Nelson & His World

I thought I'd open a new thread on Prisoners of War in general.

Mark commented on the American Prisoners thread that some French officers at Dartmoor were offered parole, and lived with local families outside the prison. Some refused to be paroled, and were consequently housed inside the prison in much harder conditions.

Was it common/rare/unknown for an officer, French or British, to break his parole?

If an officer did break his parole, what was the attitude of his own side to this? When one reflects that to be seen to keep one's word was one of the defining characteristics of a gentleman at that time, I wonder whether a parole-breaking officer would be regarded with disdain by his fellows.

My understanding is that the parole rules were pretty well adhered to.

There must have been a lot of moral pressure - as a few selfish people could have brought the whole system down.

It's worth mentioning that there was actually a chain of parole towns across the south of England and then stretching up as far as Scotland. I had a pretty good list of them once which I probably still have here somewhere.

As regards this "moral code" that underpinned the behavior of captive officers. I did a bit of research once on an officer who was captured in the south of France but was required to spend his "captivity" in a Northern town. He was allowed to make his own way completely unsupervised. Not only that but he was a freemason and the French masons gave him documents that meant he could show up at any masonic lodge en route and would be given food and accomodation.

Stranger than fic . . . . . . Oh no! Here I go again.

MB

Many thanks for those observations, Mark. They demonstrate what a powerful influence the concept of 'honour' was on a gentleman's behaviour. I read 'somewhere' (!) that in South America there was a commonly-used simile: 'As true as the word of an Englishman.' Flattering, if true.

A further point that the booklet mentions was the agreement between the warring powers that POWs would not be subject to corporal punishment. I wonder how this, and other protocols about the treatment of prisoners, was arranged? Through ambassadors prior to or on the occasion of declarations of war, perhaps?

No corporal punishment at Dartmoor, then, but a pretty formidable one called 'The Black Hole', a sort of 'oubliette', cold, damp and windowless, where troublesome prisoners were confined, and often died.

Here is the memorial to the French prisoners who died at Norman Cross.

I believe there is a good display/artefacts etc. in Peterboro Museum - but I have to confess I have not seen it for myself.



MB

Interesting reading here:

http://www.thespace4.org/space4/heritage/Norman-Cross.html

MB

Hi Mark!

I was there when the Duke of Wellington unveiled the current memorial, and, yes, indeed, I can confirm that Peterborough Museum does have an excellent display.

- Torf -
aka Mil Goose

Hello, Mil - nice to see you here!

That was an interesting link, Mark. I note the food seems surprisingly nutritious, as it was at Dartmoor. This too, like the 'no corporal punishment'
deal, was agreed between the governments. Bread, beef, codfish, herrings, potatoes, greens, Scotch barley, onions and salt were stipulated.

Moreover, bread was to be 'made of wheaten meal';

beef was to be 'good and wholesome fresh beef not Bull Beef';

codfish was to be 'the produce of the Fishery at Newfoundland, or the Coast of Labrador, and to be delivered in whole fish';

herrings to be good and sound; and red and white herrings to be issued alternately;

the 'greens' were to be 'stripped of their outside leaves and fit for the Copper.'

The quality rarely met the required standard, however, and the cooking arrangements left much to be desired.

As I said on the American PoW thread, I'll add all my comments here rather than there - but agree wholeheartedly with Mark that fact is stranger than fiction!

Roy and I did a lot of research on prisoners, both British ones in France and foreign prisoners in Britain, as well as failed and successful escape attempts, parole, death in prison, prison hulks, etc etc, for two of our books - The War for All the Oceans and Jack Tar. In the first book, see especially pages 315 to 327, 401-2, 446-60. For Jack Tar, see pages 244 to 259 (we only deal with British prisoners for this book).

There are many conflicting reports for the Dartmoor massacre, but the main point about this tragedy was that the Americans were kept in prison after the war with the US had ended. Seven prisoners were killed outright, seven prisoners required amputation and three men died later. The surgeon who tended them was George Magrath, a surgeon revered by Nelson and by the prisoners themselves. There is a fine memorial within the prison grounds.

Apart from our own books (of course!), we can also recommend Ron Joy's Dartmoor Prison, A Complete Illustrated History, volume one, and Clive L. Lloyd's A History of Napoleonic and American Prisoners of War 1756-1816 (Antique Collectors Club). Both are large-format books, and both have a second volume - Ron Joy's second volume is on Dartmoor as a later convict prison and Lloyd's second volume is on the arts and crafts of the PoWs.

Lesley

Many thanks for that, Lesley. I am ashamed to say that Jack Tar is still on my 'to read' pile. My life is so frazzling that my reading gets done in dribs and drabs.

Thanks for posting details of the Plymouth 'Tars and Tarts' talk on the Information Forum. The costume department of the Theatre Royal, Bath has a good supply of 'bawdy wench' costumes for hire, so I just might.........!

Anyone would be very welcome, costumed or otherwise - perhaps even as a PoW, or a PoW ghost perhaps! An area of nearby Plymouth (Derry's Cross) is reputed to be haunted by the French prisoners who died and were buried there in captivity.

Lesley