Litchfield enquirer., 1853-01-27

San sesmep captured on the high seRs.
The suflesinpguf these capliv-s wr,c il,
lsnse. and A. the closs Of f77O they set
6.e Ia Two Of them, hoping To secure
liberty or death, Tbev felt it
BETTER the greedy wave shnnld swallow all
Better 10 meet the Misunderstanding ball.
Better N slerp IN oceans any bed.
Al once destroyed and numb,Ted with the
dead.
Than Ihcs 10 perish in the face II day,
Whtte twice ten Thousand deaths enc death
delay. FRENEAU.
1850. The Jersey, originally a six
~ fOur;gun ship (but, because unfit foI
service, was dismanlled in 1860 was
placed in the Wallabout, and used as a
prison ship till the close Of the war;
when she was left to d ecay on the spo.
where her victims had suffered. Her
companiepa were the Stromboli, Hunter.
and Scorpion, then used as hospitals
The latter was moored 10 the Hudson
toward Paulus's Hook. The large mum
Der con6ed ia the Jersey, sometimes
more than a thousand at time, and th.
terrible sufer;ngs which occurred there.
bave made her name pre- eminent, and
her history synonym fer prison ships
during the war. Her crew consisted OF
I captain, two mates, cook, steward. and
Q dozen sailors. She had also a guard
Of twelve old invalid marines, and abou,
thirty soldiers. drafted from British and
Hessian corps lying on on Long Island.
These were the jaiters of the American
captives, and were the instruments Of
great cruelty. Unwholesome food, foul
air, fi'th. and despondency Soon produ-
etd diseases of the most malignant ma
fure. DyseDtery, small. pox. and. prison
fever we're the most prevalent. and for
want Of good nurses and medical atten-
flants, they died BY scores on the Ter
seq and the hospital ships. The voice OF
human sympathy seldom reached the
ears of the captives. and despair was
The hand maid of centagiou. No sys~
tema.ic efforts for their relief were
made, and, because Of the contagious
character Of the d iseases. no person
ever visited the hnlks to bestow a clieer>
ing smile or word Of consolation. Az
was funeral gloom. and nope never Wits.
pered lis cheering promises there. When
the crews Of p'iyatesrs were no longer
cons ideled prisoners Of war by the Bit.
ish (see page s5o,) the number of cap
lives in confinement feufully Increased,
and Congress had no adequate cquiva-
Tents 10 exchange. Policy, always heart
less. ;forebade the exchange Of healthy
British prisoners for emaciated Ame.;-
cans, and month after month, the hap.
less cspiives suffered and, then died.
The name and character Of each pri4.
pner were registed when the first came
on board. He was then placed in the
hold. frequently with thousand Others,
! large portion Of them covered with fil
thy rags. often swarmipg with vermin.
In messes Of six they received thei,
faily food every morning. which gener.
elly consisted Of mouldy biscuit filed
with worms, damaged peas, condemn. 4
beef and pork. sour -four and meal, ran>
cid butter, sometimes 1t le filthy suet;
but never any vegetables. Their meat
was boiled in large copper kettle
Those who had but little money. and
managed to avoid robbery by the Brit
Sh underlings, sometimes purchased
bread. sugar, and other niceties, which
40 old woman used TO bring alongside
Che hulk in little boat. Every morning
tie prisoners brought up their bedding
to be aired. and, after washing the decks
they were allowed to remain above till
iunset. when they wers ordered below
With imPrecations, and the savage cry.
Down. rebels. DOWN. Tbs matches
yers then closed, and in serried ranks
they laid down, 70 sleep. if possible, 10
the putrid air and sitting heat, amid the
sigh. Of Che acutely distressed and the
groans Of the dying. Each morning the
harsh order caMs below, Rebels, turn
out the dead =, The dead we're selected
from the living. each sewed in his blan.
tet, il he had one, and thus conveyed
in boat TO the shore by his companions
under guard, and hastily buried.
by shallow hands their shallow graves wsrs
made; -
No stoue-memerial DER their corpses laid.
In barren sands. and far from home, they lie,
No friend to shed q. tear when pressing by
Several times successful attempts at es
cape were made, and these drew the
cords Of captivity closer. until tho name
Vt 'Hell' for tho Jersey. was a proper
ynomym. Various minute accounts OF
the suffsrings of the prisoners have been
published, the substance of which, with
other interesting matter concerning the
prisons and prison ships at New York,
may be found 10 Opderdonk's Rsvolu.
tionary Incidents. ii. 2o7 $50 inclusive.
-. '
A BoY KILLED BY TWO OF MS Con-
RASroSs ON RASDALL's 1slASD.-YesS,
terday morning Coroner Gamble held
90 inquest on RlndaIl's leland on The
body Of John McCafiay, boy about
ak years of age. who was killed by two
Of bis room. mates, John Mann a how