Convention Army
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The Convention Army (1777–1783) was an army of British and allied troops captured after the Battles of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War.
Convention of Saratoga
On 17 October 1777, British General
Baroness Frederika Riedesel, wife of General Riedesel, just emerged from her shelter in the cellar of the Marshall House, attended the surrender ceremony which she vividly describes in her Journal: "On the 17th of October the capitulation was consummated. The generals waited upon the American general-in-chief, Gates, and the troops laid down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war".
Cambridge
A total of about 5,900 British, German, and Canadian troops surrendered at Saratoga.[2] Under guard by John Glover's troops, they were marched to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they arrived on 8 November.[1] The rank and file were quartered in crude barracks that had been constructed during the 1775 siege of Boston, while most of the officers were billeted in houses. The army ended up spending about one year in Cambridge, while negotiations concerning its status took place in military and diplomatic channels. During this year, about 1,300 prisoners escaped, often because they became involved with local women while working on farms in the area.[3]
The
Virginia
In November 1778, the Convention Army began marching south 700 miles (1,100 km) to Charlottesville, Virginia, arriving in uncharacteristically snowy weather in January 1779. Approximately 600 men escaped during the march.[3] They were held at the hastily and poorly constructed Albemarle Barracks until late 1780, under the guard of Lt. Col Joseph Crockett's Western Battalion.
During the army's years in Virginia it had an important economic impact on the Blue Ridge area of Virginia. The Virginia troops assigned to guard duty were generally better fed and equipped than any other forces, so that prisoner letters would reflect a strong Continental Army. Money sent by the prisoner's families in Britain and Germany provided a lot of hard currency and coin for the back-country area. The presence of the POWs created new demands for food and other goods – items for which they had to pay steep prices. Thomas Jefferson estimated that the presence of the prisoners increased the area's circulating currency by at least $30,000 a week.
High-ranking officers, and sometimes their wives, such as the
In late 1780, when British forces became active in Virginia, the army was again moved, this time being marched north by the Western Battalion to Frederick, Maryland. Except for specific officer exchanges, they were held there until 1783. When the war formally ended, those who survived the forced marches and camp fevers were sent home.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Morrissey (2000), p. 87
- ^ Morrissey (2000), p. 86
- ^ a b Ferling (2007), p. 432
- ^ Chase (1983), p. 12
References
- Chase, Philander (1983). "Years of Hardships and Revelations: The Convention Army at the Albamarle Barracks, 1779–1781". The Magazine of Albemarle County History. 41. Charlottesville, VA.
- Ferling, John E (2007). Almost a miracle: the American victory in the War of Independence. New York: Oxford University Press US. OCLC 85898929.
- Morrissey, Brendan (2000). Saratoga 1777: Turning Point of a Revolution. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. OCLC 43419003.
- Smith, Clifford Neal (1973). Brunswick Deserter-Immigrants of the American Revolution. Thomson, IL: Heritage House. ISBN 0-915162-00-8.
External links
After Saratoga, National Park Service
Gentleman Johnnys Wandering Army
Demise of the Albemarle Barracks