Albemarle Barracks was a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

for British prisoners during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

History

Following Gen.

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...

's defeat at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

, in 1777, several thousand British and German (

Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...

and Brunswickian) troops, of what came to be known as the

Convention Army 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 John Burgoyne surrendered his army ac ...

, were marched to Cambridge, Massachusetts. For various reasons, the Continental Congress desired to move them south. One of Congress' members, Col. John Harvie/Harvey, Sr. and sons offered some of his lands outside of

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. The remaining soldiers (some 2,000 British, upwards of 1,900 German, and roughly 300 women and children) marched south in late 1778 - arriving at the site (near Ivy Creek) in January, 1779. As the barracks were barely sufficient in construction, the officers were paroled to live as far away as

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

. The camp was never adequately provisioned, and yet the prisoners did manage to make something of the site, including building a theater. Hundreds escaped Albemarle Barracks, owing to lack of an adequate number of guards. As the British army moved northward from the Carolinas, in late 1780, the remaining prisoners were moved to

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

, and perhaps elsewhere.

Current status

The former site of Albemarle Barracks is on private property, northwest of downtown Charlottesville at the foot of Barracks Farm Rd. and marked by a Virginia State historical marker. In 1983, the Albemarle County Historical Society erected a plaque for the Albemarle Barracks burial site. Located on what is now Ivy Farm Drive, the spot marks the location of several graves found when the land was developed for residential use. To see the marker, drive west of Charlottesville on Barracks Road to Barracks Farm Road. The marker is located on the north side of Ivy Farm Drive, in a private yard, a couple hundred yards from where this road separates from Barracks Farm Road. ''Note: Though the marker was almost totally obscured by the twin boxwoods growing on either side, in 2006, as of November 2010, it could easily be seen from the road.''

External links

Albemarle County Historical Society

Albemarle Barracks Burial Site marker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barracks, Albemarle * Tourist attractions in Albemarle County, Virginia Landmarks in Virginia Prisoner-of-war camps

History

Current status

Further reading

External links