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“Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne” — Revolutionary War soldier — 1828

“Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne” — Revolutionary War soldier — 1828

Updated on September 21, 2025: This has been sold.
An estimated 11,000 - 13,000 American colonists died aboard prison ships over the course of the Revolutionary War. Andrew Sherburne’s memoir, published in 1828, is one of the few first-hand accounts what it was like to be prisoner in one.

This summation came from a project at Smith: "Sherburne entered the naval service when he was only thirteen years old. Over the course of his service, British forces captured him three times, and he endured shipwrecks, sieges, and brutally harsh prisons all while still a boy. After the war he took a variety of jobs working as a surveyor, a teacher, and a Baptist preacher at various points in his life. Sherburne wrote his memoirs in 1828 at the age of sixty-three: friends of his helped to sponsor the printing process and Sherburne then travelled around the country selling his books in order to make money to provide for his family.” (Emphasis added.)

This is one of those original books.

— Lee Wright | Founder

 

Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne: A Pensioner of the Navy of the Revolution by Andrew Sherburne. Published by William Williams in Utica, NY. 1828. First edition. 262pp.

“Memoirs of Andrew Sherburne” is the narrative of the authors service in the Continental Navy in 1779 at the age of 14, and his being taken prisoner by the British only to later be released after falling ill. 

Andrew Sherburne went on to become a Baptist Minister and includes many Christian themes throughout his tale of imprisonment during the American Revolution at Mill prison in Plymouth, England.

Sherburne includes information on voyages made during the revolution, treatment as a prisoner of war, suffering on the Jersey prison ship, and being discharged at the peace of 1783. 

Size: 7.25" x 4.25"

Shipping: $10. Please allow two weeks for shipping.

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