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Convention Army-The Barracks

Convention Army-The Barracks is a Virginia historical marker in Albemarle County, dedicated 2011.

Albemarle County · dedicated 2011 · Intersection of Barracks Farm Road and Barrackside Farm entrance

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In Jan. 1779, during the American Revolution, 4,000 British troops and German mercenaries (commonly known as “Hessians”) captured following the Battle of Saratoga in New York arrived here after marching from Massachusetts. It was called the Convention Army after the instrument of its surrender. Most prisoners lived in primitive huts spread out over several hundred acres of the barracks camp, where they endured great hardships. Supplying and guarding the Convention Army taxed the resources of the community and militia. By Feb. 1781, the last of the prisoners had been relocated.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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The Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania stands under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

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