They Were Prisoners

A while back I received a comment from a person saying how much they enjoyed my site, but whished I had given more on the event. Yes sometime I do cut the information short, and there is a good reason for that. Sometimes there is just not enough information and other times there is just to much and one has to draw the line some where. Those of us who do this kind of work would like to give a lot more information on a subject but a lot of times its just not possible. Too you have to remember this is a surname site and not a History site, I’m here to give you as many name as I can for each page I post, but I just can not just put up names.

I have to make it interesting for you to read and the only way to do that is to give some back ground on what he or she was going trough at that time in history. If I have done my job right, after reading the information you may whish to do some research on your own. Now for you college students who have written so many times over the years saying how much my information has help you in your class, all I can say is; “Your welcome.”

Now I know there will be some who are wondering if I may have more information on a Historical event or a name, well some time I do and other times no, but to find out all you have to do is write to me, I will be glad to hear from one and all. My address can be found in my profile, just don’t forget to state the title of the page or I may not be able to help.

Now for the information on the names below, all the information stated is all I well have but I hope its interesting and you will learn something new and would like to do your own research on it, and if so then I have done my job right.
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Cyrenius Chapin.

Cyrenius Chapin, was a colonel in the service of the United States during the late war. That upon the approach of the enemy towards Buffalo, in the State of New York, he met them, with a flag of truce, for the purpose of agreeing upon terms for the inhabitants of that village, in which there was not a sufficient force to make any opposition. That whilst he was discharging this duty, detained as a prisoner of war by the enemy and sent to Quebec, where he remained from the 30th of December, 1813, until the 4th of June succeeding, when he was exchanged and permitted to return home.

Michael Lewis.

Michael Lewis, represents himself to be a pilot of the bay and river Delaware; that he left the port of Wilmington, in the State of North Carolina, on the 20th of December, 1813, in the United States schooner Vixen, then under command of Captain Thomas Hall, bound to Philadelphia; that, while doing duty on board said vessel as a coasting pilot, on the 25th of the same month he was severely wounded by a shot from the British frigate Belvidere, then in chase of the said schooner; that he was taken prisoner and sent to the hospital at Hamilton, in the Island of Bermuda, where he remained eighty-two days, when, his wounds being healed, he was transferred to Halifax, and thence to Salem, Massachusetts.

W. H. Cox.

W. H. Cox, deceased, late a sergeant in company F, second regiment Pennsylvania artillery, to a pension in same manner as if he was still living, he having died of disease contracted whilst a prisoner of war at Andersonville, Georgia, and if found to be entitled to a pension, then same, from time of his discharge till death, to be paid over to his father, Charles D. Cox. Whereas W. H. Cox, a hale, hearty, young man of about twenty years of age, residing with his father Charles D. Cox, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and being a part of his family, on the sixteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, was enrolled as a sergeant in company F, second regiment Pennsylvania artillery, to serve three years or during the war; that he was regularly mustered in as such, and at the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, on or about the second of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, was taken prisoner by the rebels and sent to Andersonville, Georgia, and there confined as a prisoner of war for the period of ten months, and from exposure and lack of food became very much debilitated, and after being released he was on the eighth of August eighteen hundred and sixty-five, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by virtue of a telegram dated Adjutant General's office, May twelfth, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, honorably discharged from the United States service; and whereas the said W. H. Cox, after reaching his father's residence, made application for a pension under existing laws, in consequence of disease contracted in line of duty, and before the case was finally disposed of, to wit: July ninth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, he died of disease contracted as aforesaid, and the Commissioner then declined to proceed further in the case, being of opinion that the death of the young man suspended further proceedings; and whereas, Charles D. Cox, father of said deceased soldier is desirous of obtaining the pension justly due his said son from date of his discharge till death, to be applied to the purchase of a suitable monument to be placed at his grave

1798, Joseph Rittenhouse, stating that he is a prisoner at the suit of the United States, and, having surrendered his property, asks to be liberated.

Samuel H. Moore.

Samuel H. Moore, late private in company G, fifty-seventh regiment Ohio veteran volunteer infantry, was entered on the rolls of his company as having deserted in January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three; and whereas there is satisfactory evidence that said Moore did not desert, but was captured by the enemy; that his conduct previous to such capture was good; and that after his release by the enemy as a paroled prisoner of war he rejoined his regiment and remained and served with it until it was mustered out of service.

1777, David Kerr, late a prisoner of Colonel Montgomery's battalion of the flying camp, for his pay from the time he was taken prisoner till his return, one month and 20 days, 12 dollars.

Andrew Elder, late a corporal in the above battalion, for his pay while a prisoner, and which is claimed by his father, one month and 23 days, 12 86/90 dollars.

Thomas Eden.

