Dangerous prisoners: Confining the Convention Army in American space during the American Revolution By Sean C. Halverson A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in History in the Department of History Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2013 Copyright by Sean C. Halverson 2013 Dangerous prisoners: Confining the Convention Army in American space during the American Revolution By Sean C. Halverson Approved: William Anthony Hay Julia Osman Associate Professor of History Assistant Professor of History (Dissertation Director) (Committee Member) Mark D. Hersey M. Kathryn Barbier Associate Professor of History Associate Professor of History (Committee Member) (Committee Member) Peter C. Messer R. Gregory Dunaway Associate Professor of History Professor and Interim Dean (Graduate Coordinator) College of Arts & Sciences Name: Sean C. Halverson Date of Degree: May 11, 2013 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: History Major Professor: William Anthony Hay Title of Study Dangerous prisoners: Confining the Convention Army in American space during the American Revolution Pages in Study: 295 Candidate for Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy This dissertation argues that American revolutionaries used America’s geographic space to defeat, secure, supply, and neutralize the Convention Army during the American Revolution, which contributed to their victory over the British after the Continental Congress repudiated the Convention of Saratoga in January of 1778. The study traces how the Americans used space as a means to first defeat and then control a dangerous army of prisoners. American forces first strategically used America’s space to capture Lieutenant General John Burgoyne’s army by systematically retreating to avoid a decisive battle. Following the Convention Army’s capture, the Continental Army marched the captives from New York to Massachusetts where space temporarily became the central problem because the Americans lacked the capacity, housing, and provisions to secure their first captive army. Thus the prisoners became a threatening nuisance. The Continental Congress turned to America’s space as a strategic means by placing the Convention Army under congressional authority and ordered the captives moved from Massachusetts to Virginia. The Revolutionaries under General George Washington’s supervision took advantage of America’s geographic space by covertly moving the Convention Army to contain and supply it far from their adversary. Subsequently, they made use of America’s space as an asset to control the prisoners in the rural Virginian countryside at Camp Albemarle, a great distance from the British and heavily populated areas. During the war’s later years, Congress and state governments relied on America’s space to secure large numbers of the prisoners to hold potential reinforcements from the British by dispersing them to makeshift encampments across the countryside. The Convention Army’s defeat and detention suggests America’s space contributed to shaping the conflict and its outcome in the Revolutionaries’ favor by undermining a superior invader. The American revolutionaries’ use of space allowed them to more securely hold large numbers of prisoners and decreased the British army’s capacity to wage war in America. DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my mother, Laurie Jensen and grandparents Bill and Carol Farmakes, for their constant support during this unexpected journey of twists and turns. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing a dissertation requires emotional support and assistance from many persons both personally and professionally. Many people in and outside of academy supported my efforts during this process. In professional terms, it is important to note that this dissertation would have never seen the light of day without the Mississippi State University Department of History’s assistance and acceptance of my application. I am indebted to my dissertation committee for their time and assistance. Dr. William Hay agreed to chair my dissertation and oversaw the project from its conception. His comments and insights kept the project focused and allowed me to develop my own ideas. Additionally, I would have never completed this dissertation without Dr. Julia Osman’s observations. She agreed to join the committee shortly after she arrived at MSU and our meetings contributed to shaping my ideas on the conception of space and how it relates to prisoners of war. In addition, Dr. Ridner pointed me in directions I had not considered and offered me valuable suggestions during our discussions. I also wish to thank Dr. Mark Hersey for his support during the tail end of the dissertation process. And I wish to thank Dr. Mary Kathryn Barbier for agreeing to sit on the committee after I had taken up enough of her time in classes. Others provided valuable suggestions as I developed and refocused the dissertation. Dr. Robert Olwell first brought the Convention Army to my attention and iii the need for historians to produce more secondary literature in the field of prisoners of war, and subsequent conversations informed this work. Dr. Gerald Chauldron graciously read the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions. I will always be grateful for his discussions concerning how historians should approach the treacherous and slippery slopes of academic writing. This dissertation also required me to travel to unique places and work with archivists throughout the country. Their efforts proved helpful for me to compile resources and materials. I wish to specifically thank the staff’s at the Albemarle County Historical Society, the University of Michigan’s William L. Clements Library, and New York Historical Society in New York City in particular for their expertise to make available and move British and American resource materials. This made my research days more fruitful and less stressful. I will never forget my experiences in Central Park and other areas of New York City while researching at the society. Closer to home, Patsy, Lonna, and Pam of the MSU History Department office all kindly assisted me with administrative matters. Moreover, the mircrofilm reference librarians and library liaisons at the Mitchell Memorial Library provided me with assistance. Christine Fletcher, Pamela Beaty, Lee Dempsey, David Nolen, and Tessa Graham all assisted me in finding library materials and using resources. Furthermore, I wish to thank Stephanie Agnew for her assistance and Mattie Abraham for allowing me to work in the MSU Special Collections during the tail end of my graduate career. My fellow graduate students, Erinn, Whitney, Michael, Karen, Cari, Alyssa, Cliff, Justin, Nathan Drake, Zach, and Nathan Horn, provided much needed support, assistance, and genuine friendship. My grandfather the late Dr. Raymond E. Halverson passed away iv shortly before the project’s completion, but I know he would have approved of the end result. No words can describe the support I received from my mother, Laurie Jensen and grandparents, Bill and Carl Farmakes. Over the past two years, all I had to offer in return was endless troubles. I could not have completed graduate school at Mississippi State University, nor this dissertation without their devoted support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 II. AMERICAN SPACE AND THE CONVENTION ARMY’S CAMPAIGN TO END A REVOLUTION .....................................................26 III. SPACE SHORTAGES: HOUSING, PROVISIONS, VIOLENCE, AND SECURITY IN MASSACHUSETTS, 1777-1778 .................................75 IV. AMERICA’S SPACE: CONGRESS AND CONVENTION ARMY PRISONERS .................................................................................................130 V. SPACE AND MOVING THE CONVENTION ARMY FROM MASSACHUSETTS TO VIRGINIA ............................................................162 VI. SECURING CONVENTION ARMY PRISONERS IN A RURAL ENVIRONMENT: SPACE AND CAMP ALBEMARLE, 1779-1781 ........199 VII. SPACE & DISPERSING PRISONERS: CONCLUSION, 1781-1783 .........241 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................274 APPENDIX A. CONVENTION OF SARATOGA ...............................................................293 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1. Camp Albemarle 534. ......................................................................................239 vii ABBREVIATIONS Carleton Papers British Headquarters: Sir Guy Carleton Papers, 1777-1783 Clinton Papers Sir Henry Clinton Papers CAR Correspondence of the American Revolution DAR, 1770-1783 Documents of the American Revolution 1770-1783 (Colonial Office Series) Gates Papers The Papers of Horatio Gates German Papers Lord George Sackville Germain Papers “Heath Papers,” CMHS “The Heath Papers,” Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Seventh Series HMC Historical Manuscripts Commission: