Bastille Day had often held people jailed on the basis of "lettres de cachet" (literally "signet letters"), arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed and did not indicate the reason for the imprisonment. The Bastille held a large cache of ammunition and gunpowder, and was also known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, at the time of the attack in July 1789 there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance. The crowd was eventually reinforced by mutinous "Gardes Françaises" ("French
Prisoners of war in the American Revolutionary War of war were, the less of an economic burden they were on the town. Towns that were unable to erect barracks for the prisoners were forced to house them in community churches and even citizens' homes. The Continental Congress forcing Americans to quarter prisoners was a major source of contention among the people. Even when British and Hessian prisoners of war were not being held in individual houses, they were still in public view, and this caused general fear, resentment, and anger among the townspeople. Prisoners were generally not confined to their quarters, and were able to remain in public