A ‘Special Relationship’: The Dartmoor Massacre of 1815

The term ‘Special Relationship’ was first coined by Winston Churchill in 1944, following Anglo-American cooperation in the Second World War. The term stuck, having defined relations between the two countries ever since. Contrary to popular belief, Anglo-American relations haven't always been so amicable, in fact, for the first forty years following the United States’ inception, Britain acted as a prominent antagonist, forcing the two nations into a conflict that would come to be known as the War of 1812. A moment that portrays this rather intricate relationship took place far from the North American coast, in a remote prison located on Dartmoor, in Devon.

Before we uncover the grueling events that unfolded within the prison walls, let us look at the bigger picture. Why did Anglo-American relations collapse into war in the first place? There were three key reasons for the conflict: impressment of American sailors, indigenous discontent in the Old North-West and restrictions to U.S. trade rights. The Royal Navy had consistently pursued American merchant ships, either drafting or impressing sailors into service to the crown. This alongside the Orders-in-Council, (a set of decrees issued by the British government, which curtailed U.S. trade with Europe between 1807 and 1809), coerced the U.S. into adopting a restrictive trade policy, limiting exports to Europe in hopes Britain and France, in need of American food, would end the trade embargoes. Contrary to American wishes, it was the U.S. economy that suffered, witnessing a drop in exports from $108 million in 1807, to just $22 million the following year. A struggling economy together with a discontent (British funded) indigenous population to the Northwest, meant for the U.S. Congress, war was their only option. In President Madison’s address to the ‘War Congress’ of 1811, he stated, Britain had made “War on our lawful commerce”, urging the nation to arms.

A significant portion of the fighting occurred at sea, with an American fleet desperately unequipped to face the infamous Royal Navy. To bolster its numbers, the U.S. government turned to privateering, commissioning over 100,000 volunteers. Thousands of these sailors found themselves prisoners of the Royal Navy, 6,553 of which ended up at Dartmoor. The prison consisted of seven slate-roofed, granite buildings. Each block was open planned, dotted with iron pillars instead of the individual cells you would see today. The wide windows throughout the prison in combination with the prison's location on the moor itself, meant the prisoners were at the mercy of Dartmoor’s harsh climate, making winters like that of 1813-1814 particularly cruel, allowing diseases like Pneumonia and Rubella to run rampant.

Under command of the “inhuman monster”, Captain G. Shortland, minor crimes could result in punishments like being stripped and then scrubbed with sand and water, or worse still, being struck with a Cat-o'-nine-tails. This alongside the lack-luster efforts of the American agent, Reuben Beasley, infuriated the prisoners, whom by March of 1815 had learnt that the Treaty of Ghent had been ratified, ending the war between the two nations. Despite this, those prisoners were still held captive. Beasley had decided the prisoners should remain at Dartmoor, while a flotilla was organized for their transport across the Atlantic. It is no surprise that in response the prisoners held Beasley on trial, albeit with a straw effigy as a substitute for the real man. Beasley was found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging, his straw corpse was then set alight.

The U.S. government’s stagnant efforts to remove the prisoners from English soil, alongside the rations of food and clothes that seemed to deteriorate by the day, meant prisoners were close to breaking point. In late 1814 tunnels were already being dug under Block Five, towards the prison walls 285 feet away. However, it was the tunnel discovered in the evening of the 6th of April 1815, that triggered the atrocious massacre. Tensions were already high in the prison after the storehouse had been ransacked the previous day, meaning when Shortland discovered a tunnel being dug into a wall connected to the barracks, the guards responded with brutish force. The alarm was immediately sounded, leading to prisoners gathering at the main gate. Disorder among the prisoners broke out and soldiers opened fire, bayonetting the wounded and pursuing those that fled, leaving seven dead and forty-six injured. Although it is unclear whether Shortland ordered his men to open fire, the joint Anglo-American inquest following the massacre, found him guilty of justifiable homicide, stating the prisoners were a sufficient threat to condone the guards' actions.

This tragedy could have been prevented had the British Admiralty’s Transport Board ensured the quality of rations of food and clothing had been maintained, and had the U.S. Government, once a peace treaty was signed, taken the necessary steps to swiftly transport their sailors back home. Instead, the prisoners were subjected to awful conditions and frustrated by Beasley’s empty gestures. These inadequacy’s drove a desperate group of men, no longer willing to endure the grueling conditions in which they were held, to attempt escape, and in turn, were excessively punished.

Modern conceptions of Anglo-American relations have been dominated by events of the 20th century, whereby British and American foreign policy was closely allied. The Dartmoor Massacre of 1815 provides a small window into a time when Anglo-American relations weren't so cordial, exemplifying the importance to recognize that relations between states are more volatile than they may initially appear.

Bibliography:

Fabel, Robin, 'Self-Help in Dartmoor: Black and White Prisoners in the War of 1812, Journal of the Early Republic, vol.9, (1989), pp.165-190.

Jones-Minsinger, Elizabeth, “Our Rights Are Getting More & More Infringed Upon”: American Nationalism, identity, and sailors’ Justice in British Prisons during the War of 1812, Journal of Early Republic, vol.37, 2017, pp.471-505.

Moore, Guyatt, Nicholas Guyatt: The Dartmoor Massacre (1815), Travels Through Time, 2022, [Accessed: 27/09/2024]

Hickey, Donald, The War of 1812: Still a Forgotten Conflict?, The Journal of Military History, vol.65, 2001, pp.741-769

Hickey, Donald, The War of 1812, a short History, (University of Illinois Press, 2012)