levelled over the heads of the pris- oners, a circumstance, in some respects, to be lament ed.^^ Is it, then, to be lamented, that the soldiers did not level their pieces, on the first fire, directly into the crowd, which they have stated to be so great and so close that a soldier declared he could not come fairlj' doAvn to a charge <* or is it to be lamented, that one or two hundred were not killed at the first discharge, and a thousand or two v/oun- dcd ? If so, we think it much to be lamented, that tlte reporters were not there, and placed foremost in the crowd. The circumstance of so few being hurt at the first dis- charge is not strange to those who arc acq^nainted with the situation ; and this occurrence alone corroborates the A- merican evidence, and ought to have been sufficient proof to the commissioners that the prisoners upon being char- ged upon retreated through the gates, and sliut them after them before the firing commenced ; aixi i\luch circum- stance, alone, should have shut the door of justification a- gainst Shordand for commencing a fire upon them, as they were in their own yards. As this was the actual situation of the prisoners on the first discharge, and the soldiers hav- ing to fire through the iron paling, and the prisoners re- treating on a descending ground, of course brought the muskets, when down to a level, over the heads of the pris- oners — ^rt was ovving to this fortiniate cn-cumstance that so few were injured on the first discharge of the musketry ;- and it seems the inhuman Shortland was aware of this cir- cumstance, v.lien he was distinctly heard to order his sol- diers to fire low. This does not ap.pear to correspond ^vith that part of their report which says, '' Cii])tain Sliori land was in the market square exerting himself in givin^^ orders to stop the firing." That thcr-3 was any provocation given to the soldiers tc^ justify their subsequent brutal coiiduct, the comniis-sicu-' ers themselves seem to find it very difficult to trace any <^v- sdence, although they say, it appears, that there wa-? vju-c-r i-esistance made to the turnkeys in shutting llic prison, anc? 40 that stones w'cvc thrown nt the military. Had they ex ami. Ticd ihe prisoners sulficiently, they would have been con- vinced that no resistance wj^'s made to tlK^ turnke3s in shut- ling the doors. As to tiirovvin:^ stones at the military while they were chasing them from corner to corner, and firing at them in e\cry place wliere the}'- had taken shelter from the balls, coind it be e:-:pected but they would seize on something for self-defence, wlien they saw the soldiera running at them with their bayonets, and having no possi- ble means of escape, as it iias been before stated, all the doors in the prisons had been previously closed except one,' and tiiat one, perhaps, the length of the prison from him. Js there a man in sncli a situation but w^ould seize on the first vweapon that ofiered itself, and sell his life as dear as possible. How can they, then, make that the slightest justification for socli outrageous conduct on the part of .Shortland or the militar}' ? As to most of the officers being absent is erroneous ; it could have i^cen proved that there was an officer in every yard, and in' one instance where he was heard to give the order to fire on a party of prisoners close by the door, and running and making every exertion to enter the prison. As to captain Shortland being busy in t'ne square with the turnkeys, receiving and taking care of the wounded, eerlainly shov/s the commissioners' want of correct infor- mation, for it is already before the public, in affidavit, the cruel manner in which the Avounded were treated by him^ and of liis abuse to the prisoners who were bearing the Wounded to the hospital gate. That part of the report M'hich relates tl^iit the time and commencement of thi^ transaction was th.e officers' dinner hour, is too ridiculous for a conmicnt. We do not believe tliat there was a piis-" f)iier in th.e depot that knew when or where the ofiicei-s din- ed, and therefore, can be no ground for an argument, that the prisoners were taking this opportunity to escape. 'riie report goes on to state, " the cross-ure, v» hich was kept up frcm severa.I of the |~)Iatforms on the vralls round the prison, and directed against straggling parties of pris- oners riinniny- about the vard, endeavoring; to enter the prison by the door winch the turnkey left open, according to their usual practice, does seem to liave been Vv-ithout ob- ject or excuse, and to have been a wanton attack upon \h& live:, of defenecless, and, at ih.e same time, unoffending- in- cUviduals." In ;inh\vi.r to this paragra})h_, v/e .