| Abstrakt: |
The Hessen-Cassel Regiment Erbprinz entered prisoner of war (POW) status for 19 months following the defeat of General Charles Lord Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown, Virginia on 19 October 1781. Confined in unhealthful quarters at Frederick, Maryland, with three other German regiments, they suffered severe hardships including cold, overcrowding, illnesses, inadequate and spoiled rations; infrequent deliveries of military pay, clothing, and supplies from quartermasters in New York; and shortages of firewood. Some of these shortcomings lessened for rank and file POWs who found employment in the community. The disciplined behavior and wide array of occupational skills of the POWs won the trust and respect of local employers. Despite a shortage of prison guards, some of those on duty used excessive, and even lethal force against the prisoners. Because Congress lacked funds or credit to properly support the total of 10,000 prisoners they held at several detention sites, they instituted a new program in 1782 to reduce the expense of POW maintenance. The new policies encouraged POWs to desert by offering them freedom and full citizenship, land, and livestock if they either paid a ransom to the United States, enlisted in the Continental army for three years, or accepted a three-year indenture with an American tradesman. In May 1783, the aforementioned requirements were dropped, and German POWs could remain in the United States as full citizens and receive land and livestock without obligations. One-hundred-twenty-six Erbprinz POWs took advantage of options to desert or take discharge in the United States, while the rest of the depleted regiment and accompanying dependents returned home to Hessen-Cassel in August 1783. There the regiment reorganized, inducted replacements and regained full authorized strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
