"The sudden influx of so many prisoners; the recent capture of the
city, and the unlooked-for conflagration of a fourth part of it, threw
his affairs into such confusion that, from these circumstances alone,
the prisoners must have suffered much, from want of food and other
bodily comforts, but there was superadded the studied cruelty of
Captain Cunningham, the Provost Marshal, and his deputies, and the
criminal negligence of Sir Wm. Howe.
"To contain such a vast number of prisoners the ordinary places of
confinement were insufficient. Accordingly the Brick Church, the
Middle Church, the North Church, and the French Church were
appropriated to their use. Beside these, Columbia College, the Sugar
House, the New Gaol, the new Bridewell, and the old City Hall were
filled to their utmost capacity.
"Till within a few years there stood on Liberty Street, south of the
Middle Dutch Church, a dark, stone building, with small, deep porthole
looking windows, rising tier above tier; exhibiting a dungeon-like
aspect. It was five stories high, and each story was divided into two
dreary apartments.
"On the stones and bricks in the wall were to be seen names and dates,
as if done with a prisoner's penknife, or nail. There was a strong,
gaol-like door opening on Liberty St., and another on the southeast,
descending into a dismal cellar, also used as a prison.
Pages:
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149