Editing HM Prison Dartmoor (section)

==History==
[[File:HM Dartmoor Prison.jpg|thumb|left|350px|HM Dartmoor Prison, as it appeared in 1815<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lossing |first=Benson |title=The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812 |publisher=Harper & Brothers, Publishers |year=1868 |page=1068}}</ref>]]

===Prisoners of War===
In 1805, the United Kingdom was at [[Napoleonic Wars|war with Napoleonic France]], a conflict during which thousands of prisoners were taken and confined in prison "hulks" or derelict ships. This was considered a security risk, partially due to the proximity of the Royal Naval dockyard at [[Devonport, Devon|Devonport]] (then called Plymouth Dock) and living conditions were appalling in the extreme; consequently, a prisoner of war depot was planned in the remote isolation of Dartmoor.

The prison was designed by [[Daniel Asher Alexander]]. Construction by local labour started in 1806, taking three years to complete. In 1809, the first French prisoners arrived and the prison was full by the end of the year.<ref name="History of Dartmoor Prison">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dartmoor-prison.co.uk/history_of_dartmoor_prison.php|title = History of Dartmoor Prison}}</ref>

From the spring of 1813 until March 1815, about 6,500 American sailors from the [[War of 1812]] were imprisoned at Dartmoor in poor conditions (food was bad and the roofs leaked).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-11-03/prisoners-living-in-dilapidated-dartmoor-prison-where-buckets-used-to-catch-rain|title = Prisoners live in 'dilapidated' Dartmoor Prison where buckets used to catch rain|date = 3 November 2020}}</ref> These were either naval prisoners or impressed American seamen discharged from British vessels. Whilst the British were in overall charge of the prison, the prisoners created their own governance and culture. They had courts which meted out punishments, a market, a theatre and a gambling room. About 1,000 of the prisoners were Black.<ref>1812: War with America, Jon Latimer, Harvard University Press, 2007 p. 239</ref><ref name=ea>{{Americana|wstitle=Dartmoor Massacre, The|inline=1}}</ref> A recent examination of the General Entry Book of American Prisoners of War at Dartmoor, by Nicholas Guyatt, found "Eight Hundred and Twenty - Nine Sailors of Colour had been entered into the register by the end of October 1814."<ref>Guyatt, Nicholas ''The Hated Cage An American Tragedy in Britain's Most Terrifying Prison'' (Basic Books, New York, 2022), p.219</ref>

===Escapes===
Unlike many detention facilities of the period, Dartmoor Prison was purpose built in an isolated location, ringed by high stone walls, and manned by hundreds of armed militia sentries. In addition a rope ran around the entire circumference of the prison, linked to a series of bells, which quickly spread an alarm. Even if a determined prisoner made it beyond the walls, he would still have to traverse ten miles on foot, over wild moorland and bogs, an area frequently beset with fog and chilling winds, to reach the nearest town.<ref>Guyatt, p.204</ref> Local residents turning in an escapee could expect a reward of a guinea.<ref>James, Trevor, ''Prisoners of War At Dartmoor, American and French Soldiers and Sailors in an English Prison During the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812'', (McParland & Company, London, 2013), p.114</ref> Yet, despite these daunting odds, scholar Nicholas Guyatt has tallied a total of twenty-four American POWs successfully making their way to freedom.<ref>Guyatt, p.208</ref>

;Disorder
Although the war ended with the [[Treaty of Ghent]] on 24 December 1814, American prisoners of war remained in Dartmoor because the British government refused to grant them parole or to take any steps until the treaty was ratified by the [[United States Senate]] on 17 February 1815. It took several weeks for the American agent to secure ships for their transportation home, and the men grew very impatient. On 4 April, a food contractor attempted to work off some damaged hardtack on them in place of soft bread, but was forced to yield by their insurrection. The commandant, Captain T. G. Shortland, suspected them of a design to break out of the gaol. This was the reverse of the truth in general, as they would lose their chance of going on the ships, but a few had made threats of the sort, and the commandant was very uneasy.<ref name=ea/>

At about 6:00 pm on 6 April, Shortland discovered a hole from one of the five prisons to the barrack yard near the gun racks. Some prisoners were outside the fence, noisily pelting each other with turf, and many more were near the breach (and the gambling tables), though the signal for return to prisons had sounded. Shortland was convinced of a plot, and rang the alarm bell to collect the officers and have the guards ready. This precaution brought back a crowd just going to quarters. Just then a prisoner broke a gate chain with an iron bar, and a number of the prisoners pressed through to the prison market square. After attempts at persuasion, Shortland ordered a charge which drove some of the prisoners in. Those near the gate, however, hooted at and taunted the soldiery, who fired a volley over their heads. The crowd yelled louder and threw stones, and the soldiers, probably without orders, fired a direct volley which killed and wounded a large number. Then they continued firing at the prisoners, many of whom were now struggling to get back inside the blocks.<ref name=ea/>

Finally the captain, a lieutenant and the hospital surgeon (the other officers being at dinner) succeeded in stopping the shooting and started caring for the wounded – about 60, 30 seriously, besides seven killed outright. The affair was examined by a joint commission, Charles King for the United States and F. S. Larpent for Great Britain, which exonerated Shortland, justified the initial shooting and blamed the subsequent deaths on unknown culprits. Following these findings, Shortland was rewarded with a promotion.<ref name=ea/> Despite being labelled "The Dartmoor Massacre", the British government paid compensation to the American families of those killed and pensioned the disabled.<ref name=ea/>

A memorial has been erected to the 271 prisoners of war (mostly [[United States Navy|seamen]]) who are buried in the prison grounds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monument Details |url=https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=305&MemID=533 |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=www.uswarmemorials.org}}</ref> By July 1815 at least 270 Americans and 1,200 French prisoners had died.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Adkins |first1 = Roy |last2= Adkins |first2 = Lesley |title= The War for All Oceans |location= London |publisher= Abacus |date=2007 |page= 460 |isbn= 978-0-349-11916-8}}</ref>

