Pirates & Privateers: Nicholas Guyatt's Books

6 April 1815. The War of 1812 is over, yet many American prisoners of war remain confined within the granite walls of Dartmoor Prison. The POWs are in the yard when a fight breaks out. Eventually, British guards open fire. Those who attempt to flee inside the prison blocks find the doors locked. When peace returns, nine are dead and more than thirty suffer from serious wounds.

This incident, which opens The Hated Cage, is perhaps the only aspect of the most feared prison in the world that is remembered today. Like the war itself, few Americans know much about this enormous detention facility or the 6,553 Americans who lived within its confines between 1813 and 1815. The few remnants of their memory are either vague references in history books, or the 271 graves where bodies of these citizens are buried. All this is in spite of the fact that indelible records of these people, the majority of whom were privateers, do exist and Guyatt delved into archival records about and personal memoirs and journals from these POWs to change these deficits. He also shines a light on the men of color, of which there were nearly 1,000 yet not one left a written account of his time spent in America’s first racially segregated prison. One of these, a man history remembers as King Dick, serves as the nucleus around which the POW experience unfolds, because much of what has been written about him is steeped in mythology. Within these pages, the truth about Richard Crafus, the prison, life as a POW, and the massacre are explored.

Prior to 1809, the British incarcerated POWs in prison hulks (ships) and repurposed buildings. A change in social thinking and the large numbers of prisoners – a result of fighting with the French and the Americans in two separate conflicts – necessitated a change. Thomas Tyrwhitt, private secretary to the prince, decided to build a purpose-built prison and received permission to do so on a foggy, barren moor in the middle of nowhere. Dartmoor was designed by Daniel Asher Alexander. Bordered by a granite wall nearly a mile round, the northern portion of the prison consisted of large dormitories arrayed like wheel spokes where the POWs would reside. South of these structures were the other buildings needed to care for the captives and house those who oversaw and guarded them.

The most notorious of the blocks was Prison Four. It became the domain of the men of color, although all prisoners spent time there, spending money and whiling away idle time in pursuits such as staging plays or gaming. Supposedly, this was where King Dick reigned.

To reach Dartmoor, POWs walked from Plymouth in all types of weather. Once inside, each man had to dress in a yellow uniform sporting a diagonal arrow. The first man to enter its gates, over which was chiselled “Spare the Vanquished,” was a Frenchman named Etienne Pagert on 22 May 1809. The oldest prisoner was born in England in 1745; his name was Edward Johnstone. The youngest Black POW was James Johnson, a lad of thirteen who was aboard a privateer when it was taken by the British in February 1814. The first agent (warden) to oversee these men was Isaac Cotgrave; when he retired, Thomas Shortland took his place and oversaw the refurbishing of the prison before it began to house only American POWs beginning halfway through 1814. Frank Palmer, who wrote about his captivity, served aboard a privateer for less than a day before he was taken prisoner; he remained such for 545 days, some of which were spent in this prison.

Throughout the pages of this book, readers learn what it was like to be a POW both physically and emotionally. Also discussed are the problems encountered by both the POWs and the agents. This includes the original inhabitants of Prison Four who were collectively known as Romans, feral men who never wore clothes except a blanket if they went elsewhere in the prison. Daily life, prejudices, published narratives, escape attempts, the massacre and its aftermath, reasons as to why the POWs remained incarcerated for so long, and how some individuals came to be residents of Dartmoor are discussed, as are what became of these people after they returned home and how the prison was repurposed to house hardened criminals, which it continues to do until it closes in 2023.

The Hated Cage is an eye-opening and absorbing history of Dartmoor and the POWs, both French and American, who resided within its walls. Guyatt provides a wealth of details that clearly show the differences between expectations and realities. Although he includes the surprising detail that women and children (camp followers and captives) lived within Dartmoor’s walls, he doesn’t share much about these people. He does provide vivid imagery about what it was like to live within the prison blocks without many of the creature comforts we’ve come to expect. This is a must read for anyone with a general interest in the War of 1812 and those with a specific interest in privateering. It is not only a compelling account of what happened to those men who didn’t return from successful ventures, but it provides a more comprehensive and detailed experience than recent titles on privateering.

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