^-'hail onl^- re-' 41 ply, that had the commissioners examined all the Amer- ican evidence, an.d attached the same credit to it, which- it appears they have done to all the Enghsh evidence* simihir expressions would have been made use of arainst Shortland's conduct throughout the whole of their report. It apjjears to us, after an attentive exariiination of this report, that the commissioners meant to justify Sliortland in commencing his murderous attack upon the prisoners, and to condemn the soldiers for continuinoj it. Singular as this idea appears,, it is no less strange to us, how it can be possible they could reconcile it to their feelings to make up a report containing such a direct contradiction to reason ; for surely if Shortland could be justified in using coercive measures in the first instance, the military certainly should be acquitted for the subsequent massacre, as the whole was conducted under his im.mediate command ; — and if he liad A RIGHT to kill one, on the same ground he might have extended it to a thousand. And, on the other hand, if any part of the transaction is to be condemned, Shortland should answer for the whole ; for what necessity could there be made to attempt identifying any of the soldiers ? Surely the commissioners could not think of bringing them to punishment, as they acted by the direct orders of Short- land and his officers ? — and if any one could or ought to be made to answer for the outrage, it should be Shortland. In addition to the contradictions contained in the com- missioners' joint report, Mr. King, in his letter to his ex- cellency J. Q,. Adams, almost denies the ground on which they have, in part, founded Shortland's justification, when he says (alluding to having heard several Americans sivear, positively, that Shortland did give the order to fire, and an ofl^cer of the jjuard thinkinp' that he did not, as he should have heard him) "perhaps the bias of my mind was, that Shortland did give that order ; and wishing the report to go forth under our joint signatures, I forbore to press some of the points so far as otherwise I m»ic ht have done." If, then, any part has been neglected, or passed over for accommodation, or any other purpose (and one there cer- tainly has, in not paying the same attention to the Ameri- can as was done to the English evidence) it is to be re- gretted that Mr.. King should so far forget the sacred du- ties attached to the appointment of a commissioner to en- quire ilito the murder of his countrymen, as to pass over ;> 4 .-*> ny points which might have brought to light the means of punishment for the murderer, or obtained in some measure an indemnity for the surviving unhappy sufferers. Will not the shades of the departed victims haunt him in his midnight sUimbers, and pointing to their lacerated bodies, say, these still remain unavenged ? Will not the unhappy survivors show the stumps of their amputated limbs, and say, these wounds fester, and still remain una- toncd ? ^Vill not the widow and the helpless orphan raise tlieir innocent hands to heaven, and cry, why was justice denied us ? Whv was the heart so callous to our suffer- ings ? — ^ And why was the bosom shut to sympathy ? Let Mr. King point out some means to appease these bitter complaints, and we shall be satisfied. We shall now close these unpleasant remarks, by noti- cing another unaccountable error in Mr. King's letter to Mr. Adams, where he mentions, speaking of Shortland, *' and his general conduct, previous to this occurrence, as far as I could with propriety enter into such details, ap-= pears to have been characterised with great fairness and e» veil kindness in the relation in which he stood towards the prisoners." We shall not pretend to ask Mr. King where he obtained the evidence on which he o-rounds this asser- tion ; we are sure it was not from the prisoners, who ought to have been the best judges of that circumstance ; butj instead of all that, all the Americans who were permitted to express an opinion on that subject at the examination, declared, without reserve, as v/ould all the prisoners in the depot, had they been asked the cjuestion, that Shortland's conduct, from the commencement of his appointment to that station, had been cruel, oppressive, and overbearing ; nnd, instead of taking measures to alleviate the distresses of the wretched objects under him, as a feeling man would have done, he seemed to take a pleasure in harrassing them whenever he could find the slightest pretext for so doing. IF. •Coft072, Henry Dolliver^ Joseph Swain, B. Weeks, ArWd. Taylor, Philip Blacky Jlj'm. M'intijrey Homer Hall, Wni. Cochran, James M. Bushficld, David Installs, John Jones, Jieuhen Sherman, Wm. Demerell^ Arch'd. I. Mackay, Thomas Ward^ IVilliam, K. JVhite. 