In February 1783, the infuriated prisoner blurted out his unmitigated contempt for that “Miserable impertinent Rascally Ignorant Mule headed puppy…who put me to Jail and offered to let me out if I would procure him Sucurety [security] for the Money which I told the sheriff I should not.” Who was this indignant prisoner, why was he confined to Newport jail, who were the people he mentioned, did he ever regain his liberty?
Assuming the role of detective, the editor of this intriguing, unsigned diary examined scores of contemporary records in Newport, Jamestown, Pawtucket, and Providence to find the answers. She made startling “finds” among dozens of tri-fold legal documents lying undisturbed for over 200 years, now safely housed in the Rhode Island Judicial Archives, Superior Court Judicial Center. On discovering the diarist to be Benjamin Underwood, a former town clerk and militia captain of Jamestown, she set about piecing together his engrossing story.
We find poignant moments when Underwood’s young son Robinson drops by for after- school visits; when daughter Damy and her husband visit to show off their baby; when friends stop by with news and sometimes gifts of food. One of the most remarkable things to emerge is just how Underwood coped with his confinement to avoid falling into a lassitude that would have stifled his initiative and jeopardized his survival.
Although peace was imminent, conflict still reigned during those waning days of the American Revolution. The diary yields startling glimpses of the turmoil and sporadic melees that erupted in and around the jail–refugee traders purloining whatever they could find, incarcerated shackled Tories, prisoners escaping, privateers eagerly capturing British vessels. This is a remarkable record that gives us a new perspective on life in Newport during the final days of what Underwood called that “unnatural Cruel war between Great Britain & the Colonies.”
Virginia Steele Wood
Journal of Newport History
Volume 71, Part 1, 2000