Ethan Allen - Imprisonment

Imprisonment

Much of what is known of Allen's captivity is known only from his own account of the time; where contemporary records are available, they tend to confirm those aspects of his story.

Allen was first placed aboard HMS Gaspée, a brig anchored at Montreal. He was kept in solitary confinement and chains, and General Richard Prescott had, according to Allen, ordered him to be treated "with much severity". In October 1775, the Gaspée went downriver, and her prisoners were transferred to the Adamant, which then sailed for England. Allen wrote of the voyage that he "was put under the power of an English Merchant from London, whose name was Brook Watson: a man of malicious and cruel disposition".

On arrival at Falmouth, England, after a crossing under filthy conditions, Allen and the other prisoners were imprisoned in Pendennis Castle, Cornwall. At first his treatment was poor, but Allen wrote a letter, ostensibly to the Continental Congress, describing his conditions and suggesting that Congress treat the prisoners it held the same way. Unknown to Allen, British prisoners now included General Prescott, captured trying to escape from Montreal, and the letter came into the hands of the British cabinet. Also faced with opposition within the British establishment to the treatment of captives taken in North America, King George decreed that the men should be sent back to America and treated as prisoners of war.

In January 1776, Allen and his men were put on board HMS Soledad, which sailed for Cork, Ireland. The people of Cork, when they learned that the famous Ethan Allen was in port, took up a collection to provide him and his men with clothing and other supplies. Much of the following year was spent on prison ships off the American coast. At one point, while aboard HMS Mercury, she anchored off New York, where, among other visitors, the captain entertained William Tryon; Allen reports that Tryon glanced at him without any sign of recognition, although it is likely the New York governor knew who he was. In August 1776, Allen and other prisoners were temporarily put ashore in Halifax, owing to extremely poor conditions aboard ship; due to food scarcity, both crew and prisoners were on short rations, and scurvy was rampant. By the end of October, Allen was again off New York, where the British, having secured the city, moved the prisoners on-shore, and, as he was considered an officer, gave Allen limited parole. With the financial assistance of his brother Ira, he lived comfortably, if out of action, until August 1777. He then learned of the death of his young son Joseph due to smallpox.

His fortitude and firmness seem to have placed him out of reach of misfortune. There is an original something in him that commands admiration; and his long captivity and sufferings have only served to increase, if possible, his enthusiastic zeal

According to another prisoner's account, Allen wandered off after learning of his son's death. He was arrested for violating his parole, and placed in solitary confinement. There he remained while Vermont declared independence, and John Burgoyne's campaign for the Hudson River met a stumbling block near Bennington in August 1777. On May 3, 1778 he was transferred to Staten Island. He was admitted to General John Campbell's quarters, where he was invited to eat and drink with the general and several other British field officers. Allen stayed there for two days and was treated politely. On the third day Allen was exchanged for Colonel Archibald Campbell, who was conducted to the exchange by Colonel Elias Boudinot, the American commissary general of prisoners appointed by General George Washington. Following the exchange, Allen reported to Washington at Valley Forge. On May 14, he was breveted a colonel in the Continental Army in "reward of his fortitude, firmness and zeal in the cause of his country, manifested during his long and cruel captivity, as well as on former occasions," and given military pay of $75 per month. The brevet rank, however, meant that there was no active role, until called, for Allen. Allen's services were never requested, and eventually the payments stopped.