Of DARTMOOR PRISON

I l l T e l l A l l I Ca n !

The Prison Songs of THOMAS MOTT

In the War of 1812
Arranged and Performed by Paul Mercer
On December 24, 1814
The Treaty of Ghent was signed by the United States and Great Britain,
formally marking the end of the War of 1812. News of the armistice was slow
to reach the battle fronts, and hostilities continued, finally ending on January
1815 with a decisive American victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
For the thousands of American POWs confined in Englands notorious
Dartmoor Prison, the war was still not over. Their captivity would stretch on
for nearly a year. And before they saw freedom, the privations of prison life
the cold, hunger and isolationwould culminate in the infamous Dartmoor
massacre, when the unarmed prisoners were fired upon point blank, by
guards and local militia.

Thomas B. Mott
A seventeen-year-old sailor from New York,
was among the prisoners at Dartmoor at
wars end. He left a written record of his
experiences, in the form of a small leatherbound manuscript of original song lyrics.
His songs tell of the prisoners lives, and the
events of the War of 1812, sometimes called
the second American revolution.
Motts homespun lyrics, sometimes comic,
sometimes sentimental, sometimes
patriotic, tell the prisoners story weaving
all of the drama, pathos, hope and despair
of prison life into a fascinating tapestry that
gives us a truly unique look at history in
the voice of one who lived it.

...Over

Motts songbook has recently been unearthed among the collections of the
New York State Library. Folklorist and singer Paul Mercer has provided new
musical settings for many of his songs, based on familiar (and some lesserknown) tunes that make up the Anglo-Celtic and American folksong canon
tunes that young Thomas Mott might well have been used as models for his
songs.

Paul Mercer

is a
Canadian-born folklorist and singersongwriter based in upstate New York.
For over 30 years, he has performed
with the duo Alien Folklife, at festivals
and in coffeehouses, concert halls up
and down the U.S. East Coast and in
England. The duo has recorded three
well-received collections of original
songs.
Setting and arranging these songs has been a real joy for me, combining my
long time love of traditional music, and my passion for history. The War of
1812 in particular has a lot of resonance since I was born and raised in
Canada, and have lived for most of my adult life in New York State.
~ Paul Mercer
Theconferencelaunched with a song from a POW imprisoned in Dartmoor,
marking the conference theme on the War of 1812. The British captured teenaged Thomas B. Mott in 1813 and he struck back in song, satirizing his
captors, decrying the harsh conditions and reign of lice, and stoutly defending
presidents over kings. Paul Mercerfound Mott's songbook and searched to
find the well-known period tunes that would have been matched to the written
lyrics. He sang as mighty Canadian breezes swept off Lake Ontario across the
grounds of the Old Fort ~ Kathleen Hulser, New York History Blog
Thank you for the wonderful program you did for our organizationIt was a
fascinating presentation and performance ofthe War of 1812 songs. To hear
it from a prisoners point of view certainly gave it a different perspective
~ New Scotland Historical Association
Bookings:
Paul Mercer
95 Gilligan Road, #413
East Greenbush, NY 12061
(518) 683-2341
mottsongs@gmail.com
Fees on Request