"
Dried peas were given out to the prisoners, without the means of
cooking them.
When Fort Montgomery was taken by the British the American officers
who had been in command at that post were brought to the Provost and
put into two small rooms on the lower floor. Some of them were badly
wounded, but no surgeon was allowed to dress their wounds. Cornelius
asked permission to do so, but this was refused. "All of us in the
upper prison," he continues, "were sometimes allowed to go on top of
the house. I took this opportunity to throw some Ointment and Lint
down the chimney to the wounded in the lower rooms with directions how
to use it. I knew only one of them--Lt. Col. Livingstone."
At the time of Burgoyne's surrender a rumor of the event reached the
prisoners, and women passing along the street made signs to assure
them that that general was really a captive. Colonel Livingstone
received a letter from his father giving an account of Burgoyne's
surrender. "Soon we heard hollooing and other expressions of joy from
him and others in the (lower) rooms. * * * He put the letter up
through a crack in the floor for us to read. * * * The whole prison
was filled with joy inexpressible. * * * From this time we were
better treated, although the provision was bad, but we drew rather
larger quantities of it. Some butter, and about a gill of rice and
some cole were dealt out to us, which we never drew before.
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