The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: An Untold Story of the American Revolution

The United States has such a rich history, but it has been explored and written about, it seems, endlessly. For a new chapter to be revealed is almost incomprehensible, especially when exploring the Revolutionary War. With so much time having passed and so many scholarly tomes written, it’s a shock to find a story of something so horrific as the prison ships the British used, responsible for as many deaths as the war itself, something that has been virtually ignored by historians. Years ago a book came out telling the horror story of the Civil War’s Andersonville Prison. The HMS Jersey is the Revolutionary War equivalent of Andersonville. The men lived in unspeakable conditions. What food they had was nearly inedible. They lived, those who did, in filth and squalor. It is, indeed, a sordid chapter.

It’s clear author Robert P. Watson has done a great deal of research to present this largely-unknown story in such detail. His use of first-hand accounts written by some of the few who survived the ordeal lends an incredible, yet fascinating, window into the horror. The writing flows well and Watson uses great storytelling techniques that make the subject matter eminently readable.