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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

January 22. 1779
Today the agent called all of us into the yard and read out the names of the 100 men that would be first exchanged in the cartel. To my great joy, my name was read out. Joseph Shillaber's name was also on the list, but but to our great regret Guppy Studley's was not. We are to be exchanged according to the order by which we were committed to the prison which includes most of the 86 men from the Dolton still now in prison; the rest either having escaped, entered the British service or died.

Friday, January 11, 2008

January 11. 1779
Wonderful news indeed arrived in the person of Mr. Sorrey yesterday. He came with a letter from the committee in London telling us there is a cartel already in Plymouth waiting to begin our exchange. We shall be carried to Nantes in France on the Milford cartel and exchanged for an equal number of English prisoners held there. Mr. Sorrey came again today to inform us that the cartel must only wait for a man to come from France to take charge of us. We are also on full allowance again.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

The dog we killed yesterday was put to good use today. We also received a bag of potatoes by donation today which went well with the dog.

Today, Mr. Cowdry informed us that if we delivered those responsible for digging the escape hole that the remainder of us should be restored to full allowance but no one was ready to comply. Two of our younger men volunteered themselves up this afternoon, taking responsibility for the hole. We shall all support them in gratitude for their sacrifice.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

January 8. 1779
There are so many on half allowance that those with full allowance cannot support us. Many of our men are desperate with hunger and so we managed to catch and kill a dog which we will eat tomorrow, although his liver was promptly roasted today. We have been at Plymouth now 2 years to the day.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

January 5. 1779
Captain Boardman from our ship escaped again last night and has not been brought back yet. We have counted the number of others who have been returned since our escape on the 28th and only 24 out of the original 109 are still free.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

January 1. 1779
Today many of us are on half allowance after attempting to escape on the 28th of December. My friends and I were captured yesterday after making our way several miles from Plymouth before being spied by some of the local people who raised the alarm. There are so many of us that made our escape through the hole under the wall and were later captured that we cannot all fit in the black hole and therefore we are back in the Long Prison and are divided into messes for our half rations. Our officers who escape have the advantage of friends and money to aid them on their way, neither of which the common foremast hand can claim, giving us little hope of making our way out of England.