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In January 1814, HMS Andromache was patrolling the Bay of Biscay when it captured the merchant ship 'Fair America' & took it, & it's crew, as a prize. At this time the US & GB were at war...& this is a very brief look at one of the men captured 1/?
Correction it's 'Fair American' bloody autocorrect! Anyway: Andromache brought Fair American into Plymouth Sound & her crew were transferred onto the prison hulk 'Hector' but it would seem that they had spent some time on another hulk, HMS York before the transfer 2/?
On Hector's first page, beneath the name of the 2nd mate is a ord. seaman named Joseph Butts. From the records he was 22, 5"7½' tall, with a slender frame. He had a round face & fair complexion, brown hair, & grey eyes. Notably, his place of birth is listed as New York 3/?
He was added to the PoW hulk muster on 22nd Feb, 1814 & there he stayed until he was discharged on 10th May, 1814.
Nearly 3 months on a prison hulk. These were not fun places to be AT ALL. Cramped & squalid conditions, damp & dark, dirt & disease... 4/?
Nearly 3 months on a prison hulk. These were not fun places to be AT ALL. Cramped & squalid conditions, damp & dark, dirt & disease... 4/?
So what happened when he was discharged? Sorry, dear reader...much like a Series of Unfortunate Events...there is no happy ending to be found here. He was transferred to Princetown's very own Dartmoor Prison. 5/?
Dartmoor Prison had opened in 1809 & by 1814 was full to bursting - holding French & American PoWs - so Joseph's discharge to a land prison was not going to be much better than being on the hulk. In fact, it may even had been worse. 6/?
Only 10 months previously, the French & American prisoners had battled against each other leading to their segregation. Disease spread rapidly through overcrowding... Joseph was not going to have a good time. 7/?
Oh, & Dartmoor is FREEZING & lack of clothing could lead prisoners to due from hypothermia. But hey, he got there in May so he should be fine, right? Plus the French population started to decrease (repatriation) leading to *slightly* better conditions & earning opportunities 8/?
Joseph may have been able to earn a bit of money & perhaps he got there at just the right time. Sadly, time was not on his side. Joseph was still being held there come November... At the end of December 1814, Princetown got the news that peace had been declared! 9/?
