Get genealogy tips for tracing War of 1812 ancestors taken as
prisoners of war. During the War of 1812, the British seized
more than 20,000 Americans and imprisoned them in Canada, South
Africa, England, Bermuda and the West Indies. Thousands were
banished to the infamous Dartmoor prison in Devon, England;
learn more at the companion site to PBS' "The War of 1812." To
start your research on American prisoners of war, search the
Ancestry.com database called War of 1812 Prisoner of War
Records, 1812-1815 (taken from NARA microfilms M1747 and M2019).
The records include lists of prisoners and men exchanged,
accounts of clothing provided to prisoners in Canada and
correspondence regarding prisoners. If your naval ancestor was
held prisoner, consult NARA Record Group 45, Naval Records
Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library,
1775-1910. These records contain prisoners of war held in
Canada, England, Bermuda and the West Indies who were named in
lists the Office of the Adjutant General received from th