Thomas Eden was attached as a marine on board of the United States schooner Ann Alossis, commanded by James Smith, and while in the line of his duty in the war of eighteen hundred and twelve, against Great Britain, was taken prisoner by the enemy and was imprisoned twelve months in the prison-ship La Amathist, at Jamaica, in the year eighteen hundred and thirteen; subsequently released and served as a soldier in said war, in the company of Captain William A. Dunham, regiment commanded by Colonel James Johnston, and was honorably discharged when peace was proclaimed.

Robert Smith.

Robert Smith was appointed in the beginning of the year 1780 chaplain to the Southern hospital by General Lincoln; that he continued in the exercise of the duties of his appointment until May, 1780, the time of the surrender of Charleston to the British Army, at which time he was made a prisoner of war; that he continued in Charleston attending his duty at the hospital for a considerable time after its surrender and until he was ordered to Hadrell's point to remain among the officers of the federal army who were there confined; that he continued there until June, 1781, when he was sent to Philadelphia on parole, in which situation he remained, until the end of the war, in captivity and at a distance from his country and estate, for tho' repeated attempts were made to exchange him it was not in his power ever to obtain it, in consequence of which he was prevented from returning to South Carolina, and paying that attention to his affairs he might otherwise have done had he not been restrained by the terms of his parole.

1797, James Leander Cathcart, a citizen of the United States, and many years a prisoner in Algiers, to be Consul General of the United States for the city and kingdom of Tripoli. Mr. Cathcart was head Christian Clerk for some years to the Dey of Algiers.

James A. Mulligan.

James A. Mulligan on the fifteenth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, was mustered into the service of the United States as colonel of the twenty-third Illinois infantry, known as the Irish brigade, marched to the front in July, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and from that time, (excepting two months when a prisoner of war,) was actively engaged in the military service of the republic against armed rebels until he fell on the battle-field of Winchester, the twenty-sixth day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-four; and whereas during two years of that military service he was assigned to the command of brigades and divisions, and performed the duties of brigadier and major general, but only received the pay of a colonel; and whereas the widow and children of the said Colonel James A. Mulligan are justly entitled to, and need for their support, the amount of pay which he would have received if he had been commissioned according to his respective commands in the field.

Isaac Zane, 1801.

Isaac Zane, stating that he was made a prisoner at the age of nine years by the Wyandot Indians, with whom he remained until he became of age, had a family by a woman of that nation, and a tract of land was assigned him by the said nation, on a branch of the Great Miami river, and which tract of land was ceded to the United States by a recent treaty with the said Wyandot Indians.

John Fenton, 1775.

Col. John Fenton, who had been taken into custody by the Convention of New Hampshire, for being concerned in measures dangerous to the rights of America, and who, by order of the General, now remains, on his parole, a prisoner at Hartford; that he may be permitted to go to Great Britain or Ireland.

Cosimo Medici, 1788.

Cosimo Medici, was a Captain in the service of the United States and the Report thereon, by the commissioner of Army accounts, unwilling to remain an inactive spectator of the ravages of the enemy upon his country, joined the cavalry under the command of Colo. Anthony W. White in South Carolina, and on the 10th . of April 1780 was in cavalry orders appointed by Colo. White Judge advocate and major brigade, of the four corps of cavalry under his command. In which capacity he did duty with address and bravery until made a prisoner by the British horse on the 6th of May following. When he was wounded, and lost two valuable horses with his baggage, and afterward remained a prisoner near eleven months. he had rendered essential services in the line of his duty, and suffered much in his person and property, yet is not entitled, by the existing resolutions of Congress, to any compensation. However later he was given hundred dollars for his services and losses.

1776, Patrick Sinclair, a prisoner, asks for leave to return to Europe.

1784, Nathaniel Greenwood asks for pay while a Prisoner, he would receive $1,500, dollars.

1782, Captain Joshua Huddy; who, after being a prisoner some days with the enemy in New York, was sent out with a party of refugees, and most cruelly and wantonly hanged on the heights of Middletown.

1776, Mons. la Marque, a Canadian prisoner, for his allowance from the 31 August to the 8 November, inclusive, being 10 weeks, at 2 dollars per week, 20 dollars, to be paid to Mons. de la Magdalaine

1776, Captain Thomas Gamble, a prisoner of the 47 regiment, for his allowance from the 10 August, to the 2 November, inclusive, being 12 weeks, at two dollars per week, 24 dollars, and to be paid to James Biddle, Esqr.

1777, Thomas Irving, a prisoner of war now in Baltimore, asks to be set at liberty, or allowed to proceed on his return to South Carolina, agreeable to a permission granted him by Governor Trumbull. He was permitted to proceed to South Carolina, under his present parole, to be, when he arrives there, under the direction of Governor Rutledge, or the executive power of that state.

1814, John C. Hurlburt, late of Chatham, in the district of Connecticut, now a prisoner confined in jail at Hartford, in said district, for an alleged violation of the embargo law.

