by John Marshall

“ We were at length conducted from the dungeon to a miserable hole under ground, to which I descended by thirty steep stone steps, where Messrs. Tuthill and Ashworth, with fifty of our countrymen, were already burled alive. Here I remained, planning and scheming every thing possible to effect my escape, but in vain: I, however, wore the rope constantly round me; yet the guards were so watchful, that I had very little hopes of being able to make the intended use of it. ”

“ I was in great hopes we should escape the horrors of a dungeon for one night at least, but found myself mistaken. They placed us in a small cachot, calculated to contain about our number, and gave us a little straw to lie on. The next day was very rainy, and the roads prodigiously heavy; our march long and fatiguing. I cannot omit observing, that one of the party, having occasion to be unchained from his comrades, could not obtain permission before one of the guard had pinioned him with a strong cord, which the gens d’armes carried for that purpose. ”

“ O’Brien and his late travelling companions were ordered to prepare themselves for a march to the fortress of Bitche, in Lorraine, a wretched place, in the dreadful caverns of which many a valuable British subject, during the late war, terminated his existence in all the agony that illness and despondency can create. ”

“ There is no exception or excuse of sickness to be made; if a prisoner be able to crawl he must attend, and frequently they are carried. I took my station in the ranks, expecting in a few minutes to be lodged with my old companions in limbo. Buché, whom I had so long avoided, rivetted his eyes upon me. I had received information that he was going to make known to the commandant or general, that I had importuned him more than the rest, and was the person who prevailed on him to let any down. He was astonished at seeing me, having been informed that I was in the dungeon. ”

“ Messrs. Tuthill, Ashworth, and Brine, were of the number; the latter wore his rope as I did, and was the only person of the party, then in the room, who knew I had one. We became daily more intimate from this confidence in each other; and after a vast number of fruitless endeavours, on the 17th July 1808, the term of our slavery appeared to be drawing to a conclusion: I was on that day told in confidence by one of the seamen, that a party had thoughts of breaking out that night from the souterrain – that he was one of them, and he informed me who the other principal people were. ”

“ I had the honor to command one, with 25 men; Captain Wilkinson, with the master, leading in the barge, which was the only ship’s boat in company. We made sail out of the little creeks in which the boats had been moored, the sea running excessively high, and at about 2, the barge hauled up to the N.W. We all, of course, followed. At 2-30, or three o’clock, we bore up again; several of the boats were in distress, being very badly found, having neither sails, rigging, nor ground tackling that could be at all trusted to. ”

“ We advanced tolerably fast; poor Essel a great way behind – Met an old peasant, and enquired the name of the village (Petit Essigny) . He told us there was a path-way on the right of it, if we wished to avoid passing through. We were, he said, five leagues from St. Quentin [7] . This old man’s remarks appeared to us very singular: he took his leave, and we walked on. It rained, and the morning was advancing, now nearly 8 o’clock. What we imagined to be a wood, adjacent to the village, proved, upon approaching it, to be only a few shrubs. ”

“ We felt in perfect security, and were amusing ourselves relating some particulars respecting our escape, &c. until nearly 8 o’clock, when we discovered two sail under Capo d’Istria. We supposed them to be enemy’s merchant vessels stealing along shore. Lieutenant Jones made instantly towards them. We soon perceived one was full of men, pulling in shore from the other; it had the appearance of a row-boat, the other was larger and rigged like a trabacolo, under Venetian colours. We imagined that the major part of the crew had abandoned the latter, and were endeavouring to get on shore. ”

“ The crews of those aground quitted their vessels, and lined a thick wood astern of them, well adapted for their defence and for bush-fighting, and which completely commanded the coast.
“In this situation they awaited our boats, which were led to the attack by Lieutenant O’Brien with his accustomed gallantry; and I want words. Sir, to convey to you my admiration of the determined manner in which this service was performed. The boats, pushing through a very heavy fire of grape and musketry, carried all before them; boarding and driving the enemy from their vessels in every direction. ”

