Prison Ship Martyrs

Over 11,500 American soldiers and sailors who had been taken prisoner during the Revolutionary War died in what were early “death camps” aboard ships in Wallabout Bay on the East River in Brooklyn (what later became the Brooklyn Navy Yard). Anger in New York was so great that New Yorkers celebrated the day British troops left at the end of the Revolutionary War for more than 100 years (until the beginning of World War I). To celebrate they burned British flags.(image: the Prison Ship New Jersey) What can you find out about the Prison Ship Martyrs? What does "martyr" mean? Can you find stories? Pictures? Newspapers? Can you find a map showing where the Prison Ships were?Why did so many die on these ships? What happened?

What nations were at war during the American Revolutionary War? Why were British soldiers in New York City?

What was America's population during the Revolutionary War? What percentage of the population died aboard the Prison Ships?

How have the Prison Ship Martyrs been remembered over the years? Are they remembered today? If you have never heard of this before, why do you think you haven't been told this story? Consider asking your history teacher...

The New York Times on Prison Ship Martyr’s Bones (1908)

The New York Times on History of the Prison Ship Martyrs (1900)

The New York Times Remembering the Prison Ship Martyrs (2008)

The New York Times Student Connections

Video of Prison Ship Memorial (YouTube)

Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument, Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY

Above: Wallabout Bay showing the shore around the time of the American Revolution (can you find the current area on Google Maps or Google Earth?)

Below: The Brooklyn Navy Yard around 1850 (can you find pictures of "the yard" during World War II?)