Life, Death And Liberty
Mourners gathered at the Fort Greene Martyrs Monument, not just to pay tribute to those who died in prison ships in New York Harbor and Wallabout Bay at the hands of the British during the Revolutionary War, but also to remember a man who wanted to make the memorial a more fitting tribute to those who lost their lives for American independence.
By Charles Hack
Comment
Mourners gathered at the Fort Greene Martyrs Monument, not just to pay tribute to those who died in prison ships in New York Harbor and Wallabout Bay at the hands of the British during the Revolutionary War, but also to remember a man who wanted to make the memorial a more fitting tribute to those who lost their lives for American independence.
Frank C. Spinner, Jr., as president of the Society of Old Brooklynites, campaigned to restore the 148-foot fluted tower that stands on the plateau on Fort Greene. He designed a gold plate, stainless steel eternal flame that will reach eight feet high.
He did not live to see the flame installed, dying four days shy of his 83rd birthday in St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan on Aug. 18.
“His dream was to have a testament to freedom that Americans fought so hard for,” said his son, Michael Spinner, who led the ceremonies on his father’s behalf. “My father never would get to see it.”
“This hallowed ground will never be forgotten,” Michael said. “Frank Skinner will never be forgotten.”
The Monument for the Prison Ship Martyrs, standing atop Fort Greene Park hill, was created in memory of an estimated 11,500 Americans who died on prison ships at the hands of British anchored in Wallabout Bay during the Revolutionary War.
Military honors were provided by three members of the U.S. Royal Marines and three members of the reenactment Independent Corps. of Levees, a regiment serving on the NY Ulster.
Under Commander Dan Hess, the trio fired their muskets in respect to the fallen. Hess himself had two ancestors on the prison ships. One of them, Captain Oliver Babcock, was freed from the ships, but confined to the city. He would bring food to the prison ships, according to Hess.
Bernard Flatow, a veteran’s affairs officer with the American Merchant Marine Veterans, using a bosun’s whistle, “piped the patriots aboard” in the traditional sign of respect.
“We have not forgotten you,” Flatow said. “We know of your hardships.”
Borough President Marty Markowitz attended the event, and Michael Molinari, regional vice president of the Navy Armed Guard, spoke in honor of the fallen.
Councilmember Letitia James said afterward that more should be spent on restoring memorials.
“We have to restore our memorials, all of which are in neglect or a state of disrepair,” James said. “We have to restore them, particularly in honor of the war dead when men and women are serving in Iraq.”
The worst and largest of the prison ships was the HMS Jersey, a decommissioned warship.
Prisoners died on many other ships, too. Other officer, prison and hospital ships included the Whitby, Good Hope, the Prince of Wales, Falmouth, Scorpion, Strombolo and Hunter.
The atrocities were committed under Provost Marshal William Cunningham, Commissary Joshua Loring, and Naval Commissary David Sprout. But responsibility also certainly lies with the British High Command who used it as means to coerce prisoners to change sides.
The prisoners were fed inadequate and putrid food, dying from hunger, suffocation and the cold, They also died from pneumonia dysentery, typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever, tuberculosis, and other contagious diseases. They were also flogged and executed.
When the war ended in 1783, there were believed to have been only 1,400 survivors.
The atrocity has been compared to the Black Hole of Calcutta, in which prisoners suffocated in overcrowded prisons.
Around a third of the prisoners are believed to have been civilians. Of the military captives, many had surrendered at Fort Washington, the battle of Brooklyn, and other battles. Some escaped or were exchanged.
Many Africans and people of African descent, who had been told that they would get their freedom from slavery if they fought for the British, died there. Instead, they found themselves on the prison ships, said Akosua Albritton, a professor at the College of New Rochelle.
The victims were thrown over board or buried in shallow graves in the sands of the shore of Wallabout Bay. Many bones washed up on the shores of Brooklyn and Long Island.
Soon after the war, when constructing the Navy Yard, more remains were dislodged and strewn over the shore. Many were found at the bottom of the bay as it was dredged to build new dry docks. They were collected in 1808 by a neighbor, Captain John Jackson, and re-interred on his estate.
The Tammany Society of New York built the original monument on Vinegar Hill in early 1844.
By 1873 the bones were reentered in a stone crypt in Fort Greene Park. The tower that stands in Fort Greene Park and 100-foot staircase was designed by architects McKim, Meade and White and opened in 1908 by former President William H. Taft.
