Within the Haunting Bedrock: Part 8. Prisons and More Prisons

From 1776 to 1783, Britain used New York Harbor and Wallabout Bay to imprison Americans in prison hulks. They also converted three sugar factories and other buildings into prisons. The Livingston six-story stone sugar house on Crown (now Liberty) Street held 40-50 prisoners, but this swelled to 400-500 at a time. Rhinelander’s five-story brick sugar house stood at the corner of Rose (William) Street and Duane Street. Van Cortlandt’s five-story sugar house stood on the northwest corner of Trinity Church’s yard. For a resident of Lower Manhattan, the land-based prisons and the prison ships were not distant rumor, but a major part of the harbor landscape.

Historians estimate 11,000 American prisoners died on British ships in New York, over twice the 4,500 combat victims. They anchored most of the prison ships in Wallabout Bay, outside Brooklyn on the East River. The British favored Wallabout Bay for its proximity to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and ease of guarding.

At least sixteen prison ships existed, with the most infamous being the HMS Jersey. Americans named it “Hell.” The “Jersey” was an old 60-gun warship no longer fit for combat. Stripped of much of its equipment, they converted it into a floating prison. Former prisoners described the lower decks as dark and suffocating, with little fresh air. The crew often locked prisoners below deck, with many falling ill from dysentery, smallpox, typhus, and other diseases. Captured American privateers fared the worst because their large numbers prevented simple exchanges like those of regular soldiers. For Americans elsewhere in the colonies, the name “New York” became linked to the prison ships.

The British buried the dead in shallow graves along Brooklyn’s waterfront. Even years later, Americans had to witness uncovered bones on their beaches because of this act.