"Thus we lived like hearty fellows, taking care every night to secure
provisions, dried fruit, and wines for the day following * * * and all
without our enemies' knowledge."
Scurvy broke out among the crew, and some of the British sailors died,
but the Americans were all "brave and hearty."
"The Captain would say, 'What! are none of them damned Yankees sick?
Damn them, there's nothing but thunder and lightning will kill 'em.'"
On the thirtieth of June the vessel arrived at Portsmouth. The
prisoners were sent to Hazel hospital, to be examined by the
Commissioners of the Admiralty, and then marched to Forton prison,
where they were committed under the charges of piracy and high
treason. This prison was about two miles from Portsmouth harbor, and
consisted of two commodious buildings, with a yard between them large
enough to parade a guard of 100 men, which was the number required to
maintain law and order at the station.
They also had a spacious lot of about three quarters of an acre in
extent, adjoining the houses, in which they took their daily
exercise. In the middle of this lot was a shed with seats. It was open
on all sides. The lot was surrounded by a wall of iron pickets, eight
feet in height. The agent for American prisoners was nicknamed by them
"the old crab." He was very old and ugly.
Only three-fourths of the usual allowance to prisoners of war was
dealt out to them, and they seem to have fared much worse than the
inmates of the Old Mill Prison at Plymouth.
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