In Relieve Us of This Burthern: American Prisoners of War in the Revolutionary South, 1780-1782, Carl P. Borick details how Lord Montagu and his agents recruited from the American prisoners held at Charleston to restaff the Duke of Cumberland’s regiment, using a mixture of enticement, coercion and even forcible impressment.
While Borick identifes only a few soldiers, another author has made a more comprehensive list. In his “Prisoners of War from the Siege of Charleston and the Battle of Camden who Joined the British in the Duke of Cumberland’s Regiment,” C. Leon Harris has attempted to tie the records of the recruited prisoners back to their American units. using pension applications and more. This finding aid will be a valuable resource for anyone researching ancestors who served in the unit.
Full citation:
C. Leon Harris, “Prisoners of War from the Siege of Charleston and the Battle of Camden who Joined the British in the Duke of Cumberland’s Regiment,” 1 December 2023, Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters (https://revwarapps.org/b406.pdf: accessed 13 February 2024).