Talk:Nathaniel Woodhull
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Murder
[edit]Currently the article says
Woodhull was captured near Jamaica by a detachment of Fraser's Highlanders led by captain Sir James Baird. He was struck with a sword multiple times, injuring his arm and head by a British officer purportedly for not saying, "God save the King," as ordered, saying instead "God save us all." He was taken to a cattle transport, serving as a prison ship in Gravesend Bay. ...
Yet the source given for this (Woodhull Family) states (my emphasis):
he tied his horse to the rail-fence, entered the old Dutch farm-house, and had just seated himself, when the dragoons of Delancey's 17th British Regiment rode up to the Inn door.
The General suddenly aroused by the sound of horses' hoofs, (which he seems not to have heard until they were at the door, owing to the noise of the elements, a fierce thunder storm having arisen) sprang to a side door, and was out of the house in an instant. He was about to clear the rail-fence to reach his horse, when some of the dismounted dragoons intercepted and captured him." To quote once again, "The scene of sickening murder which followed is scarcely paralleled in history since civilization forbade the slaughter of prisoners as the privilege of a conqueror.
"The wretched and cowardly officer, who first reached the General has had the rare good fortune to have a strange obscurity thrown over his identity. The ruffian, whoever he was, approached the General with the exclamation, 'Surrender you damned rebel!' upon which Woodhull at once tendered him his sword.
"This, however, was not enough, for with uplifted sword, the British officer advanced furiously exclaiming, 'Say, God save the King.' "In accents of dignity and courage, General Woodhull replied, 'God save us all.' 'Say, God save the King,' shouted the brutal officer. Whereupon he aimed the swift blows of his sabre at the defenceless head of the General."
The "Delancey's 17th British Regiment" mentioned above was the 17th Dragoons.
This account ties in with one of the sources given in the Oliver De Lancey Jr. article:
- Burrows, Edwin G. (2010). Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War. Basic Books. p. 14. ISBN 9780465020300.
{{cite book}}
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(help)
Another says that De Lancey tried to stop his men:
Stephens, Henry Morse (1888). "De Lancey, Oliver (1749-1822)". In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 14. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 303, 304.
So where does the "detachment of Fraser's Highlanders led by captain Sir James Baird" come from as it is not in the source on the page? -- PBS (talk) 05:18, 9 October 2011 (UTC)
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