“ At day-light on the 3d, we were much alarmed, not being able to make out a wood in any direction. At last, to our unspeakable delight, we perceived at a small distance a kind of little forest, not more than three or four acres in circumference. We repaired to it without hesitation, and found it thick and well adapted for our reception. Having pitched upon a convenient spot, we deposited our knapsacks, disburdened ourselves of our apples, &c. and after refreshing ourselves with a little biscuit and sausage, together with a dessert of fruit which we could now afford, we betook ourselves to rest. ”

“ I have frequently known prisoners of war, through malice, to be taken out of their beds in the night, fettered and conducted to the dépôts of punishment, without ever being informed of the crime or fault they had been accused of, from some of those rascals giving false information, to be revenged for any private animosity they might have had against the persons so treated. ”

“ Our over eagerness in forcing the third door, shot the bolt back, which caused a noise and alarmed the centinels outside. This occasioned a general alarm to be instantly beat – all hopes were then at an end. ‘What unfortunate wretches!’ were the only words that could be heard, every body endeavouring to get to his respective place before the guards entered. Those who were all over dirt trying to strip and hide their clothes: the confusion was great in all parts of the cave; people running against one another, mistaking each other’s beds and clothes. ”

“ He was a tall, thin, squinting fellow, with an iron countenance, that gave the unfortunate but little to expect. We soon arrived at the village, and to our inexpressible joy found it to be a very miserable one. Our guides shewed us the public house, and went away. We entered it, and found the good landlady had nothing to give us but bread and eggs: and no bed, but a loft full of clean hay. This was the only inn (as they termed it) in the village. ”

“ Imagining that the boat’s crew and himself might be better treated on board the commander-in-chiefs ship, than in a private one, Mr. O’Brien went alongside l’Alexandre, bearing his flag, where he was received with the utmost civility, and every attention paid to his wants. The French officers informed him, that eleven of the other boats had arrived in the night; the thirteenth fishing boat, commanded by Mr. Gordon, midshipman, effected a landing at Conquet, about 12 miles west of Brest. ”

“ We were now joined by those left in Metz prison, and were soon again on the march towards our destined habitation; the same precautions were taken for securing us, and but little or no hopes ware left of our escaping. We arrived at Sarreguemine, only 6 or 7 leagues from Bitche, and were secured as usual in the jail. The next day we expected to arrive at our horrible abode, about four in the afternoon. In the morning our guards came with a large waggon, in which we were placed, and to my great astonishment and delight we were not chained. ”

“ Off Corfu, the Spider captured a French bombard, laden with great coats and wool, and she was not released from quarantine until the arrival of the Amphion at Malta, with Mr. Battley on board, whom that frigate had picked up off Trieste, a few days after the departure of his late companions. On joining Lord Collingwood’s flag-ship, Messrs. O’Brien and Hewson had the gratification of seeing five more of their fellow sufferers, who had fled from Bitche in consequence of letters they had written at Trieste, pointing out the best course for them to pursue. ”

“ O’Brien and Mahoney were subjected throughout the whole of their long journey, during which they were pinched with cold and hunger, worn out by fatigue, often forced to herd with felons and sleep on straw, and frequently obliged to suffer insults from their guards that could not be resented. ”

“ Every pleasure which we had anticipated on our arrival there, the visiting of our friends, our advancement in our profession – in fact, every thing pleasing to the human mind which we had indulged and cherished during our long and fatiguing journey, was soon to be frustrated. ”

“ He had composed his countenance, and entered the bed chamber very grave and pensive, informing us, he was fearful we should again be sent back to France. We were not so ignorant of physiognomy, as not to be able to discern that he had no such apprehension; but had, on the contrary, received some joyful intelligence. He then congratulated us upon being once more freemen, and informed us, that the director had received an order from the Austrian government, to grant us passports to proceed where we pleased; and that we might quit the town that day if we wished. Good God! ”

“ Having a rope, we flattered ourselves we might some day, whilst allowed to breathe the fresh air, be able to elude the vigilance of the sentinels and scale the walls: however, it was a thing difficult to be accomplished; and our best hopes appeared, when we should be liberated from our present dungeon, at which time we expected to have an opportunity of using the rope, if not before. ”

