“The forgotten Saga of Prison Ships” by Kenneth Jackson

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• 19th century
• A Description of New England
• A Peoples History of The United States
• Abraham Lincoln A Great Leader in American
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“The forgotten Saga of Prison Ships” by Kenneth Jackson, narrates a horrible chapter in America’s struggle for freedom from the Britain that happened in New York harbor. From 1776 through to 783, the British militaries conquering NY City utilized reckless warships to contain soldiers, and other individuals captured on land. Most of them disobeyed the British rule and refused to swear to pledge their allegiance to the British rule. Some 11,000 convicts died aboard the prison ships during the warfare, and several of them died from disease or starvation. Most of them were inmates who suffered inhuman torture. In mid-1776, General William Howe arrived in New York with a large troop of 34,000 and a large fleet to negotiate for peace with the Americans. The negotiations failed, and Howe defeated George Washington's rebel army. The war continued, and Howe, with several American prisoners, defeated Washington and American soldiers and were pushed out of the Island. Throughout their occupation, the British arrested many soldiers and individuals and were to join the Navy or go to prison. They used the ship as prisons and even ordered more to serve as the patriotic cause. The prisoners became many, and the jails could not hold them all. They were housed on the abandoned warships at the shores in Wallabout Bay. The ships were congested with inhuman conditions where they never had food or water and abundant diseases. Old Jersey was a well-known prison ship, which would contain approximately 1000 prisoners. They referred to this place as "Hell" where more than 12 people would die daily from torture, hunger, and diseases. The Jersy remained the prison until the British