From Samuel Harris
als: American Philosophical Society
Old England Plymouth Mill Prison June The 12d 1781
Honoured Sir

I Beg Leve To a Quaint your Honnour of my Sitteuation after Laing amost four year in Preson i Was Cummited To mill Preson august the 16 777 [1777] and Stil Remain a Prisner in This Dolful Helf Starved Sitteuation Wich i Cannot Lae No Longer unles i Have Sum Relefe. for our goverment a Louance is So Small and of So mean a Qualeity That i Cannot Subsist No Longer a Pon it unles i Have Sum Small Relefe We Receve but Six pence Pur Weke from Donashon Wich bread and other Ne-sesaries Being So Dear That it goes but a Letel wais Wich i Beg your Honnour Wod Plese To be So Cind and To Here my Cumplaints and Consider my Surkemstances and be Plesed To Send me Sum Small Trifel of monney That i may make my Life Cumfertebel Wile i am in This Confind unhapey Sitteuation as i Cannot Help my Self i a Quaint your Honnour That it Was my Proper Turn in The Last Cartteal but Having made my a Scape Wonst With a Larg Number more of my fello Prisners be fore The Cartteal Was Sattled The agent Put four of us back and Detaind us in This unhapey Sitteuation i beg Leve To a Quaint your Honnour That There is a Number of old Prisners in This Preson Wich The goverment Has Seast To give us Cloths as Hant Sarved us Non for a bove This Eight months & We Su-ffered a great Dele Last Winter I Beg Leve To a Quaint your Honnour That There is 200 and 24 Amaricans in This Preson Now and They are So Wore out Wih This Long Confinment That They are a goin into His magsteys Servis fast and more The Pettey for it Semes as if We Had Not a frind in This World To Releve us out of This Woful Sittuation. There Was 16 Amari-cans Went out of This Preson Last Weke on bord of His magesteys Navey and more The Shame Hat We must La Here and Suffer & Spend our Daes or fight a gainst our one Cuntrey & our one famlies & our one frindes i Beg Leve To a Quaint your Honnour That The English Lase The To folt To your Honnour That We are Not Exchanged i Beg Leve To a Quaint your Honnour That i belong To The Town of ipswich Nere boston Were as i Have a famlie in The Said Town of ipswich Wich i Have in-dured This inprisenment in The behelf of our Cuntrey & our good Caus i Beg your Honnour Wod Not forgit me and Send me a Nansor.

So I Conclude With Subscrib My Self your Honours most obedent and Humbel Servant

Samuell Harris

Addressed: To / His Excellency Benja. Franklin / Plenipotentiary Minister for / the United States of America / at Paris.—
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