The monument was erected because of the Society of Old Brooklynites, the Daughters of the American Revolution and articles written by Walt Whitman.
Fort Greene Park was originally the site of Fort Putnam during the Revolution. The Park later became the site of Fort Greene, after the revolutionary General Nathaniel Greene. When it became a park is it was called Washington Park, but was later renamed Fort Greene Park.
Frank C. Spinner, Jr., as president of the Society of Old Brooklynites, campaigned to restore the 148-foot fluted tower that stands on the plateau on Fort Greene. He designed a gold plate, stainless steel eternal flame that will reach eight feet high.
He did not live to see the flame installed, dying four days shy of his 83rd birthday in St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan on Aug. 18.
“His dream was to have a testament to freedom that Americans fought so hard for,” said his son, Michael Spinner, who led the ceremonies on his father’s behalf. “My father never would get to see it.”
“This hallowed ground will never be forgotten,” Michael said. “Frank Skinner will never be forgotten.”
The Monument for the Prison Ship Martyrs, standing atop Fort Greene Park hill, was created in memory of an estimated 11,500 Americans who died on prison ships at the hands of British anchored in Wallabout Bay during the Revolutionary War.
Military honors were provided by three members of the U.S. Royal Marines and three members of the reenactment Independent Corps. of Levees, a regiment serving on the NY Ulster.
Under Commander Dan Hess, the trio fired their muskets in respect to the fallen. Hess himself had two ancestors on the prison ships. One of them, Captain Oliver Babcock, was freed from the ships, but confined to the city. He would bring food to the prison ships, according to Hess.
Bernard Flatow, a veteran’s affairs officer with the American Merchant Marine Veterans, using a bosun’s whistle, “piped the patriots aboard” in the traditional sign of respect.
“We have not forgotten you,” Flatow said. “We know of your hardships.”
Borough President Marty Markowitz attended the event, and Michael Molinari, regional vice president of the Navy Armed Guard, spoke in honor of the fallen.
Councilmember Letitia James said afterward that more should be spent on restoring memorials.
“We have to restore our memorials, all of which are in neglect or a state of disrepair,” James said. “We have to restore them, particularly in honor of the war dead when men and women are serving in Iraq.”
The worst and largest of the prison ships was the HMS Jersey, a decommissioned warship.
Prisoners died on many other ships, too. Other officer, prison and hospital ships included the Whitby, Good Hope, the Prince of Wales, Falmouth, Scorpion, Strombolo and Hunter.
The atrocities were committed under Provost Marshal William Cunningham, Commissary Joshua Loring, and Naval Commissary David Sprout. But responsibility also certainly lies with the British High Command who used it as means to coerce prisoners to change sides.
The prisoners were fed inadequate and putrid food, dying from hunger, suffocation and the cold, They also died from pneumonia dysentery, typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever, tuberculosis, and other contagious diseases. They were also flogged and executed.
When the war ended in 1783, there were believed to have been only 1,400 survivors.
The atrocity has been compared to the Black Hole of Calcutta, in which prisoners suffocated in overcrowded prisons.
Around a third of the prisoners are believed to have been civilians. Of the military captives, many had surrendered at Fort Washington, the battle of Brooklyn, and other battles. Some escaped or were exchanged.
Many Africans and people of African descent, who had been told that they would get their freedom from slavery if they fought for the British, died there. Instead, they found themselves on the prison ships, said Akosua Albritton, a professor at the College of New Rochelle.
The victims were thrown over board or buried in shallow graves in the sands of the shore of Wallabout Bay. Many bones washed up on the shores of Brooklyn and Long Island.
Soon after the war, when constructing the Navy Yard, more remains were dislodged and strewn over the shore. Many were found at the bottom of the bay as it was dredged to build new dry docks. They were collected in 1808 by a neighbor, Captain John Jackson, and re-interred on his estate.
The Tammany Society of New York built the original monument on Vinegar Hill in early 1844.
By 1873 the bones were reentered in a stone crypt in Fort Greene Park. The tower that stands in Fort Greene Park and 100-foot staircase was designed by architects McKim, Meade and White and opened in 1908 by former President William H. Taft.
The monument was erected because of the Society of Old Brooklynites, the Daughters of the American Revolution and articles written by Walt Whitman.
Fort Greene Park was originally the site of Fort Putnam during the Revolution. The Park later became the site of Fort Greene, after the revolutionary General Nathaniel Greene. When it became a park is it was called Washington Park, but was later renamed Fort Greene Park.
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