Old Soldiers’ Stories Have a Permanent Home Here
by Matthew Thorenz, Local History & Government Docs Librarian
On November 11, our nation commemorated Veterans Day, a day in which we honor those who served in the armed forces from the American Revolutionary War to the present day. Our library’s Local History collection contains many published stories of those who have served our country and felt compelled to share them with a wider audience. In that same vein, we thought it would be appropriate to share two of our earliest examples with you!
One of the earliest written military memoirs in our collection also happens to be one of the smallest. Written in 1833, Thomas Andros’ postcard-sized ’ The Old Jersey Captive: or, A narrative of the captivity of Thomas Andros (now pastor of the church in Berkley) on board the old Jersey Prison Ship at New York, 1781 describes the plight of Thomas Andros (1759-1845), a native of Connecticut who, being among “deluded and infatuated youth”, enlisted to serve on the privateering vessel “Fair American”, to capture British merchant and supply ships off Long Island Sound. Andros’ fortune soon turned when he was captured by a British vessel, the “Solebay Frigate” and sent to the British prison ship “Jersey” anchored in New York harbor. In his narrative, Andros notes:
“Doubtless no other ship in the British navy, ever proved the means of the destruction of so many human beings…on the commencement of the first evening, we were driven down to darkness between decks secured by iron gratings…On every side wretched, desponding shapes of men could be seen. Around the well room an armed guard were forcing up the prisoners to the winches to clear the ship of water, and prevent her from sinking”
The author finally makes a miraculous escape while on an expedition to gather food and water for the ship on the coast of Long Island and being recaptured by an American Privateer near Plumb Island after traversing most of Long Island by foot. Although not directly connected with Newburgh, Andros’ account would have resonated with local veterans such as Robert R. Burnet (1762-1854), the last surviving officer of the Continental Army, as well as Uzal Knapp (1759-1856), another veteran of the Revolutionary War who lived well into the 19th century.
Thirty years after the American Revolutionary War, the United States would come into conflict with Great Britain once more. Commonly called “The War of 1812”, this conflict, fought as a result of America’s desire to expand into Canada, then a British province, as well as the impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy, would lead to the imprisonment of many American sailors, who would go on to write and publish their stories of service and sacrifice. Charles Andrews’ The prisoners’ memoirs, or, Dartmoor prison; containing a complete and impartial history of the entire captivity of the Americans in England, from the commencement of the last war between the United States and Great Britain, until all prisoners were released by the treaty of Ghent. is one such memoir that describes the conditions many impressed American sailors would have faced at Dartmoor prison, located in Devon, southwest England.
“After the examination, there was delivered to each man a very coarse and worthless hammock, with a thin coarse bedsack, with at most not more than three or four pounds of flocks or chopped rags, one thin coarse and sleazy blanket; this furniture of the bedchamber was to last for a year and a half before we could draw others…to each man one pound and a half of very poor coarse bread, half a pound of beef, including the bone, one third of an ounce of salt, and the same quantity of barley, with one or two turnips, per man. These were the rations for five days in the week; the other two were fish days”
Conditions in the prison were made intentionally miserable in order to force the Americans to enlist in the Royal navy. The back of the book contains the names of these and other prisoners Andrews was able to collect, along with their place of origin and the ship they were taken from, where available. Approximately 271 Americans and 11,000 Frenchmen died from pneumonia, typhoid, and smallpox while imprisoned at Dartmoor. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the prison became inactive until 1850 when it was converted into a convict jail, a role it continues to fulfill today.
Andrews’ memoir is stamped with the “Free Library, Newburgh, N.Y.” stamp, and serves as an early example of the types of literature our community was reading or found important when the Newburgh Free Library was established in 1852. Local Newburgh War of 1812 veteran James Belknap (1793-1870) could have read it as well!
Our Local History collection is honored to house originals of both of these works alongside many other written records documenting the lives of those who served our nation over its 250 year history. If you wish to read them yourselves, both have been made publically available online via archive.org as well as the Library of Congress.
If you, or someone you know, has information related to the service of someone from Newburgh who has served in the military and wishes to donate it to our collection, please contact the Local History Department via e-mail at newburghlocalhistory@rcls.org or phone at (845)563-3617