Robert Woods spent enough time in chains to wonder if he had been forgotten. To be sure, he knew that he was not entirely forgotten, because the garrison did come and feed him and apologize to him for not being able to do more than simply keep him alive. He felt forgotten in the larger sense of not knowing if anyone knew what was going on or cared about him. There is a certain asymmetry about what is known by people who are behind bars and those who are free to hear the news on the street. In St. Augustine and London, to be sure, there were enough people who knew and cared about Robert’s fate and his safety that his plight was not forgotten. It did take some time, though, before someone else came to visit him in prison, and when he did, it was not someone he knew or had expected to see.

Governor Juan Galvez was a busy man, responsible for areas extending from Mexico’s Pacific coast and its trade with the Philippines to the easternmost regions of the Spanish Caribbean. Galvez had been instrumental in enlarging this territory through his own successful military efforts, and while he was a busy man, he found himself visiting the Bahamas to see the state of affairs there. When he got there, he was told that there was an English prisoner down in the dungeon, and though he had a lot to do and not very much time in Nassau, he thought it worthwhile to visit the prisoner and see what he could determine about why it was that he was there. Having just ensured that two of his subordinates faced trouble for the abuse of a British prisoner, he certainly did not want anything of that nature on his own head.

Robert Woods, perhaps unsurprisingly, spent a lot of time in his own head while he was in prison, but all the same when the door opened to the dungeon, it made enough noise to break his reverie and lead him to turn his eyes towards the gentleman walking towards him.

“Greetings, prisoner,” Galvez said. “I am Viceroy Juan Galvez. Who are you?”

“I am Robert Woods,” Robert replied.

“Where are you from?” Galvez said.

“I reside, at least at present, here in Nassau, but my home is in St. Augustine, and I am from a small town in North Yorkshire in England, where I spent the first ten years of my life,” Robert replied.

“Why are you here?” Galvez asked.

“I got into an argument with Vice Admiral Maxwell about his unwillingness to even make a token defense of the fortress, and I was placed in irons here, and have been here ever since then,” Robert replied.

“I suppose that would have been a charge of insubordination?” Galvez asked.

“I would think so,” Robert replied.

“As far as I understand, all of the British soldiers who were a part of this garrison were paroled and went to St. Augustine,” Galvez said.

“I was not a member of this garrison,” Robert replied.

“What was your role here?” Galvez asked.

“That’s a hard question to answer,” Robert said. “I had been working on behalf of the crown as a barrister in South Carolina and then was told to leave and came here, but I had no formal position here.”

“So you are just an English citizen?” Galvez said.

“More or less,” Robert said.

“Did you expect that disagreeing with the Vice Admiral who served as governor previously would have some repercussions?” Galvez asked.

“I expected to be kept within quarters under a sort of house arrest,” Robert said.

“I think that is a reasonable expectation,” Galvez replied.

“I think so as well,” Robert said. “But for some reason the Vice Admiral did not think so.”

“Were you ever officially charged with anything?” Galvez asked.

“Not at all,” Robert said.

“I do not pretend to be an expert on English law, but at least as far as I am concerned, there is no reason you need to be in irons. There is no trial for you here. I have no jurisdiction over you, and you have certainly not done anything against me,” Galvez said. “On the other hand, I do not want you to be traveling throughout the Bahamas or leaving Nassau and returning to give information to your countrymen. What I propose to do, therefore, is to let you have the freedom of the castle, and to remain inside here. We will make sure there is a room for you, and you will eat with the garrison, and otherwise remain here. Is that acceptable to you?”

“That is certainly far to be preferred than to remain imprisoned here,” Robert said.

“Very well then,” Galvez replied. “If you wish to send letters to others, you are also free to do so, just know that they will be read in order to make sure that they are of a personal nature and not involved in spycraft.”

“I can understand why you would be concerned about espionage in a wartime environment when dealing with enemy aliens,” Robert said.

“You are a barrister, that’s right,” Galvez said. “I must admit I do not have much experience with the profession, except that there are plenty of lawyers who work in my court.”

