POWs of the American Revolution
70 minute drama-documentary with music by John Hardy. Produced for the History Channel by Principal Films. DVD released in 2009 available at Amazon.
“Letters from captured soldiers and unearthed remains tell of horrors aboard British prison ships. For as long as men have fought wars, armies have struggled with the question of what to do with captured enemy soldiers. The history of warfare is filled with tales of suffering and inhumane treatment, from Aztec sacrifices to the Japanese prison camps. And though many people are unaware of it, one such incident occurred during America’s War of Independence.
POWs of the American Revolution details how thousands of patriots died in unthinkable conditions aboard British prison ships moored in New York’s harbor. The victims’ bones are still being found, their shallow graves exposed on modern-day Brooklyn shores. Drawing on memoirs and letters written by the doomed prisoners, this riveting special documents the appalling conditions they endured. Insight from leading naval historians, medical experts and other specialists helps reveal the many facets of this 18th-century atrocity.”