1787, Richard Lawrence a prisoner confined in the New Jail of the City of New York stating that since the conclusion of the peace he has been arrested and confined in prison for Acts done during the war and under special Orders from the british commander in chief.

Thomas H. Cushing, 1788.

Thomas H. Cushing, praying for rank and amoluments beg leave to report, that they have again very fully enquired into the circumstances upon which Mr Cushing grounds his claims, and have with attention heard his Allegations in support thereof. It appears that there were two Lieutenants viz Messieurs Hollis and Williams elder in the first Massachusetts Regt . than Mr. Cushing. It appears also by the two letters of Colonel Vose commanding Officer of said Regiment and an intervening regulation of Congress of the 21st of October 1780 that those two Lieutenants chose rather to continue and do duty as Lieutenants than be promoted and deranged.

And it further appears that Mr . Cushing continued to do duty under said Lieutenants untill May 1781 when he was taken prisoner and being exchanged in May 1783 joined the Army and did duty as Lieutenant until July 1784 and as Mr . Cushing did not avail himself of the redress which he knew existed only in the army, there is a strong presumption either of an acquiesence, or neglect of application on the part of Mr. Cushing, or we must suppose that the Commander in chief and boards of General Officers were not disposed to listen to the just complaints of the Army, from all these circumstances Your Committee are still of opinion that the petition of Thomas H Cushing praying for rank and amoluments cannot be granted.

1791, Nicholas Rieb asking for compensation for his services as a soldier in the Army of the United States, during the late war; and also that he may receive the pay and emoluments due to his son, Peter Rieb, a soldier in the same corps, and who was taken prisoner by the enemy, and never since heard of.

Antonio Pelletier.

Antonio Pelletier, a citizen of the United States, naturalized in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-two, did, during the month of August or September, eighteen hundred and sixty, purchase of a United States marshal, at public auction, at the port of Key West, the bark William; and the subsequently the said Pelletier shipped a crew and placed a cargo of merchandise on board the said vessel and proceeded on a trading voyage to the West Indies; and that while in pursuance of his said legitimate commercial enterprise his said vessel, under stress of weather, was cast upon a reef, designated as Caico, off the coast of Hayti, in the mouth of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and after drifting for several days the bark came to anchor in the port of Fort Liberte, Hayti; and that after making some slight repairs, and being informed that the port of Fort Liberte was not open to commerce, anchor was weighed and the bark proceeded down the bay until near the fort, when the prevailing breeze failed, and the vessel drifted on the reef opposite the fort, where the tide left her high and dry, when certain authorities of the republic of Hayti boarded the said bark William, arrested the said Antonio Pelletier and his crew, and carried them ashore and consigned them to prison, without cause or proper trial, holding the said Pelletier, the master and owner of the vessel aforesaid, a close prisoner for the period of nearly three years, condemning him to death, and subjecting him to the most cruel treatment, from which he finally escaped by the assistance of the agents of foreign governments; and that during his imprisonment his said vessel and cargo were seized and confiscated by the authorities of the republic of Hayti; and that his said imprisonment, spoliation, and consequent losses amounted to the financial damages of the said Pelletier in the sum of six hundred and thirteen thousand eight hundred dollars; and further, that the imprisonment and inhuman treatment to which the said Pelletier was subjected resulted in the serious impairing of his health, and rendered him an invalid and crippled for life, for which afflictions it is almost impossible to estimate in moneyed damages; and Whereas the facts above recited are evidenced by executive document numbered two hundred and sixty, second session of the Fortieth Congress, furnished by the Secretary of State in response to House resolution of the tenth March, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-eight

1776, lieutenant Jocelyn Feltham, of the 26 regiment, who was taken prisoner at Ticonderoga, is asking for leave to go to Europe for the recovery of his health.
1812, Samuel Brown, formerly of Massachusetts, and now of Ohio, stating that, whilst in the service of the United States, in the Revolutionary war, he was taken prisoner by the British at Quebec; that he bath not received any pay or rations for the time he was so in captivity

1776, Thomas Dunahoo, a Canadian prisoner, for his allowance from 13 July to 25 October, 1776, 15 weeks, at 11/3 dollars per week, 20 dollars.

Ethan Allen.

Ethan Allen who was a Colonel in the service, that the petitioner was a prisoner two years and about two months. That it appears also from the musters of General Hazens late regiment that the petitioner joined the Regiment as a Volunteer about the beginning of February 1782. and continued as such until the discharge of the Army.

1852, Theophilus Hardenbrook, representing that he was taken prisoner during the last war with Great Britain, and confined more than two years in Dartmoor prison, and asking for a pension or some other remuneration for his sufferings and privations during that time.

1791, Sarah Parker of the State of Massachusetts, is asking that some relief may be granted for the support of herself and a large family of children, being the widow and orphans of Lieutenant Colonel Moses Parker, who was wounded and made prisoner by the British troops at the battle of Charlestown, in June, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and afterwards died of his wounds in the gaol in Boston.