British and Hessian Prisoners of War in the American Revolution

 

General John (“Gentleman Johnny”) Burgoyne surrendered a British Army at Saratoga, New York in October, 1777. The surrender terms documented in the “Convention of Saratoga,” called for 5,900 British and German troops to march to Boston where they would be shipped to England, with a pledge not to fight against the Americans again. The Continental Congress found a way to thwart the surrender terms and keep the prisoners.  Congress insisted that the surrender articles be ratified by “the King and Parliament.”  This was an impossible condition since it implied British recognition of the legitimacy of the Congress and the independence of America.

In November 1778, the Convention Army prisoners began a seven hundred mile march from Boston to Virginia.  They were divided into six divisions, each marching one day behind the other.  The prisoners crossed the Potomac River in late 1778 and passed through Leesburg, Prince William County, Warrenton, Culpeper County, and Orange Court House, before reaching Charlottesville, their final destination.  At Charlottesville, the prisoners built wooden huts, on what is today called Barracks Road.

While the common soldiers lived rough, the British and German officers were able to pay to rent private accommodations.  British General William Phillips and the Hessian commander Baron Frederick von Riedesel were treated more as guests than as prisoners.  Thomas Jefferson played the violin with Baron Frederick von Riedesel at Monticello.  Baron Frederick von Riedesel and General William Phillips were later exchanged for General Benjamin Lincoln.

Murder in Colonial Virginia