We were again put in irons and otherwise harshly treated, and had given up all hope of ever seeing our native shores, when one day soon after this, Captain Joseph Merryhew, from Wilmington, in Delaware, was brought on board the prison ship with nine other prisoners. This man knew, and inquired of me how long I had been a prisoner. I told him, and he promised to help me to obtain my freedom; which promise he faithfully kept. He was a freemason, and a kind hearted man, and to his influence I own my early release from the miseries of imprisonment, which I had borne for nearly a year. This humane man procured not only my release but a large number more of my poor countrymen. This was a happy change to men who were sighing for freedom.


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