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MASSACRE OF THE AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR AT DARTMOOR PRISON

Creator: W. CARNES
Offered by: Arader Galleries

Description
After W. CARNES, G.G. Smith, engraver.

Massacre of the American Prisoners of War at Dartmoor Prison, on the 6th of April 1815 by the Somersetshire Militia.

Published, Salem, Mass.: G.G. Smith, [1815]. Engraving with hand-coloring
A memorial to the Dartmoor Massacre—a long-forgotten War of 1812 atrocity. By the close of the War of 1812, Dartmoor prison had become crowded with American seamen captured on the high seas—numbering about 6,000 by the end of 1814. And while the Treaty of Ghent was already in force, with the coming of spring in 1815, the inmates found themselves caught in a squabble between the U.S. and Britain as to who should pay the costs of repatriating them. Tensions inside the prison boiled over on 6 April 1815 resulting in the deaths of six and the wounding of another sixty prisoners after guards opened fire on the inmates in what appeared to be an attempted escape. The news created a firestorm in the U.S. where it was viewed as Britain's revenge for Jackson's victory at New Orleans. For more, see Paul A. Gilje, "The End of the War: the Dartmoor Massacre and a Tainted Peace," Common Place, July 2012. Stauffer 2911.

Paper size 15 5/8 x 12 3/4 in, Image size with text 13 x 10 3/4"

Frame size 17 1/8 x 14 5/8"

More Information

Documentation:	Documented elsewhere (similar item)
Period:	19th Century
Styles / Movements:	Other
Incollect Reference #:	646962

Dimensions

W.	12.75 in;	H.	15.62 in;
W.	32.39 cm;	H.	39.67 cm;

Message from Seller:

Founded in 1971, Arader Galleries is the world's leading dealer and auction house of Rare Maps, Prints, Rare Books and Watercolors of the 16th through 19th centuries. Over our forty-five year history we have grown to five magnificent locations in some of America’s most vibrant cities and are represented at the most distinguished antiques shows in the country. We are proud to buy and sell more original Audubon prints that any other firm in the United States.