David Foster, Plymouth 1105, Dartmoor 410
MSA SC 5496-51696
War of 1812 Prisoner of War, Talbot County, Maryland, 1813
Biography:
David Foster was an African-American sailor from Maryland who was incarcerated as a prisoner of war in England during the War of 1812. Before the war began, Foster received a freedom certificate from the Talbot County Court on September 12, 1809. The certificate describes Foster as "five feet five and an half inches high rather of a bright Complexion with a scar on the right side of his face between the ear and Cheek also one other scar on the upper part of the thumb of his left hand his third finger on the right hand some what deformed and about thirty five years of age." The certificate also specifies that David Foster was raised in Talbot County, and had been previously manumitted by a man named Joseph Foster.1
Four years after receiving the freedom certificate, Foster lost his freedom not to slavery, but to the Royal Navy. Foster was a member of the crew for the letter of marque schooner Viper, Captain Thomas N. Williams, which sailed out of Baltimore. Commissioned on September 21, 1812, the Viper was owned by John McFadon, and carried six guns with a crew of thirty men.2 Although the Viper did not take any British vessels as prizes, it still contributed to the war effort by trading with France: the primary enemy of Britain.3 Foster was on board the Viper when it was captured by H.M.S. Pyramus and H.M.S. Superb on April 15, 1813 in the Bay of Biscay. A week later on Thursday April 22, the Viper arrived at Plymouth, England, with the other prizes taken by the Pyramus and Superb.4 On the same day, Foster was received at Mill Prison. Closely matching the 1809 freedom certificate, the 1813 prison register describes Foster as a stout Black seaman, thirty-eight years old, 5”5 ¼, with a cut on his forehead. Foster spent about three months at Mill Prison before he was discharged to Dartmoor Prison on July 1, 1813.5
To get to Dartmoor, the prisoners had to march seventeen miles along muddy roads, and mostly uphill. The task was especially strenuous for sailors who often did not have any shoes, and were not accustomed to much walking after months at sea.6 Foster arrived at Dartmoor on July 1, 1813 and would remain there for nearly two years until April 20, 1815. During his stay, he received a bed, hammock, hat, jacket, waistcoat, trousers, one pair of shoes, two shirts, and two blankets from the British prison authorities.7 Foster likely discarded the first blanket he received because many of the blankets contained lice. In addition to infestation, Foster endured even more severe hardships such as limited rations, rampant disease, and racial segregation. His incarceration was prolonged by bureaucratic bickering over which country should pay to transport the prisoners back to America, which forced Foster to remain in prison for two months after the war had officially ended on February 16, 1815.8 It is not certain what became of David Foster after the war, but it is certain the Talbot County sailor lost his freedom for his country during the War of 1812.
Citations:
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