author

C. (Charles) Andrews

A longtime schoolmaster at the New York African Free School, he wrote a rare early history of the institution and the students it served. His work opens a window onto Black education, reform, and controversy in early 19th-century New York.

1 Audiobook

The prisoners' memoirs, or, Dartmoor prison : containing a complete and impartial history of the entire captivity of the Americans in England, from the commencement of the last war between the United States and Great Britain, until all prisoners were released by the treaty of Ghent. Also a particular detail of all occurrences relative to the horrid massacre at Dartmoor, on the fatal evening of the 6th of April, 1815.

The prisoners' memoirs, or, Dartmoor prison : containing a complete and impartial history of the entire captivity of the Americans in England, from the commencement of the last war between the United States and Great Britain, until all prisoners were released by the treaty of Ghent. Also a particular detail of all occurrences relative to the horrid massacre at Dartmoor, on the fatal evening of the 6th of April, 1815.

by C. (Charles) Andrews

About the author

For more than twenty years, Charles C. Andrews served as schoolmaster of the New York African Free School. He is best known today for writing The History of the New-York African Free-Schools (1830), an important early account of the school and its mission.

Andrews remains a debated figure. The New-York Historical Society notes that some historians see him as closely tied to the Manumission Society's paternalistic approach, and that his resignation in 1831 has been explained in different ways. At the same time, some former students remembered him warmly and credited him with believing in their ability to learn and succeed.

That mix of educational commitment, institutional power, and public controversy makes his writing especially interesting now. For listeners interested in the history of schooling, race, and reform in New York, his work offers both valuable detail and plenty to think about.