===1815 closure, and reopening ===
[[File:Dartmoor Prison entrance.jpg|right|thumb|The main gates of Dartmoor Prison host the inscription ''Parcere Subiectis'' (Trans: Spare the Vanquished) from Virgil's ''[[Aeneid]]''.]]
After all American and French prisoners had been released,  and repatriated, the gaol on Dartmoor was left unused for 35 years until 1850. Work then began to rebuild and recommission the prison for civilian convicts. It reopened in 1851. The POW remains that had been originally buried on the moor were exhumed and re-interred in two cemeteries behind the prison when the prison farm was established in about 1852.
During the [[First World War]] in 1917, criminals were removed from the gaol when it was converted into a Home Office Work Centre for [[conscientious objectors]] granted release from other prisons. The cells were left unlocked, inmates wore their own clothes and could go outside to visit the village in their off-duty time.<ref name="History of Dartmoor Prison"/>

===Notoriety===
In 1920, the prison began housing UK criminals. It would develop a reputation for housing some of Britain's most serious offenders that included murderers, gangsters, thieves, spies, and robbers such as [[Jack McVitie|Jack “the Hat” McVitie]], [[Jack Comer|Jack “Spot” Comer]], [[John George Haigh]], and [[Frank Mitchell (prisoner)|Frank Mitchell]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/most-notorious-prisoners-dartmoor-jail-444935|title=The most notorious prisoners of Dartmoor jail revealed|newspaper=[[Plymouth Herald]]|date=15 December 2017}}</ref> Prisoners made numerous attempts to get out of the prison and onto the moors, leading to massive manhunts by the police and prison service.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/history/most-notorious-escapes-dartmoor-prison-4996868|title=The most notorious escapes from Dartmoor Prison - from 'Rubber Bones' to the 'Mad Axeman'|newspaper=[[Plymouth Herald]]|date=14 February 2021}} The prison population, the bleak location, and its reputation for its harsh regime made Dartmoor one of the UK's most feared prisons.{{cite news|url=https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/history/how-porridge-sparked-brutal-mutiny-466017|title= Fascinating images of Dartmoor Prison riot sparked by porridge|newspaper=[[Plymouth Herald]]|date=17 February 2017}}</ref> Instances of disobedience included a model prisoner attacking a popular guard with a razor blade and rough treatment by prisoners of a prisoner being removed to solitary.<ref name="Fitzgerald"/>

;Mutiny
The prison's tough conditions eventually led to its worst outbreak of violence on 24 January 1932. The cause of the riots is generally attributed to prisoners' perceptions of poor quality of the food, not generally but on specific days prior to the disturbance when it was suspected it had been tampered with.<ref name="Fitzgerald">{{cite book | last=Fitzgerald | first=Mike | title=Prisoners in Revolt | publisher=Penguin| date=1977 | isbn=978-0-14-021922-7 |pages=123–126}}</ref> At the parade later that day, 50 prisoners refused orders, and the rest were marched back to their cells but refused to enter. At this point, the prison governor and his staff fled to an unused part of the prison and secured themselves there. The prisoners then released those held in solitary. There was extensive damage to property, and a prisoner was shot by one of the staff, but no prison staff were injured.<ref name="Fitzgerald"/> According to the [[Herbert du Parcq, Baron du Parcq|du Parcq report]] into the riot: "Reinforcements arrived, and within fifteen minutes these 'vicious brutes', who for some two hours had terrorized well-armed prison staff, and effectively controlled the prison, had surrendered and been locked up again".<ref name="Fitzgerald"/>
; Notable prisoners
[[File:Eamon de Valera c 1922-30.jpg|thumb|Éamon de Valera was imprisoned at Dartmoor in 1919.]]
*[[Michael Davitt]]
*[[Hammond, Louisiana#History|Peter Hammond]], founder of Hammond, Louisiana, US
*[[Fred Longden]]
*[[John Rodker]]
*[[Moondyne Joe]]
*[[Thomas William Jones, Baron Maelor]]
*[[John Boyle O'Reilly]]
*[[Arthur Owens]]
*[[Éamon de Valera]]<ref name="Dartmoor Prison Museum">{{cite web| url = https://www.dartmoor-prison.co.uk/| title = Dartmoor Prison Museum}}</ref>
*[[F. Digby Hardy]]
*[[John Williams (convict)|John Williams]]
*[[Frank Mitchell (prisoner)|Frank Mitchell]]<ref name="Dartmoor Prison Museum"/>
*[[Reginald Horace Blyth]]
*[[Darkie Hutton]]
*[[John George Haigh]]
*[[Bruno Tolentino]], who eventually was deported to Brazil where the major part of his oeuvre was published. ''"A Balada do Cárcere"'' (1996) is a poetic recollection of the time spent in Dartmoor.<ref>{{cite web |title= Bruno Tolentino |publisher= Vide Editorial |url= http://videeditorial.com.br/index.php?route=product/author&author_id=62 |access-date= 11 December 2017 }}</ref>
*Fahad Mihyi, [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] terrorist behind the [[1978 London bus attack]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/7962/ |newspaper=Jewish Journal |title='Terrorist' Helped Israeli Heal |date=2003-05-09 |access-date=2018-11-12 | author=Naomi Pfefferman}}</ref>
*[[Lambeth slavery case|Aravindan Balakrishnan]]<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cult-leader-who-imprisoned-raped-26672541 |newspaper=Daily Mirror |title = Cult leader who imprisoned and raped women for 30 years dies in jail at 81|date=8 April 2022 }}</ref>