Caswell, Lamuel (fl. 1782) [Petition of prisoners of war]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.01656 Author/Creator: Caswell, Lamuel (fl. 1782) Place Written: s.l. Type: Manuscript document signed Date: 9 October 1782 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket ; 33 x 20.7 cm. Order a Copy
Date added later in pencil. Petition asks that the undersigned prisoners of war, due to want of clothing for the approaching winter, be allowed to move to Albany to be with family and friends, and so they might more easily be exchanged to Canada. Notes, possibly in Samuel Shaw's hand, appearing to the left of each signature, seem to indicate when and where the men were captured. Next to Wallis's name, for example, the note reads "Taken in Virginia Octo, 1781, & detected in making his escape to Canada to his family" (it is unclear which signer he refers to). There are also several other notes in Shaw's hand. The petition's signers, in addition to Lamuel Caswell, are James Parke, Francis V. D. Bogart, Ephraim Eyrs, John Cornelos (signed with an X), Christian Shellop (signed with an X), and Samuel Wallis. See GLC02437.01658 for a related document.
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