43 • ■ REMARKS. In presenting to the world the record of a transaction, probably the most barbarous which the history of modem warfare can furnish, we cannot refrain from remarks. — Whatever our feehngs may be, upon a subject so amply calculated to excite the indignation and abhorrence of ev- ery friend to humanity, and every one who has respect for the laws of civilized and mitigated warfare, we will, nev- ertheless, refrain, so far as the circumstances of outraged humanity will permit, from the violence of invective, and wholly from unwarranted crimination. Those, into whose hands these documents may fall, will, however, " preserve them as a monument erected to the memorv of their slauch- tered countrymen, and a memento of the unfeeling: cruel- ty of our late enemy. Though Vi'e are hr from believing that there are not per- sons of noble and humane minds in the English- nation, yet, a uniformity of conduct, on the part of the Govern- ment and its agents, has taught us to believe that they, at least, are blood- thirst v and cruel. The incarceration of Americans in the Jersey Prison Ship at New- York, and Mill Prison, in Kngland, m the Revolutionary war, raised, in the minds of the sainted heroes of those times, the most exalted feelings of indig- nation and abhorrence. The history of those prisoners, where hundreds were, compelled to wear out an existence, rendered miserable by the erueltj^ ol an enemy, professing a reverence for the sublime principles of Christianity, is already familiarized to the minds of* the American people. If the feelings of Americans were then indignant, what should xhty hQ, on beholding those cruelties renewed with more than tenfold severity ? . I'he conduct of Thomas George Sho?-tiand,'thQ -agent lit Dartmoor Prison, is such as should "damn him to e\erlasting fame," Upon what principles the conduct of this man, prece- dent to the ever memorable sixth of April, 1815, can be justified, we cannot determine. The indi^jcriminate con- finement of both officers and men in the same prisons, and those the most unfit, decayed, and loathsome of any which the 'Government could ftirnish, Avas an infraction of the c§; • • 44 tabiished laws of civilized nations for the treatment of prisoners of war. It was equally abhorrent to the princi- ples of humanity, and only sanctioned by British govern- mental agents, and those petty Nations of Savages, whose known usages of warfare have hitherto kept them beyond the pale of national law. The history of modern Europe- an wars can furnish no parallel to this part of the history of Dartnioor. But when we arrive at the slau,::^hter of pri?;- oners on the sixth of April, the climax; of barbarity is complete, and the mind is sated with the contemplation of principles as shocking to humanity as the consequences are degrading to the character of the English nation. An eminent writer upon national lav;', has formerly ex- tolled the " English and French for their trcatro.ent given to prisoners of war," and at the same time mentions the case of Charles I. King of Naples, who having defeated and taken prisoner Conrade, his competitor, caused him, together with his fellow-prisoner, Frederick of Aus- tria, to be beheaded at Naples. Upon this case our auth- or has the foUovving pertinent remarks : — "^ This barbaritv raised an universal horror, and Peter the third, King of Arragon, reproached Charles with it, as a detestable crime, till tlien unheard of among ciiristian princes. However, the case was of a dangerous rival contending with him for the throne. But, supposing the claims of his rival were unjust, Charles might have kept him in prison until he had renounced them, and given security for his future behav- ior." If this act of Charles raised an *' universal horror," what should be the excitement produced by the cold blood- ed massacre of a number of unarmed and unofiending prisoners of war in cori:ifmement ? Humanity shudders at the thought, and langvingc furnishes no appropriate epithet with which to brand the infamous perpetrator of ;so foul, ED hitherto unb.eard of a crime. Did that writer now live, he would no longer extol the humanity of the English