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 1760 - Submit Photo / Document
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| Name |
John Stearns |
| Born |
1760 |
| Gender |
Male |
| Military Service |
Continental Army, American Revolution  |
| died aboard the prison ship HMS Jersey. |
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Prison Ship HMS Jersey.
The HMS Jersey was a gun ship that in 1779 was aging and no longer serviceable so it was converted into a prison ship that was moored in Wallabout Bay, New York. The ship was designed for 400 sailors but, at any given time there were about 1100 prisoners being held inhuman conditions. It is estimated 8000 men spent time aboard the Jersey before the British surrendered. In 1783 as the evacuated the ship was burned to prevent it's capture. |
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Interior of the Prison Ship Jersey.
Prisoners were kept in the dark with poor ventilation. Disease was rampant with no real provisions for medical care. The British guards frequently abused the men they were charged with watching. |
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The Jersey Prison Ship.
From the book; Recollections of the Jersey Prison-Ship From the Manuscript of Captain Thomas Dring of Providence Rhode Island, One of the prisoners, by Albert G, Greene, published by H.H. Brown, Providence, Rhode Island 1829
EXTERIOR VIEW OF THE SHIP.
1. The Flag-staff, which was seldom used, and only for signals.
2. A canvas awning or tent, used by the guards in warm weather.
3. The Quarter-deck, with its barricado about ten feet high, with a
door and loop-holes on each side.
4. The Ship’s Officers’ Cabin, under the Quarter-deck.
5. Accommodation-ladder, on the starboard side, for the use of the
ship’s officers.
6. The Steerage, occupied by the sailors belonging to the ship.
7. The Cook-room for the ship’s crew and guards.
8. The Sutler’s-room, where articles were sold to the prisoners, and
delivered to them through an opening in the bulkhead.
9. The Upper-deck and Spar-deck, where the prisoners were occasionally allowed to walk.
10. The Gangway-ladder, on the larboard side, for the prisoners.
11. The Derrick, on the starboard side, for taking in water, etc., etc.
12. The Galley, or Great Copper, under the forecastle, where the provisions were cooked for the prisoners.
13. The Gun-room, occupied by those prisoners who were officers.
14. 15. Hatchways leading below, where the prisoners were confined.
17, 18. Between-decks, where the prisoners were confined by night.
19. The Bowsprit.
20. Chain Cables, by which the ship was moored. |
| Library book: Genealogy and Memoirs of Isaac Stearns |
0222 |
| Buried |
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Prison Ship Martyrs Monument.
The Department of Defense currently lists 4,435 US battle deaths during the Revolutionary War. Estimates of deaths aboard the New York prison ships vary around 8,000. Prisoners who died were sometimes burred in shallow graves close to the shore but, more often they were just thrown overboard. By the end of the war thousands of bodies littered the bay.
Attempts to recover the remains first happened in 1808. The were interred in a couple locations before the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument was built. The monument towers over the crypt built under it. No one knows how many bones were recovered let alone who they belonged to. |
 Siblings |
4 siblings |
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| Person ID |
I37469 |
Nagel |
| Last Modified |
8 Jan 2019 |
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