Some More on Betsy Doyle-- Part 1

FromWCNY Org. Fort Niagara.

By Cathy Emmerson.

Betsy Doyle was a woman of the Army, one of a small number of military wives who were permitted to accompany their husbands to perform menial tasks like nursing and laundry.  Prior to the War of 1812, she had married  Andrew Doyle, a private in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment.

He was stationed at  Fort Niagara, an antiquated outpost on the Canadian/U.S. border, about 30 miles north of Buffalo, New York.

When U.S. forces invaded Upper Canada, just seven miles south  of the fort, on October 13, 1812, Private Doyle was among the forces crossing the Niagara River.  The subsequent Battle of Queenston Heights was a disaster for the Americans and Doyle became a prisoner of war.

When he was recognized as a  native of Upper Canada, he was sent to England to be tried for treason.  There he remained for the balance of the war, an inmate at the infamous Dartmoor Prison.

Andrew's capture left Betsy Doyle and her four children  alone at Fort Niagara.

--Brock-Perry

April Events During the War of 1812: Napoleon Abdicates, York Attacked and the Dartmoor Massacre

 From the American Battlefield Trust April 2022 calendar.

APRIL 4, 1814

**  Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba off the coast of Tuscany;  Great Britain now concentrates on its war with the United States.  Bad news for us.

APRIL 6, 1815

**  Seven American prisoners are killed and 32 wounded in the "Dartmoor Massacre" at Dartmoor Prison in Devon, England

APRIL18, 1806

**  The Non-Importation Act passed

APRIL 27, 1813

**  Attack on York (modern-day Toronto);  General Zebulon Pike killed

APRIL 29, 1813

**  Raid on  Frenchtown, Maryland, by British flotilla under  the command of Admiral George Cockburn

--Brock-Perry

St. Michael and All Angels Church, England

French prisoners started construction of the church and it was finished by Americans as the Napoleonic Wars were over.  The first service was held in the church 2 January 1814.  Essentially, a lot of the reason the church was built was to provide the prisoners with something to do.

The last American prisoners left Dartmoor 10 February 1816 and the church was closed and locked.

During the time it was open, nearly 1,500 French and 218 Americans died at Dartmoor Prison.

In 1831, the local villagers reopened the church and services were held until 1994 when it was closed and offered for sale, but there were no buyers.  The Church of England's Historic Buildings Trust took it over and the steeple was restored and the structure waterproofed.  Work has also been done on the exterior.

At least it won't be lost.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison and St. Michael Church-- Part 3: Stained Glass East Window

French and American prisoners from Dartmoor worked side by side to build the Church of St. Michael and All Angels from locally quarried granite and sits atop a high elevation.

There is a stained glass East Window tribute to the Americans who died at Dartmoor Prison in the church's tower.  Some 271 Americans are buried nearby, some in the church they helped build and others at the prison.

The church is not used anymore.  Its graveyard is overgrown.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison and St. Michael Church-- Part 1: French, Then American Prisoners

From the Changes of Longitude: Just Go Already Blog.

Two Americans, Larissa and Michael, were visiting Dartmoor Prison on southern England.

Dartmoor is the only English prison museum.  They were told Americans were held there.  They figured perhaps during World War II and were greatly shocked when they heard they were imprisoned there in the War of 1812.  (I had never heard of it until I came across it in an earlier blog entry.)

Dartmoor was built in 1806, in part to get prisoners off the horrific prison ships.  The first prisoners were French from the Napoleonic Wars.  Later, they were Americans from the War of 1812.  The Americans were still considered to be traitors because  of the American Revolution and as such, French prisoners received  far better treatment.

So, this is the connection of the church and prison.

--Brock-Perry

St. Michael and All Angels Church, England-- Part 1: Built By American Prisoners at Dartmoor Prison

In the last post, I mentioned the USD1812  (United States Daughters of the War of 1812) as supporting the preservation of St. Michael and All Angels Church in England.  Why would they be supporting an English church, I wondered?

Some more research was needed.

From Wikipedia

The Anglican Church of St. Michael (sometimes known as St. Michael and All Angels) in Princetown, Devon, England, was built between 1810 and 1814 and is on the National Heritage Trust for England and is built of granite.

And, here is the really interesting fact:  It was built by French and American prisoners.

