American Prisoners of the Revolution | Page 8

Marylander, and to assist a
Virginian, in preference to a Marylander, was a Crime almost
unpardonable. It however passed off, as it so happened there were some
refugees in New York from Maryland who had generosity enough to
relieve the pressing wants of a few of their former acquaintances.
"We thus lived in want and perfect idleness for years: tho sometimes if
Books could be obtained we made out to read: if paper, pen, and ink
could be had we wrote. Also to prevent becoming too feeble we
exercised our bodies by playing fives, throwing long bullets, wrestling,
running, jumping, and other athletick exercises, in all of which your
Father fully participated. Being all nearly on the same footing as to
Clothing and pocket money (that is we seldom had any of the latter) we
lived on an equality.
"In the fall of 1777 the Brittish Commander was informed a plan was
forming by a party of Americans to pass over to Long Island and sweep
us off, release us from captivity. There were then on the Island about
three hundred American officers prisoners. We were of course ordered
off immediately, and placed on board of two large transports in the
North River, as prison ships, where we remained but about 18 days, but
it being Very Cold, and we Confined between decks, the Steam and
breath of 150 men soon gave us Coughs, then fevers, and had we not
been removed back to our billets I believe One half would have died in
six weeks. This is all the imprisonment your----"
The rest of this valuable letter has been, most unfortunately lost, or
possibly it was never completed.

We have given a great deal of it because of its graphic description of
the men who were captured at Fort Washington, and of the battle itself.
Major Bedinger was a dignified, well-to-do, country gentleman;
honored and respected by all who knew him, and of unimpeachable
veracity.

CHAPTER III
NAMES OF SOME OF THE PRISONERS OF 1776
As we have seen, the officers fared well in comparison with the
wretched privates. Paroled and allowed the freedom of the city, they
had far better opportunities to obtain the necessities of life. "Our poor
soldiers fared most wretchedly different," says Major Bedinger.
Before we begin, however, to speak of the treatment they received, we
must make some attempt to tell the reader who they were. We wish it
were possible to give the name of every private who died, or rather who
was murdered, in the prisons of New York at this time. But that, we
fear, is now an impossibility. As this account is designed as a memorial
to those martyred privates, we have made many efforts to obtain their
names. But if the muster rolls of the different companies who formed
the Rifle Regiment, the Pennsylvania Flying Camp, and the other
troops captured by the British in the summer and fall of 1776 are in
existence, we have not been able to find them.
The records of the Revolution kept in the War Department in England
have been searched in vain by American historians. It is said that the
Provost Marshal, William Cunningham, destroyed his books, in order
to leave no written record of his crimes. The names of 8,000 prisoners,
mostly seamen, who were confined on the prison ship Jersey, alone,
have been obtained by the Society of Old Brooklynites, from the
British Archives, and, by the kind permission of this Society, we
re-publish them in the Appendix to this volume.
Here and there, also, we have obtained a name of one of the brave

young riflemen who died in torment a hundred times worse, because so
much less swift, than that endured on a memorable occasion in India,
when British soldiers were placed, during a single night, into one of
their own "Black Holes." But the names of almost all of these our
tortured countrymen are forgotten as completely as their places of
interment are neglected.
In the hands of the writer, however, at this time [Footnote: This muster
roll was lent to the writer by Henry Bedinger Davenport, Esq, a
descendant of Major Bedinger] is the pay-roll of one of these
companies of riflemen,--that of Captain Abraham Shepherd of
Shepherdstown, Virginia. It is in the handwriting of Henry Bedinger,
one of the lieutenants of the company.
We propose to take this list, or pay roll, as a sample, and to follow, as
well as we can, at this late day, the misfortunes of the men named
therein. For this purpose we will first give the list of names, and
afterwards attempt to indicate how many of the men died in
confinement, and how many lived to be exchanged.
MUSTER ROLL
The paper in question, falling to pieces with age,