This collection of papers contains a variety of documents, including letters, bills, and receipts, as well as inventories of items purchased for the use of the prisoners at Melville Island. One letter gives an account of the provisions that the prison had expended and includes the ration of soap for the week. There are also a few accounts of the capture of prisoners. This collection contains incoming correspondence and one 1813 letter written by Mitchell. A few letters to Mitchell from prisoners request help with food and clothing or detail their capture by British ships. Some of the prisoners wrote to Mitchell more than once with their requests. Many of the letters from the prisoners ask for help because of the hardship that their families were dealing with at home. There are two letters of exchange that allowed prisoners to return home. There are a few receipts for board for officers from the ship Chesapeake. There is a list of soldiers dated August 31, 1813, who were captured in Upper Canada and "delivered themselves up as British subjects;" it also includes regimental information. There are a number of reports from March to November 1814 that detail the number of prisoners, including those who were hospitalized. Supporting documents include an oath sworn by Howard and Mary Underwoord, affirming that their son David was born in Massachusetts and a baptismal certificate for Thomas Melzand from Marblehead, Massachusetts. A number of American ships are mentioned, including the Buckskin, the Coassack, the Robert, and the Chesapeake. Of interest is a letter from Captin James Holly of the Robert, which gives a detailed account of the capture of his ship by a British privateer.
