In Central Virginia, the names Hessian Hills and Barracks Road are among the reminders of a Revolutionary War POW camp built in Albemarle County.
After their capture at the Battle of Saratoga, thousands of British and Hessian prisoners of war — as well as their families — began a journey from Massachusetts to Albemarle County in November 1778. That move was intended to keep the risk of a rescue mission to a minimum.
The POWs were headed toward several hundred acres near Ivy Creek, owned by Col. John Harvie — an attorney and Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress. Enslaved people cleared the undeveloped area and simple housing structures started to go up: The Albemarle Barracks…