na- tion, but in common with the friends of humanity, he ■would join in the " universal horror" which British cruel- ty has excited. The complcction of this transaction is rendered still more dark and barbarous, and its criminality most shock- ingly enhanced, by the circumstances under which many of those unfortunate men became prisoners, and finally 4'J were offered up as victims to gratify the cruel and insatiate feelings of the British ap;ent. They were American Ciii- sens, who had been impressed into the service and bon- dage of Great Britain, in time of peace. They had ser- ved that Government from a necessity, arising from the assumed principle of a right to search neutral vessels for British seamen, and the practice of taking Americans and eompelUng them to service. \^'e'cannot, however, too much applaud the magnanimity of those men, in refusing to fight against and slaughter their countrymen ; Jior can we too much detest tlie conduct of Great Britain, in con- fining them as prisoners of war. This practice, assumed ns a right in the first moments of our existence as an independent and commercial nation, has " grown with our growth,," and the evil thereof has increased, in proportion as our commercial rivalshi-p has become more alarming to tl^.e pride and injustice of Great Britain. It is a practice which cannot be traced to any principle of justification ; and yet we have seen the Icgisla. tors of Massachusetts, clothed with a garb of official sanc- tity, send to the world a report, amounting almost to a de- nial, that such a practice was in existence ! We pretend not to judge of their motives ; but we remark, how scon they are confounded by the leport of Slwrtlnvd and Ma- gratli. By that instrument it appears, that of thirty -aght wiio were killed or wounded, twelve wcvc of tlie number of impressed Americans, who had given themselves up as prisoners of v/ar, upon the commencement of hostilities. Jf this be the correct proportion of their prisoners, who have been impressed from American vessels, and as it is an puicial document of British authority, v.'e cannot believe the ratio to be less, wo see the advocates of Britisli mrgna- nimity confoufldeti ar.d put to sh.ame, by the testimony of those same British agents, whose justification they have so eagerly, thougii unsuccessfully attempted. It miglit, in- deed, have been supposed, that after having so frcqiieiitly ' "been ti-eated v»ith 'the same- contempt, th.cy might have learned sufficient caution, at least, to stay tl^ir measures until the pleasure of their transatlantic friend:; should be known. But their overv/ecning anxiety has only tended to plunge them in deeper embarrassments, and should teach them, that more prudence and less zeal in the cause of a national enemv, mis-ht secure- thern a safer retreat in 46 the moments when those, whose friendship they had so anxiously sought, had deserted, and condemned them. By tlie report of the Legislature of Massachusetts ijpon the subject of impressments, it would appear, that no more than sixteen had been impressed from this Common- r;ealih. What must be our conclusion upon a comparison of this report, with that of Messrs. Shortland and Ma- grath ? It is irresistable, either that the former did not re- port the full number of impressments, or that the latter have aggravated their guilt and condemnation, by swelling the number to a degree beyond what the facts would justi- fy, from some cause, unknown to their American advo- cates, and in favour of the facts and principles, for which the American government have uniformly contended. A few of those assumed as facts, by the present dominant party in New- England, may aid us in this enquiry, and pr.rhaps conduct us to a correct conclusion. They have repeatedly told us, that New-England, and more particu- larly Massachusetts, has ever been the nursery of our sea- jnen. That this section had furnished more than the whole remaining part of the U. States. Admitting the correct- i^ess of tlie report of Shortland and Magrath, we are -whol- ly unal)le to reconcile the report of our Legislature with those which the}^ assume as facts, and upon which the principles of their report were, in part, predicated. It ex- hibits to our viev/ a disposition to fritter away the enormi- ties of the British government, and a determination to jus- tify them in every act of barbarity, however unjustifiable in its circumstances, or however shocking in its operation. The report of Messrs. King and Larpent may here claim a portion of our