Existing comment:
French Prisoners-of-War:
During the Wars of the French Revolution and Empire (1793-1815), thousands upon thousands of French sailors and soldiers were captured, taken to England, and there incarcerated in often deplorable conditions for years on end. To while away their time, many began hand-crafting trinkets from materials they found in the prison yards. British officials encouraged the practice, permitting them to sell their wares to members of the public at open-air fairs in the prison courtyards or in nearby village markets. With their profits, the prisoners could buy food or clothing from town merchants.
The French POWs made all manner of objects from the simplest of materials -- wood, straw, and the bones from their beef rations -- all held together by animal hide glue and tiny tacks. Working singly or in teams, they produced decorative boxes, straw hats, game boards, and toys such as miniature spinning jennies and even tiny guillotines!
Whittling away the Time:
Not surprisingly, the French prisoners-of-war made countless ship models. These range in size from impossibly tiny gems to large and imposing models more than four feet long. Many of those in between were perfectly suited for display on a mantlepiece.
The Naval Academy collection contains examples of nearly every size and style of ship model produced by the ingenious French prisoners. Twenty were part of the Rogers bequest of 1936; another fifteen are gifts from various other donors.
[Dartmoor Prison] was opened in 1809 as the first prison in England built specifically to house prisoners-of-war. It took three years to build, and at its peak in 1812 it held 9,000 prisoners. In 1813 and 1814, it became the sole prison in England designed to hold Americans captured in the War of 1812.
Rather than being confined in prison or worse, sent to a floating prison hulk, captured French officers who pledged their word (in French, "parole") not to try to escape were permitted to reside in specific Parole Towns. There they lodged in houses or cottages and were free to wander about, so long as they remained within one mile of the town's borders. Some of the finest ship models were presumably made under these relatively relaxed conditions. |