--Brock-Perry

"The King Pays for All"

In September 1814, a group of American prisoners from Halifax landed at Plymouth, England, and were marched to Dartmoor Prison.

They came upon a cart of luxuries on the way and "confiscated" it.

They told the angry owner, "The King pays for all."

Well, That Was Their Excuse.  --Brock-Perry

A Prisoner of the British-- Part 2

He was later interned at the infamous Dartmoor Prison and was there at the Massacre of American prisoners on April 6, 1815.

Who wrote it?  Benjamin Waterhouse,  a pioneer physician, would have been 59 at this time. Probably too old for the rigors of life aboard a ship.

There are some who think the author might be Henry Torey, 21, from Massachusetts

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison in Britain-- Part 5: After the War of 1812

Dartmoor Prison was closed, but reopened in 1851 as a civilian prison and operated until 1917 when it became the Home Office Work Centre for conscientious objectors during World War I.  It reopened in 1920 containing some of Britain's worst offenders.

The Dartmoor Mutiny occurred on 24 January 1932, when inmates took over the prison.

In 2001, Dartmoor was converted into a Class C prison for less violent offenders and continues to operate to this day.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison in Britain-- Part 4: The Americans Rebel

On April 4, 1815, problems began with a food contractor attempting to pass off damaged hardtack for soft bread.  This helped touch off an insurrection which the prison's commandant suspected to be a cover for a breakout.

On the 6th, a hole was discovered from one of the five prisons to the yard and fighting commenced.  Some 60 people were wounded, 30 of them seriously.  Seven Americans died, including a 14-year-old.

A memorial has since been erected to the 271 American POWs (mostly died of diseases) buried on the prison grounds.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison in Britain-- Part 3: Impatient Americans

From 1813 to March 1815, some 6.500 American sailors were imprisoned at Dartmoor.  They were both naval prisoners and impressed Americans seamen who had been discharged from British vessels for refusing to fight.

Even though this was a British prison and they were in charge, these inmates had a lot of say concerning what went on there.  They had their own government and culture.  Courts meted out punishment.  There was even a market, theater and gambling room.

About 1,000 of them were black.

The prisoners heard about the Treaty of Ghent and expected immediate release, but the British refused parole until the U.S. government ratified the treaty (which happened on 17 February 1815.  It took several weeks for the Americans at home to procure ships for prisoner transport home and this is when problems began.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison in Britain-- Part 2: Built to House French Prisoners

Construction on the new prison at Dartmoor started in 1808 and took three years to complete.  In 1809 the first French prisoners arrived and were later joined by American POWs from the War of 1812.  At one point, there were more than 6,000 prisoners at Dartmoor.

Many died and were buried on the moor.

Both wars ended in 1815 and repatriations began.  After the last ones left, Dartmoor remained empty until 1850.

--Brock-Perry

Dartmoor Prison in Britain-- Part 1: The Need for a New Prison

From Wikipedia.

HM Prison Dartmoor.

Still a prison rated Category C, located in Princetown, County of Devon.

In 1805, the British were at war with Napoleonic France and many prisoners were captured.  Many of these were house in "hulks" which were derelict ships.  This was an unsafe situation due to the ships' close proximity to the Royal Navy Dockyard at Devonport called Plymouth Dock.

In addition, the living conditions on those hulks were horrible.

A new prison was planned for remote Dartmoor.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: The Dartmoor Riots

APRIL 6, 1815:  American naval prisoners, mostly from privateers or pressed men who refused to fight against the United States, riot in Dartmoor Prison in Southwest Great Britain.

Frustrated in the delay of the repatriation and harsh living conditions, the unruly prisoners of war are fired on by British guards.  Seven Americans are killed and 31 wounded.

--Brock-Perry

Glover Broughton-- Part 2

 Glover Broughton and his brother took command of ships before they were 21.

He was a seaman on the privateer America out of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1812, and was captured and sent to the infamous Dartmoor Prison in 1815. This was the main location for American prisoners, many of them Marblehead men.

While there, he drew a map of the circular prison which is still used as a resource today.

Broughton survived Dartmoor and returned to the United States and became a wealthy and successful merchant.

After retirement from the sea, he became very involved with Marblehead.  One thing he did was help War of 1812 veterans to get benefits.  Back then, pensions and compensation did not come automatically and had to be applied for.

--Brock-Perry