Hessian Round Hill Barracks a Rip Off near Winchester VA
Next time you drive out of Winchester going Route 50 West and you look to Round Hill, just remember when the presence of the Holy Roman Empire came here.
They were the Hessian prisoners who built their own shelters in the woods under Round Hill.
Why aren't any remains found?
Gov Thomas Jefferson wanted it built in stone.
That investment could return a profit after the war.
The Continental Congress did not agree.
The other reason for no remains is the William Hobday Rip Off.
It started off well.
"At the end of the year [1777] Congress authorized £20000 for Col. John Smith, Frederick County Lieutenant, to build the barracks, feed and clothe the prisoners and pay the guards. "
On January 31, 1778, Col. David Kennedy of the Frederick County Militia entered into a contract with William Hobday "for the purpose of carrying on a public Building to serve as Barracks for prisoners which building is to be built in or near Winchester at such place as . . . David Kennedy should appoint."
Page 22, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988.
This prisoner barracks building was going to be big.
"Hobday would construct the barracks for £13,000 in Virginia currency and complete them by the last day of December. He agreed to build "a House for the purpose of Barracks Six Hundred & forty feet long eighteen feet wide & two Stories high, the first Story eight feet, the second [story] seven feet, the upper story to have a Gallery the whole lenght of the Building, Six feet wide, and steps where they shall be thought necessary."
He would use the sawed logs, and the back part of the building would serve as part of the stockade. It would contain thirty partitions and have fifteen double stone chimneys. Each room would have a window protected by a shutter, and the entire building would contain 1000 berths, each capable of holding two men.
Colonel Kennedy, who acted as County Lieutenant in the absence of John Smith, advanced Mr Hobday £6500 and the work began.
Page 23, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988.
But it doesn't end up that way.
The William Hobday Rip Off.
". . . a dispute had developed regarding the contract made between David Kennedy and William Hobday.
Mr. Hobday had collected sufficient timber on the construction site to complete half the building and had readied a quantity of planks and boards at sawmills nearby.
But Colonel Kennedy had neglected to take any security from Hobday for the fulfillment of the contract, and the contractor halted the work on the project in the Fall of 1778 "for want of Money."
"When John Smith, the county lieutenant, returned to Winchester after a prolonged absence, he found that distrust between the parties had resulted in a total stoppage of all construction. "From the imprudent Bargain at first made," he reported, "I presume the delay of the Work has arisen, & from the contingency of the Depreciation of the currency , some loss will occur to the States." Kennedy had paid Hobday the sum of £ 3192 and several thousand more for various other purposes. Colonel Smith advised "that some person be immediately appointed under a new Agreement to prosecute this Work," but recognized that it would be difficult to find a man who would finish th building as the Expence cannot properly be ascertained from the dail Depreciation of our currency." Hobday still wished to complete the work, and the inkeeper Philip Bush, who acted as the state's assistant deputy quartermaster at Winchester, offered to conduct the business for a premium of ten percent.
"When Virginia's new governor, Thomas Jefferson, received Colonel Smith's report on the matter, he recommended that Hobday "be immediately prosecuted for not complying with his contract" and that new persons be appointed to continue the construction. Although the timber at the barracks site had been declared "very good and fit for the purpose it was designed for" by three of Winchester's most respected citizens --- John Hite, Daniel Morgan, and James Wood."
"Governor Jefferson advised that they build the barracks of stone instead of wood so that the state could benefit from its sale or rent after the war." But Congress saw the matter differently."
Congress ordered all work to stop and to try to recover the money already advanced.
Page 29-31, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988.
Prosecution
"On July 16 [1779] The Continental Congress decided "not to build the barracks" They also inititiated a suit against Hobday for breach of contract. The barracks project, then, had come to an end -- or so it appeared."
Page 29-31, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988.
There was no official country named Germany until the years of 1866-1871. It had not unified then.
The so called "Hessian" or "German" prisoners coming to Winchester VA were part the Holy Roman Empire which formally collapsed in 1806.
3 Groups of Prisoners at Winchester VA
There were 3 groups of prisoners coming to Winchester Va.
They were held at taverns, individual homes and barracks to be buiilt at the foot hill area of Roundhill west of Winchester VA.
Were any held at Fort Loudoun?
There appears to be no evidence for or against keeping Revolutionary War prisoners at Fort Loudoun.
Source: Pages 19-63, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988,
The Trenton Prisoners 1777- 1778 p21
The Convention Army 1780-1781 p32
The Yorktown Prisoners 1781-1782 p41
They were overwhelming to the area. So they didn't stay long.
Compiled by Jim Moyer, first researched 2016, updated 12/18/2023, 1/28/2024
Hessians
Take a look at this Holy Roman Empire map below.
Notice in the center of the map below the darker brown constitutes Hesse-Kassel
(sometimes you'll see it spelled Hesse-Cassel).
That is where you get the word Hessians.
The Kings of England
And above that brown is a yellow area you will see the Electorate of Hanover, also known as Brunswick-Lüneburg , both lending their names to counties in Virginia.
That yellow area spawned the English Kings known as the House of Hanover.
They were our Kings who ruled over Winchester VA too.
They were the Georges. King George I, King George II, King George III.
Totals of Hessians in America
According to Pages 19-63, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988
"Nearly 30,000 Germans came across the Atlantic during the [Revolutionary] war years, 17000 of whom were from the Landgravate of Hessen-Kassel, and 2400 from the Territory of Hessen-Hanau. . . .
