The identities of more than 2,000 African-Caribbean soldiers (1) interned at Portchester Castle in the eighteenth century have been discovered by English Heritage during research for a new exhibition at the castle, the charity announced today (Tuesday 18th July).

In 1796 as part of the French Revolutionary war, free black soldiers fighting not only for France but against slavery and inequality were captured by the British in St Lucia and St Vincent and were – along with their wives and children – transported to England and eventually to Porchester Castle at the head of Portsmouth Harbour in Hampshire. (2)

Until now, the names of these prisoners-of-war were unknown but following years of painstaking archival research by English Heritage curator, Abigail Coppins, the names have finally been uncovered. Among the 2,000 plus imprisoned officers and soldiers, she found Captain Louis Delgrès, an experienced and highly regarded officer who had fought against Britain many times; General Marinier, Commander in Chief of the French forces on St Lucia, and his wife Eulalie Piemont; and Charlotte Pedre and her husband, Jean-Louis Marin Pedre, Commander of the Caribs, the indigenous people of the Caribbean.

English Heritage Curator, Abigail Coppins, said: “To discover the identities of 2,000 African-Caribbean prisoners-of-war, imprisoned in Portchester Castle, was quite astonishing. At a time when the entire black population of Britain was roughly 10 -15,000 our exhibition completely turns the tables on the views of the period. These were not slaves, but free men and women, fighting and in some cases dying for a cause they believed in. Research is on-going but these names and this exhibition restores a forgotten chapter of black history to England’s story.”

Using the letters of those stationed at the castle English Heritage’s new permanent exhibition reveals for the first time how all these soldiers came to be at Portchester and what life was like imprisoned in the castle – many suffered from chilblains and while many had arrived with virtually no clothing, none of the shoes supplied would fit them, “…the West Indians having all large feet,” reported the castle’s Dr Johnson.

The exhibition also describes what happened to them after they left Portchester Castle, including the fate of Captain Louis Delgrès. Like many prisoners of war in the 18th century, the African-Caribbean men and women were eventually exchanged for captured British soldiers and sent to France. Captain Louis Delgrès returned to the Caribbean in 1799 where, disillusioned with Napoleon’s attempts to reinstate slavery, he took up arms against France. Eventually surrounded at Matouba in Guadeloupe, Delgrès and his followers blew themselves up rather than be captured and enslaved.

In addition to this untold story of the African-Caribbean soldiers, the new English Heritage exhibition at Portchester Castle also sheds a fascinating light on how another group of mainland French prisoners from the Napoleonic wars created a theatre where the quality of their music, dance, scenery and costumes approached that of the professional stage (Monsieur Carré, the troupe’s leader was even sent new plays by the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris).

English Heritage has installed a replica of the theatre in the ground floor of Portchester’s great keep, featuring a wooden stage complete with the original backdrop of the Pont Neuf in Paris. As part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project, the University of Warwick will be staging one of the prisoners’ original plays, with a newly composed score, to a local audience for the first time on Wednesday 19 July. The manuscript for the play, Roseliska, was dedicated to the man in charge of the prison at Portchester Castle, Captain Paterson, and has been handed down through his family.

Katherine Astbury, Reader in French Studies at the University of Warwick said: “Amazingly the manuscript of a 3-act melodrama written and performed by some of the French prisoners has survived and it gives us unique insight into the hopes and fears of those held at Portchester. At a time when Britain and France were at war, they wanted to dazzle the locals with highly ambitious productions showcasing French theatrical practice. Over the last four years my research team has been exploring the complex interplay of aesthetics and politics in French theatre during the Napoleonic period. A public performance of one of the prisoners’ plays is the logical conclusion to the project. We’ve even been able to create an authentic score for Roseliska from music published by the prisoners’ musical director Marc-Antoine Corret on his return to France.”

Visitors to Portchester Castle will get a new and better understanding of the castle’s time as a Roman Fort, Saxon Burgh, and Medieval Palace through newly re-presented museum displays, featuring objects found on site including fragments of Roman armour and the tiny dice and playing cards made by the prisoners to while away the hours.

The new exhibition at Portchester Castle in Hampshire is open daily from Thursday 20 July 2017.

(1) In total, 2,080 black and mixed race soldiers, 333 European soldiers, and 99 women and children survived the five month journey across the Atlantic to Portchester Castle. 268 prisoners died en route.
(2) When war broke out in 1793 between Britain and Revolutionary France, the islands of the French-owned Caribbean were drawn into the conflict. When France abolished slavery a year later, slaves left the plantations and many joined local regiments to fight against Britain (which still supported the slave trade on their islands).