"Chatham, N. J. Last Wednesday morning about one o'clock made their
escape from the Good Hope prison ship in the North River, nine
Captains and two privates. Among the number was Captain James Prince,
who has been confined four months, and having no prospect of being
exchanged, concerted a plan in conjunction with the other gentlemen to
make their escape, which they effected in the following manner: They
confined the Mate, disarmed the sentinels, and hoisted out the boat
which was on deck; they brought off nine stands of arms, one pair of
pistols, and a sufficient quantity of ammunition, being determined not
to be taken alive. They had scarce got clear of the ship before the
alarm was given, when they were fired on by three different ships, but
fortunately no person was hurt. Captain Prince speaks in the highest
terms of Captain Charles Nelson, who commanded the prison-ship, using
the prisoners with a great deal of humanity, particularly himself.
"I was again captured in 1782," Dring continues, "and conveyed on
board the Jersey, where * * * I was a witness and partaker of the
unspeakable sufferings of that wretched class of American prisoners
who were there taught the utmost extreme of human misery. I am now far
advanced in years, and am the only survivor, with the exception of
two, of a crew of 65 men. I often pass the descendant of one of my old
companions in captivity, and the recollection comes fresh to my mind
that his father was my comrade and fellow sufferer in prison; that I
saw him breathe his last upon the deck of the Jersey, and assisted at
his interment at the Waleboght; * * *
"In May, 1782, I sailed from Providence, R.
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