However four other principalities sent troops totalling 10400 men. They came from the Duchies of Braunschweig (Brunswick) and Anhalt-Zerbst, and the principalities of Ansbach-Bayreuth and Waldeck."
The duchies of Braunschweig (Brunswick) was part of the land of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Electorate of Hanover, which spawned the King Georges of England. That's the yellow on the map above.
Look below the brown area of Hesse Kassel and see the darker turquoise blue. That's Ansbach. Or more fully known as Ansbach-Bayreuth.
Another look at those totals
From Hesse-Kassel
17000 troops according to Pages 19-63, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988
From Hesse-Hanau
A total of 2,422 soldiers were sent, and 1,441 returned . . . source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesse-Hanau_troops_in_the_American_Revolutionary_War
From Ansbach-Bayreuth
By the end of the war, 2,361 Soldiers had deployed to the Americas, but fewer than half, 1,041, returned
They were described as "the tallest and best-looking regiments of all those here," and "better even than the Hessians."[58] These troops were incorporated into Howe's army in New York and were part of the Philadelphia campaign. Ansbach-Bayreuth troops were also with General Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown, with a force of nearly 1,100 troops.
From Waldeck
Prince Friedrich Karl August of Waldeck kept three regiments ready for paid foreign service. The first of these regiments, with 684 officers and men, sailed from Portsmouth in July 1776 and participated in the New York campaign.
Waldeck contributed 1,225 men to the war, and lost 720 as casualties or deserters. In the course of the war, 358 Waldeck soldiers died from sickness, and 37 died from combat
Sources
They were not Mercenaries
According to Pages 19-63, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988
"For the most part these men were regular soldiers of national armies and, in the strictest sense, not mercenaries at all. They referred to themselves as "Hilfsgtruppen" ("helping troops") and acted as auxillary troops allied to Great Britain by treaty, a precedent established many years before the American Revolution and enhanced by the British Royal family's German connections and possessions. German troops had fought alongsid the British in the Seven Years War 1756-1763; and many of the officers and older soldiers were veterans of that conflict. During the Revolution German troops took part in practically every campaign and performed as well as their British counterparts. Their total number near equalled the number of British regulars, and in certain battles like Trenton and Bennington they comprised almost the entire enemy force."
Compiled by Jim Moyer, first researched 2016, updated 12/18/2023, 1/28/2024
The Main Sources
Pages 19-63, The Winchester Hessian Barracks by Lion G Miles,
Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, Volume III published 1988
This link heavily references above source
The German City States
Smaller Hesse's
Troops from Hesse-Hanau served as auxiliaries to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War, in accordance with the treaty of 1776 between Great Britain and the small principality. One regiment of foot, one artillery company, one ranger corps, and one light infantry corps served in British America. A total of 2,422 soldiers were sent, and 1,441 returned, the remainder either not surviving or choosing to remain in America. As compensation the reigning count of Hesse-Hanau received a total of 343,110 pound sterling from the British government.
The Largest Hesse
Other City States:
The House of Hanover
King George II
(George Augustus; German: Georg August; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760)
was King of Great Britain and Ireland,
and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 (O.S.) until his death in 1760.
King George III
(George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820)
was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820.
The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with George as its king.
He was concurrently Duke and Prince-elector of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire before becoming King of Hanover on 12 October 1814.
He was a monarch of the House of Hanover who, unlike his two predecessors, was born in Great Britain, spoke English as his first language, and never visited Hanover.
Sources in the course of this research
David Kennedy
To George Washington from Thomas Waggener, 10 May 1758
3. Having served as an assistant commissary for the troops at both Maidstone and Fort Cumberland, David Kennedy succeeded John Hamilton as quartermaster of the Virginia Regiment after Hamilton absconded in September 1757.
Founders Online Footnote 3
To George Washington from George Mercer, 17 February 1760
"Kennedy may be David Kennedy who became quartermaster of GW’s Virginia Regiment in October 1757."
Source
Cash Accounts, March 1767
4. Capt. David Kennedy rented another of GW’s farms on the Bullskin in 1766 for £28 a year, and he continued renting for seven years (General Ledger A, folio 248; Ledger B, 22). Kennedy had been assistant commissary and quartermaster in GW’s Virginia Regiment.
Founders Online Footnote 4 March 27, 1767
From George Washington to Samuel Washington, 28 July 1772
1. George Johnston collected rents for GW; David Kennedy, a tenant on part of GW’s Bullskin land, was in arrears. See GW to Samuel Washington, 6 Dec. 1771, n.5. In his “Plan of the Tenements on the South Fork of Bullskin” (CSmH), which is undated but probably made in 1772, GW’s sketch shows the lots, or tracts, being leased to Joseph Kerlin, Abraham Swanger, William Peterson, Jacob “Fryer” [Fry], William Bartlett, and Kennedy, as well as the one sold to Philip Pendleton in January 1772 (see Edmund Pendleton to GW, 19 Dec. 1772, n.1).
Colonel John Smith,
Lieutentant of Frederick Co VA
Definition of a Landgrave
Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
Battle of Trenton and Adam Stephen
Fort Randolph
To George Washington from William Crawford, 12 July 1779
As soon as Fort Randolph at the Mouth of the Canaway was avaquated the Endiens burt it.9
9. For the evacuation of Fort Randolph earlier in the year, see Brodhead to GW, 5 June.
How the French saw George Washington
3. The assembly met in Williamsburg 4–11 Mar., but GW was not there. See Stewart to GW, 8 Mar. 1760. Kennedy may be David Kennedy who became quartermaster of GW’s Virginia Regiment in October 1757.