“I suppose that is for the best. You were born to a noble family yourself, were you not?” Robert said.

“I was indeed,” Galvez said. “What about yourself?”

“I am the eldest son of a second son of a Viscount,” Robert said. “I must admit that I have no title, though.”

“I believe that the usual order of things when a nobleman has multiple sons is for the eldest son to inherit the estate and title through primogeniture and then for younger sons to make their way in the church or trade or royal service or something else of that nature?” Galvez said.

“It is in my country as it is in yours that way. My father made his way through trade and royal service and that was passed down to me after his death,” Robert said.

“I am glad to be speaking to a man of honor who serves his crown loyally. Even though our nations are at war currently, I do not expect that will always be the case,” Galvez said.

“I do not know when we will ever get the chance to work together, but I agree it is easier to deal with people, even enemies, who have a sense of honor and loyalty that one can relate to and approve of because at least they will behave in a decent and civilized manner,” Robert said.

“That is precisely the way I think,” Galvez replied. “I am glad you see things the same way.”

With that there was a polite silence before the Viceroy continued, “I will order you to be released from your irons, and you will be shown to your room here within the castle. I wish I could set you at even greater liberty, but I am also glad you appreciate having the liberty of the castle.” Robert gave a polite nod and then Galvez turned and left. Almost immediately one of the usual guards came in and unlocked the irons that had been chaining Robert to the wall. Robert rubbed his wrists and legs and then followed the guard upstairs out of the dungeon and was shown to a room within the fortress where he was to remain. He asked for some writing supplies, as he had some letters to write.

Galvez had some letters to write as well before he departed on his round of the various places that were under his jurisdiction. Although the term did not exist yet, not formally, Galvez practiced the classic medieval method of management by walking around. He knew that people could lie in letters but that one could see the truth when one was able to see conditions on the ground, and his letter to the authorities in Cadiz was straight and to the point:

“To the Audencia of Cadiz,

While visiting Nassau I found an English prisoner who claimed the name of Mr. Robert Woods, who was chained for some charge of insubordination against the English governor here. He has been in irons, as near as I can determine it, for some months, without being let go at all, despite there being no reason for him to remain in chains. He was imprisoned during the entire time that Governor Cagigal and his subordinate Francisco de Miranda were in charge over the city after taking it over, and he has not been released. I have given him the freedom of the fortress, and allowed him to write, though he is not to be allowed to see our dispositions or to leave the fortress, and his letters will be read to ensure that they are not spreading information of a delicate nature. I want to know if you have any information about this man or his family background within your records about various British agents.”

Your obedient servant,

Juan Galvez”

The letters that Robert Woods wrote were also straight and to the point. He wrote to his mother in St. Augustine about what had happened to him and how he had spent some months in prison but had been set free by Viceroy Galvez, but not allowed to leave the fortress because of its position as an active war zone at present, at least until and unless some sort of peace was agreed to between Great Britain and her enemies. As the letter did not mention garrison strength or anything of that nature, the letter was allowed to pass through and before too long it arrived in St. Augustine. Once it was known that Robert had been imprisoned by Vice Admiral Maxwell but released by Galvez, the British knew at least what had been involved in the Spanish conquest of the Bahamas and their likely goal in gaining it as a bargaining chip to gain some other land, perhaps. This was by no means uncommon in the wars of the time, but having the information that Galvez had been personally involved in setting Robert Woods free was information that the Crown appreciated knowing.

Robert’s mother, Lady Martin, considered herself as having the freedom to communicate this information to her father-in-law, and the other people who had heard the news from her also felt themselves as having the freedom to inform their contacts in London about what they knew about Robert. Some of them had been able to report that they had seen Robert’s letter with their own hands from Robert’s mother, and before too long a copy of the letter was making its way as evidence across the ocean. To be sure, Robert did not know directly about this, but he was at least able to discuss information with his mother, and to convey personal information and to read, second hand, the information that she had heard, though as he had also informed her that his mail was being read, it kept the tone and content of the letters to one that was suitable to convey pleasantries but not to write about matters that would draw larger attention or scrutiny.