Foul Dungeons, Prison Ships, & Forced Marches

Foul Dungeons, Prison Ships, & Forced Marches

Registration is required. RSVP BELOW

You are invited to join us for “Foul Dungeons, Floating Prisons, and Forced Marches,” a fascinating presentation by Susan Bigelow, History & Genealogy Librarian at the Connecticut State Library, exploring the little-known stories of Revolutionary War prisoners in Connecticut.

In November 1778, a strange procession wound its way through the sparsely populated hills and valleys of northern Connecticut: thousands of British and German prisoners of war captured at Saratoga marched under guard from their former quarters in Cambridge to the near wilderness of Charlottesville, Virginia. The so-called “Convention Army” was an extreme example of a thorny problem faced by both sides during the American Revolution: what to do with the growing number of prisoners of war.

Connecticut’s leaders responded in a variety of ways—some humane, others surprisingly harsh. Along the way, you’ll discover stories of German officers hosting dance parties in the villages they passed through, captives confined deep within a dark copper mine, and British sailors who staged a daring escape from a prison ship in New London Harbor.

Susan Bigelow is a librarian and recovering political writer with a deep love of local history. She is a member of the History & Genealogy staff at the Connecticut State Library and serves on the Board of Directors of the Enfield Historical Society.