Bastille into an open public area, with a tall column at the centre surrounded by fountains, dedicated to Louis XVI as the "restorer of public freedom". The number of prisoners held in the Bastille at any one time declined sharply towards the end of Louis's reign; the prison contained ten prisoners in September 1782 and, despite a mild increase at the beginning of 1788, by July 1789 only seven prisoners remained in custody. Before any official scheme to close the prison could be enacted, however, disturbances across Paris brought a more violent end to the Bastille. By July 1789, revolutionary sentiment
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