Editing HM Prison Dartmoor (section)

===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>