In the years after the Revolutionary War, Brooklynites living along Wallabout Bay off the East River were greeted almost daily by a macabre sight.
Human bones and skulls, bleached by the sun, would be unearthed by tides, washing ashore.
These were the remains of men who died aboard the prison ships—16 rotted, disease-ridden vessels docked near Wallabout Bay, where British soldiers held thousands of captive patriots in horrific conditions.
More than 11,500 prisoners perished on these ships, their bodies thrown overboard or hastily buried in waterside graves.
“For many years after the end of the war, the sandy beaches of Wallabout Bay remained littered with the bones of men who died in the prison ships—one resident of the area described skulls lying about as thick as pumpkins in an autumn cornfield. . . . ” wrote Edwin G. Burrows in his 2008 book Forgotten Patriots.
In 1808, residents collected the bones and built a small crypt for them on Front Street and Hudson and Hudson Avenue, in today’s Vinegar Hill.
As decades passed, city leaders called for a more heroic monument to the men known as the prison ship martyrs.
The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park was dedicated in 1908. Twenty-two boxes containing a fraction of the remains of the martyrs are still inside a vault there today.
[A prison ship anchored in the bay; Wallabout Bay, site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in 1851, 70 or so years after the ships occupied the bay]
Tags: Brooklyn Navy Yard Wallabout, Crypts in New York City, Fort Greene Park prison ships, Macabre New York, New York in the Revolutionary War, old maps New York City, patriots of New York City, Prison Ships, Prison Ships Martyrs Monument, Wallabout Bay
December 22, 2011 at 4:57 pm |
Ephemeral New York regularly attains a high standard, and the fine rendition of the prison ships episode seems a suitable occasion for congratulations.
The effect of your narration and accompanying images is wonderful. In a few strokes that seem always to strike the mark, you compose a story that suits any audience. Some come new to a subject and find a neat little gem: no false notes, no jargon, the signposts in place, all pointing in the right direction. Others come knowing a subject well and find a deft summary of uncanny brevity and cogency.
Perhaps your finished work is a consequence of great labor; perhaps it comes to you simply and naturally; perhaps it is some combination of the two. The results are splendid. Don’t change a thing.
December 22, 2011 at 5:01 pm |
Thank you TJ. Nice to hear from you again; your comments are always helpful and illuminating as well!
December 22, 2011 at 6:58 pm |
Ugh, I can only imagine what it was like on those ships…or witnessing what you’ve described above. Thanks for sharing.
December 22, 2011 at 8:25 pm |
Yeah, there are many books that delve into just how horrendous the conditions on those ships were, with men crammed together, little food, open buckets for toilets, etc. Terrible.
May 28, 2013 at 9:01 pm |
[…] crypt that houses the remains of 11,500 Americans who died of disease and starvation aboard British prison ships during the Revolutionary War. According to a 2011 article in The New York Times by Elizabeth […]