John Hindman, Plymouth 269, Dartmoor 6393
MSA SC 5496-51733
War of 1812 Prisoner of War, Annapolis, Maryland, 1814
Biography:
John Hindman was an African-American sailor from Annapolis, Maryland, who was incarcerated in England as a prisoner of war during the War of 1812. Hindman stumbled into the conflict just as it was nearly finished. He was serving as a seaman on board the merchent vessel Netterville when she was taken by His Majesty's Ship Onyx on December 25, 1814 off Saint Domingo.1 Just the day before, American and British diplomats had signed the Treaty of Ghent an ocean away in Belgium. The signing of the treaty did not however end the war because the treaty still had to be ratified by both the American Congress and British Parliament.
After being captured by the Onyx, Hindman and the rest of the Netterville crew were taken to a prison depot in Jamaica, and then taken from Jamaica to England by the Sultan man of war.2 The London newspaper Lloyd's List reported on February 17, 1815 that the Sultan man of war had arrived at Portsmouth the day before.3 On February 16, 1815, the exact day Hindman arrived in England, Congress ratified the Treaty of Ghent in America, formally ending the War of 1812. Despite the official ending, the war continued for Hindman. Once in England, he and the Netterville crew were likely imprisoned at Portsmouth before being sent to Plymouth. Hindman was received at Plymouth on March 2, 1815 from H.M.S. Denmark. The Plymouth register describes Hindman as a stout Black seaman, forty years old, and 5"7 tall. It also lists his place of nativity as Maryland. Hindman was then discharged the next day to Dartmoor Prison.4
To get to Dartmoor, the prisoners had to march seventeen miles along muddy roads, and mostly uphill. The task was especially onerous for sailors who after months at sea were not accustomed to much walking, and often did not have any shoes.5 Hindman was received at Dartmoor on March 3, 1815. The Dartmoor register indicates he was received from H.M.S. Ganges, which was likely the prison hulk he stayed at in Plymouth. Differing from the Plymouth register, the Dartmoor register describes Hindman as forty-one years old, 5"8 tall, with a sear on his left arm. It also lists his place of nativity specifically as Annapolis. Hindman was joined on board the Netterville and in prison by four other African-American sailors from Maryland: William Blackston, Peter Cooper, William Macketer, and John Maddin. Hindman remained at Dartmoor until July 11, 1815.6
Despite the formal ending of the war, the prisoners had to remain at Dartmoor because American and Britsh officals could not agree on which country should pay to transport the prisoners back to America. After the infamous Dartmoor Massacre on April 6, the two sides quickly resolved their dispute and began transporting prisoners back to America that month. Many of the African-American prisoners, however, lingered even longer because they refused to sail on ships bound for southern ports, fearing they would be sold into slavery.7Citations:
1. "Plymouth Prison Register" UKNA: ADM 103/270. "Dartmoor Prison Register" UKNA: ADM 103/91.
2. "A Letter from Havanna" Baltimore Patriot (Baltimore, MD) February 1, 1815. "Philadelphia, Feb. 4" Concord Gazette (Concord, NH) February 14, 1815.
3. Lloyd's List (London, UK) February 17, 1815, No. 4948.
4. "Plymouth Prison Register" UKNA: ADM 103/270.
5. Bolster, W. Jeffrey, Black Jacks: African-American Seamen in the Age of Sail (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997) 104.
6. "Dartmoor Prison Register" UKNA: ADM 103/91.
7. Horsman, Reginald, "The Paradox of Dartmoor Prison" American Heritage (February, 1975) vol. 26 issue 2
Researched and written by Charles Weisenberger
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