“ Brine’s: however the moment, which left no hope of avoiding detection, was approaching fast. The commandant, and all the other officers of the fortress of Bitche, descended about 9 o’clock, to see the havoc that had been made the night before. They were all astonished how we could have made so much progress in so short a time, and with so few tools; having only found a broken saw, a hammer, and a couple of old chisels. ”

“ Webb’s boat mounted a 3-pounder in the bow, and he had 18 men only with him. He has passed his examination as lieutenant, has been two years acting lieutenant, and is a very promising meritorious young man.
“The enemy had quitted Corfu the evening before, and were bound to Otranto to convey money for the payment of the troops on that island. They are very fine vessels, and sail remarkably fast. Their guns are fitted so as to turn on a pivot, and may be fired in any direction without altering the course, which enabled them to keep up a very smart fire, as our boats approached. ”

“ O’Brien, Ashworth, Tuthill, and Easel (the latter a naval lieutenant, who wished to be off also) , met agreeably to appointment. Every thing was favorable and quiet; and in a very few minutes, with the assistance of their rope and a friend, they got down the ramparts, about 72 feet high, with very little injury, except losing some of the skin off their hands. Each had his knapsack, &c. properly placed: their course was N.W. which they carefully followed, over ploughed fields, mountains, and marshes – nothing was allowed to interrupt their progress. ”

“ This made the officer swear vehemently at the ‘sucres coquins,’ that he would find out the ‘chiefs of this horrible conspiracy! ‘Where are those visitors,’ cried he, ‘who, I understand, prevailed on the gend’arme to be admitted down; they must be the heads of this business?’ They then called over the names of Tuthill, Ashworth, and O’Brien. I was too old a man of war’s man to answer the first call. ”

“ About 6, we arrived at Maubertfontaine, in a most miserable plight, covered with mud and dirt. We found a new dungeon in this village just built, where we were very soon deposited: The guards visited us every hour during the night. On the 2nd, at day-break, we were chained to a cart and hand-cuffed; the roads, from the late fall of rain, being too heavy to proceed on foot. Our treatment was pretty nearly the same throughout unto Verdun, where we arrived at the latter end of October. ”

“ The other two lieutenants, William Bennett and C. G. R. Phillott, had been on board the Amphion also, in my time; consequently I felt quite at home amongst my friends: the whole of the officers vied with one another in paying us attention, and afforded us every succour that could be expected by people in our destitute situation from their generous countrymen.
“Sixteen days had elapsed, most of which time I was confined to my bed, when H.M. brig Spider, Lieutenant (William Sanford) Oliver, commander, arrived from Malta, with despatches, and to return immediately. ”

“ Hammers and chisels, with great difficulty, were procured, and we carried them always about us, as the dungeon was ransacked every day in our absence. We hung an old coat up against that part of the rock which we intended to begin upon. Rope was necessary to descend the ramparts with, after we had got out of the dungeon; we accordingly, through some friends, who had obtained permission to come and see us, contrived to purchase some stout linen for shirts (which we really much wanted) and from the shoemakers amongst the prisoners, we got now and then a ball of twine. ”

“ Some of our countrymen, who called to see us, en passant, threw out such insinuations and made such remarks upon our conduct of late, that we were under the most serious apprehensions of being shackled, and on the road to Bitche, before the much desired hour, eleven at night: being well aware, that there were several Englishmen employed and paid regularly, for conveying the most trivial occurrence that might take place amongst the prisoners, to the French general. ”

“ We waited on the Director of police, who received us with great politeness, and had us conducted to the first tavern in the town; requesting that we would still say we were Americans. A borea, or N.E. wind, which in the Adriatic is most violent, was then setting in: he assured us, it would be impossible to get embarked until the gale abated, hut that he would render us every assistance in due time; we took our leave, greatly rejoiced at this reception, and proceeded to the inn; thence we went and waited on the American consul. ”