Order to register prisoners paroled to Yorkers

I gave a brief overview in my recent York Sunday News column of Camp Security, the 1781-1783 Revolutionary War prisoner of war camp just east of York. The whole column is at the end of this post.

Camp Security is the last remaining prisoner of war camp in the United States that has not been swallowed up by development. The site is considered to be at the highest priority risk by the National Trust of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. Only a few of the approximately 40 acres of the camp have been subject to full archaeological exploration.

Estimates of the number of British Prisoners interned at Camp Security vary. Records are rather sketchy in comparison with statistics we keep today, and the existing records can be interpreted differently. Some sources say many died or deserted before and after they arrived in York. Other sources say deaths and desertions have been exaggerated. As more catalogs of document collections and documents themselves become accessible online, more statistics may surface.

Posted in 1780s Camp Security Hellam Twp. Revolutionary War Springettsbury Twp. Universal York York prisoners soldiers

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Just as today, during the Revolutionary War the Army needed a lot more than men who could shoot a rifle. An Army can't function without support--personnel that gathers the supplies, feeds the soldiers, and keeps the equipment running.

The following recruiting ad comes from the Pennsylvania Gazette, printed in York, PA during Continental Congress's stay here:

Posted in 1770s Army Carlisle Revolutionary War Universal York craftsmen

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Lotteries have always been alluring--wager a little for the chance to win a lot. Continental Congress attempted to raise funds to finance the Revolutionary War through a lottery, with a one of the drawings held in York in May 1778. From colonial times lotteries were conducted to raise money for public works, for churches and for colleges.

Two advertisements in a December 1826 York Recorder show that even out-of-state lotteries competed for Yorkers’ cash:

Posted in 1770s 1820s Baltimore Continental Congress Delaware Revolutionary War Universal York fundraisers lotteries universities

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It was April 1777. The Revolutionary War was not going well. Desertion was rampant. General Washington had said as much in a letter he wrote to his brother John on February 24.
Click here to read that letter at the Library of Congress web site.

Deserters were described in detail in the newspapers, along with a call for apprehension and an offered reward. Descriptions of the fugitive soldiers were often detailed, as shown in the following advertisement from the Pennsylvania Gazette for William Murphy of Chanceford Township.

Posted in 1770s Army Chanceford Twp. Revolutionary War Susquehanna River Universal York York County clothing deserters ferries soldiers

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