Military Service
of Henry Pawling during the Revolutionary War
The truly significant fact about Henry Pawling's military service during the Revolutionary War is that he survived captivity on the British prison-ships in New York harbor. Henry Pawling was one of the few fortunate prisoners - his freedom was either purchased or exchanged, probably, as is suggested in Burhans Genealogy, page 322, by the efforts of members of his family, including his brother, Col Albert Pawling, and most likely his father, Col Levi Pawling.
Approximately 11,500 men, women, and children, most civilians, died aboard these ships between 1776 and 1783, almost 3 times the number of soldiers who were killed in combat during the entire Revolutionary War. This number does not include the additional patriots who died in other British prisons on land in New York City or on prison-ships in the Southern harbors of Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA. Their story is told by the Prison Ship Martyrs Association, and is much too long to repeat here. Please see the Association's website for information about America's first prisoners of war.