1. For disease and clothing scarcity among British and German prisoners confined in Philadelphia jails, see Board of War to GW, 13 Feb. and 17 March.

Hessian major Carl Leopold Baurmeister wrote in his report from New York City on 22 jan.: “An officer of the 42nd Regiment and six fellow prisoners found a way to escape from the Philadelphia prison and arrived here on the 17th, faint and naked. I cannot give a description of the misery of the imprisoned soldiers there and wish a thousand times that the rest of the prisoners of von Knyphausen’s Regiment were exchanged” (Baurmeister, Revolution in America description begins Carl Leopold Baurmeister. Revolution in America: Confidential Letters and Journals, 1776–1784, of Adjutant General Major Baurmeister of the Hessian Forces. Translated and annotated by Bernhard A. Uhlendorf. New Brunswick, N.J., 1957. description ends , 406).

2. Knyphausen enclosed extracts of correspondence between Joshua Loring, British commissary general of prisoners, and Abraham Skinner, American commissary general of prisoners, and a deposition given by Philip Rauthe (all DLC:GW).

“Extracts of letters” from Loring to Skinner read: “19th August 1780 His Excellency Lieutenant General Knyphausen request permission for Lieut. Sobbe & Serjeant Ruebenkoenig to come into New York for a fortnight to take out some Necessaries & Money for their prisoners, if this Indulgence can be granted, we should be glad it might take place as soon as possible as our Prisoners are suffering for the want of them.” The extract from a letter on 26 Sept. reiterated this request and asked for an answer “as soon as possible, as the prisoners are suffering.”

The extract from a letter on 14 Nov. reads: “I was in hopes to have received the several Passports requested viz. a Pass for Capt. Bartling to proceed in a Vessell or two if necessary from hence to Providence with Cloathing for the Prisoners, & to have brought back such as were exchanged—Another for Ensign Von Kovan to have gone to New London or Hartford for the purpose of carrying Cloathing & one for a Quartr Master & two Serjeants to have proceeded to Phila. & Lancaster with Cloathing &c. for the Prisoners that remained there, as the Season is so far advanced I must beg that no further delay be made to this Request.”

The extract from a letter on 28 Dec. reads: “As the Season is severe I must beg your Attention to sending in a list of all our Privates Prisoners of War describing the Regts they belong to, & where stationed, & further to request General Washington’s Pass for a British & German Subaltern Officer to go from hence with Cloathing, Money & other Necessaries & deliver it to them at the different places of their Confinement.

“25 Jany 1781 I hope on your return from Philadelphia I shall be furnished with Lists of our Prisoner[s] specifying the Corps they belong to & place of Confinement, also with a pass or passes for a British & German Subaltern or Quarter Master with two Serjeants if thought necessary to proceed from New York to the different places of their Confinement with Cloathing. Money & other Necessaries—the consequence to the suffering Individuals at this Season of the Year must be too fatal to admit of any further delay.” The extract from a letter on 6 Feb. began: “I am waiting with great Impatience for the Lists of Prisoners” and again requested “General Washington’s Pass.”

The extract from a letter on 14th March reads: “I must beg your Attention to the sending in the proper Pass ports for Qr Master Hartzog of the 17th Regt Lt. Sobbe of the Regt of Knyphausen, two British & one German Serjeants to proceed from hence to Phila. & such other places where our Prisoners may be confin’d, with Cloathing. Money &c. for their Use, to see the same delivered to them & to return to New York these Gentlemen will consider themselves on Parole, and will be Subject to any restrictions you may please to lay them under the great delay there has been in obtaining this reasonable request, has reduced our prisoners to a wretched Condition and I hope it will be a consideration with you to forward it now with all possible dispatch.”

“Extracts of letters” from Skinner to Loring read: “Augst 24th 1780 I have reported your request for Lieut. Sobbe to go in to New York at Head Quarters & shall do every thing in my power to have your request complyed with.” This extract is followed by a copy of a statement that Loring had signed: “Major Skinner came into New York 24th Octr but brought no Pass to send our Prisoners Cloathing, when he went out the 4th Novr I gave him the following Memorandum in writing.

“‘General Washingtons Pass for a Quarter Master & a Serjeant or two as may thought necessary to proceed from hence to Phila. with Cloathing Money &c. for the Prisoners.[’]

“He came into New York 6 Decr to settle an Exchange of Prisoners but brought no Pass, he went out on the 20th and I then pressed him very hard to send it in on his return, which he promised to do on the 10th Jany 1781 I received a letter from him of which the following is an Extract ‘I am in hopes to furnish you with a Return of the Prisoners at Phila. for whom You are desirous to send Cloathing.’ & on the 9th Feby I received the following:

“‘Inclosed is a list of Prisoners in Phila. Goal agreable to your request; I will apply for the Passes you require for their relief & forward them by the first Opportunity.’

“On the 28th Feby He came into New York again to settle an Exchange of Prisoners still without the Pass so repeatedly asked for, I remonstrated against the great Inattention to so reasonable a request, he replied that he could not obtain it & desired I would write him a letter on the Subject & mention the Officers Names, which I did on the 14th March.” The list of prisoners at Philadelphia has not been identified.

Philip Rauthe, a “non-commissioned Officer” of the Regiment von Knyphausen, had given a deposition at New York on 8 March. The enclosed English translation reads: “That he, with a number of others was made prisoner of war at sea on the 29th of Sept. 1779, and carried to Philadelphia, where he was confined in the Goal for six months.

“That he, and the other prisoners, British as well as Hessians, when no Salt meat was issued to them, received four pounds of bread for three days, and water; the established allowance of a prisoner being 10 Ounces of meat, and 10 Ounces of bread p. day, without any pease, rice, butter, or other species of provisions.

“That one or more barrels of Salt-meat were delivered to them from time to time, of weight in proportion to their number and above mentioned allowance.

“But that the meat was found several times to be cured with Heckery ashes, so much tainted, that nothing but the violence of hunger could have obliged them to eat it.

“That no difference was made in this respect between the sick and the healthy; That, in stead of bread, they were furnished five different times, as far as the Deponent recollects, with two kinds of Biscuit, the one quite black, and the other full of worms, which also they were forced to eat by extreme hunger, and to the prejudice of their health.

“That after many and pressing entreaties half a pint of salt, taken from the salt-meat barrels, was delivered to 22 men for three days.

“That all, not even the lowest of their sick excepted, were obliged to lay on base boards, without any blankets, none being furnished, unless paid for by the prisoners.

“That the attendance of the American Physicians to the sick was very loose, and unfrequent, their visits often being at more than a week’s distance from each other, which rendered the situation of the sick the most miserable, that could be imagined, and the Deponent was pretty sure of five men having died merely from neglect, and bad victuals.” According to Rauthe, the prisoners were forced to purchase bread from “a certain baker” permitted “to come to the Goal, and sell his bread there, for a loaf of which, of about one pound weight, they were obliged to pay four dollars of Paper money, while in the City they might have bought twice that quantity for the same money.” Rauthe further noted that he had been “exchanged with a number of men of the same regiment, and came to New York” on 22 Dec. 1780. For the exchange of British and German prisoners, see GW to Skinner, 8 Nov. 1780, and Skinner to GW, 5 Jan. 1781.

A deposition given at New York on 17 March 1781 reads: “Three privates” from “Knyphausen’s Regiment, taken, and exchanged at the same time with the former, being duly sworn, and separately examined by this Committee, their evidence was found perfectly conformable to that of Philip Rauthe in every material circumstance” (DLC:GW).

3. GW replied to Knyphausen on 29 March.