attejition. Unpleasant as the task may be, to reflect, even indirectly upon t^ie tonduct of one £)f our countrymen, acting in the high and* solemn capaci- ty to which Mr. King was called, we cannot, however, witliout doing violence to our own feelings, and crimina- ting numbers of our countrymen, perhaps equally entitled to credibility with Mr. King himself, afford our credence to his singular report ; especially when we see it contradic- ted, unconditionally, by the unfortunate witnesses of the unhappy and barbarous traubaction. Even Mr, King himself, in his letter to Mr« Adams^ 47 furnishes a tardy acknowledgement, that he had not com- pleted the duties to which he had been called. '* Consid- ering it of much importance (he says) that the report, whatever it might be, should go forth under our joint sig- natures, I have forborne to press some of the points which it involves as far as otherwise I might have done." And why did Mr. King forbear to press every point involved in the report ? Was it from a disposition to [perform his whole duty to his country ; or, rather, from a too common admiration of British principles and British characters ? The numerous affidavits accompanying the report made by the Committee of the prisoners, together with the re- ply to the report of Messrs. King and Larpent, afford the most positive testimony in contradiction to many of its prominent features. We can form no other opinion res- pecting this report, than eidier that Mr. King was over- reached by his colleague, or that he was predetermined tor fritter down the abuses which the British Government and its agents had lavished upon their American prisoners. — - Why either Messrs. King or Larj^ent should decline the examination of aJl the witnesses offered by the prisoners^ is wholly inexplicable, unless we attribute to them a mu- tual and fixed determination to justify the conduct of Shortland and his accomplices, at theexpence of crimina- ting hundreds of Americans, v/ho were no less entitled to credibility than either of themselves. Hereafter, " iet nj' such men he trusted.'''' ' The treatment to the prisoners appears to have procee-* ded from the same principles of inhumanity, which have given rise to the hostile operations of tlie British Comman- ders upon our maritime and inland frontiers, during the' continuance of the late contest. Such principl-es belong only to Savages, cr their allies. The outrages at the ri\er Raisin, Hampton, Havre-de -Grace, Washington, andtiiose attempted at New- Orleans, it was thought, might have filled the measure of British barbarities. But to the pris- ons of Dartmoor was transferred the scene of its eomple-- tion. Americans, armed in defence of their soil, theiif' Constitution, and natural rights, were too invincible tO'' the " veteran" conquerors of the East, Prisoners of war in confinement, and without arms, were selected as the objects upon which they might glut their inallcev 48 ^Te have heard much from a certain class of our politi- ckms of the burning of Newark and St. David's ; but lit- tle have tliey said of the destruction of Buffalo, of Wash- ington Citj'j or the massacre of our unfortunate country- men at Dartmoor ; and that little has been directed to the justification of the perpetrators. The conflagration of our Capitol, with the appendages of art and taste, and even the slaughter of our countrymen, cou!;l not excite in those minds one feeling of indignation ; whilst the unauthorised destruction of a icw houses, within the territorial limits of our enemy, not only excited their warmest sympathies for the enemv, but ihcir foulest denunciations of our own Government. We might here attempt a comparison of the treatment of each Government to their prisoners. But the contrast is so evident, that we shall commit it to our readers with- out remark. Where is the American, whose feelinjrs do notbeeorne indignant, after a full and dispassionate view of all the cir- cumstances connected with this savagfe transaction ? — Though we may again be told, that Great Britain is the ** Bidiuark of cur reiigiGn ;" j'ct it may be hoped, that few, indeed, will be found to worship in a temple stained with the blood of their countrymen, or consign their con- sciences to the keeping of the upholders of the temple of Juggernaut, or the restorers of Papal power. Though our policy as an Independent Republic is pa- cific, yet should our rights again be assailed, and future wars cnsue^ we will remember Dartmoor, PJTTSFIELD, (Mas.) TlXir^t'S.V EV I'lllNEHAS ALLEN. AVCV3T, ISIS.