Fate of the prisoners
Each ship had more than 1,000 men crammed into the hold. Each morning, the dead would be carried up to the deck to be dumped into shore graves later. Wounded soldiers received minimum care, if any. They were basically left to die. Diseases could be spread easily, since everywhere was overcrowded. Prisoners were starved, therefore malnutrition was one main way of dying while aboard. The ships themselves were rotting and infested with rats. The prisoners were forced to use the bathroom anywhere there was room because there were no such facilities on the ship. Another name for prison ship is a prison hulk, because these ships were no longer fit for battle on the sea. The British had many prison hulks anchored in East River in New York, between Long Island and Manhattan Island. This was called Wallabout Bay. Also, no fresh water was available. Horrid mistreatment by the guards was practically manditory. Other British prison ships were located in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina after the British captured those cities. The conditions on these ships were pretty much equal, but there were less people crowded on them. Provost Marshal of the city, William Cunningham, was the commander of all this.