Holy Roman Empire comes to Winchester VA area
There was no official country named Germany (Deutschland) 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.
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."
3 Groups of Prisoners at Winchester VA
There were 3 groups of prisoners coming to Winchester Va and held at taverns, individual homes and barracks to be buiilt at the foot hill area of Roundhill west of Winchester VA.
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
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
Definition of a Landgrave
Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire
Battle of Trenton and Adam Stephen
How the French saw George Washington
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