Letters from the Front: Tending to POWs

"You will immediately take into your Charge the following Prisoners of War who have petitioned for to be sent in to New York, being all maimed, but otherwise recovered of their wounds..."

As the British and American forces geared up for the Philadelphia Campaign, the daily administrative routine of both armies continued to grind on. Among the more poignant issues addressed was the treatment of prisoners of war. By August 1777, when Elias Boudinot penned the letter below to his colleague in Bucks County, both sides had ample numbers of enemy combatants "behind the wire." In some cases, however, these prisoners posed no further threat to their captors, having been so maimed in battle that they were no longer fit for service. This letter covers just such a group of men-- British soldiers who had recovered from their injuries (as much as they could) and who requested to be sent back to their Army in New York. From there, these men would have been discharged and sent back across the Atlantic to England, on the government dime, unless they opted to stay in America. A lucky few might be recommended for military pensions from the Chelsea Hospital. While the war was over for these men, Boudinot's letter speaks to another side of the issue: the treatment of American prisoners held by the British. One of the standard military conventions of the days was to send money and clothing through enemy lines to the prisoners to aid in their car, since armies of the period did not feel themselves obliged to provide for captured enemy troops (though the British often did the best they could for American prisoners). This practice reflects how the Continental Army attempted to act in every way like a conventional professional European army of the period. Our thanks once again to David Swain for this transcript.

WPT III

Sol Feinstone Collection No. 2331

Elias Boudinot to Joshua “Messereau” [Mersereau], Headquarters [Bucks County, Pennsylvania], 19 Aug. 1777

Transcribed by David Swain October 2011

Head Quarters Aug^t. 19^th. 1777

Sir,

            You will immediately take into your Charge the following Prisoners of War who have petitioned for to be sent in to New York, being all maimed, but otherwise recovered of their wounds, and convey them safe to Staten Island or New York and there deliver them to the Commanding Officer of the British Troops, taking his doc^t. for them to be accounted for hereafter—You will also take the Bundle of Money herewith delivered, for our Prisoners of War in New York, to be delivered with the Letter to Mr. Pintard, to the same officer also taking his doc^t. for the same

            Am Sir

Your Hble Servt

Elias Boudinot

Commissary Gen^l. of Prisoners

P.S. You will apply to the Commanding Officer at Eliza^t. Town for a Flag.

Joshua Messereau Esq^r.

Deputy Com. of Prisoners

List of Prisoners

W^m. Corwan                John Buckannon

W^m. Money                 Francis Ingram

Arthur Fulling             James Keen

Joseph Stendal                        Orion Baker

W^m. Corbett                Melcher Smart

Paul M^cPherson

David Morehead

W^m. Wilkinson"


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