SARATOGA CAMPAIGN

SARATOGA CAMPAIGN. Stung by their inability to end the American rebellion in 1776, the British government ordered an invasion of the colonies from Canada, meant to surgically separate New England from the other colonies. Unfortunately, General Sir William Howe, insistent on invading Pennsylvania from his base in New York, left the army sent from Canada, under General John Burgoyne, unsupported as it marched south. Marching out of Quebec in July 1777, Burgoyne's 9,000 men faced the enormous problems inherent in a 350-mile march: river crossings, hostile Indians, and poor support from French Canadians, as well as transporting an overloaded baggage train and heavy artillery. Although he displaced the Americans from Fort Ticonderoga, Burgoyne delayed en route to the Hudson River in order to gather supplies, allowing the rebels time to place obstacles along the route and plan an attack, which came when a detachment under Lieutenant Colonel Friederich Baum was defeated by rebels while on a foraging mission in Bennington, Vermont.

Advancing towards Albany, New York, Burgoyne learned that an American army under Horatio Gates had entrenched itself at Bemis Heights, also called Freeman's Farm, and had approximately the same number of men (5,500) as himself. The first battle of Saratoga, fought on 19 September 1777, began when Burgoyne ordered his army to attack the American fortifications. While Gates kept his troops behind their entrenchments, his more flamboyant second in command, Benedict Arnold, sent his left wing to fight in the woods in front of the entrenchments. The battle ended in a curious situation—although the British held the field, they had lost 600 men, while the Americans, unable to advance against the artillery commanded by Hessian General Friederich Riedesel, retreated to their fortifications on Bemis Heights and gathered more men and supplies.

Eighteen days later, while Gates waited for the British to weaken through lack of supplies and attrition from sniping, Burgoyne waited with increasing desperation for help from General Sir Henry Clinton in New York. Reaching the end of his patience on 7 October, Burgoyne sent out a reconnaissance force of 1,500 men to push the left wing of the American fortifications on Bemis Heights. Attacked by the Americans under the command of Arnold, who had been relieved of command after arguing with Gates, Burgoyne's men were routed. Burgoyne began a costly retreat back to Canada, but was surrounded by Gates's army on 12 October and compelled to negotiate a surrender.

These battles, later collectively known as Saratoga, were a major turning point in the Revolutionary War. The capture of a British army raised morale at a time when George Washington's army had been defeated by Howe in Pennsylvania. When news reached Europe, the American victory encouraged open French and Spanish aid to the rebels. The campaign also sparked the differences between Arnold and the American command, which were later to lead to his defection to the British. On the British side, the defeat led to the replacement of Howe with Clinton, and after the loss of so many men and resources, the British turned increasingly to the Royal Navy to press their advantage on the American coastline, particularly in the southern colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Elting, John R. The Battles of Saratoga. Monmouth Beach, N.J.: Philip Freneau Press, 1977.

Ketchum, Richard M. Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War. New York: Holt, 1997.

Mintz, Max M. The Generals of Saratoga: John Burgoyne and Horatio Gates. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990.

Margaret D.Sankey

See alsoRevolution, American: Military History .

Saratoga, Battles of (1777).The plan to isolate rebellious New England, adopted by British secretary of state for the colonies George Germain midway into the Revolutionary War, stipulated a Lake Champlain–Hudson River campaign under Gen. John Burgoyne and a sweep through Lake Ontario under Lt. Col. Barry St. Leger, both to join, at Albany, with Gen. William Howe's army, advancing north from New York City. Burgoyne's army included 4,135 British regulars, Friedrich von Riedesel's 3,116 Germans, and large numbers of authorized “camp followers.” Approximately 500 Indians and 500 French Canadian militia also accompanied the expedition, but most soon departed. Fort Ticonderoga fell to Burgoyne when its commander, Arthur St.Clair, left it unprotected against artillery fire from southwest Sugar Loaf Hill and northwest Mount Hope. The Americans escaped across the lake.

Burgoyne, running short of food, sent a detachment of Germans under Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum to Bennington, Vermont, for supplies; there they were routed by John Stark's militia on 16 August 1777. Howe, meanwhile, sailed for Philadelphia instead of Albany, and St. Leger's army of loyalists and Indians, although victorious at Oriskany, 6 August, withdrew to Canada. Burgoyne, instead of turning back, declared his orders mandatory and crossed the Hudson; this effectively severed his Canadian supply line.

Horatio Gates, as commander of the 10,277 American troops, replaced Philip Schuyler, who was blamed for the loss of Ticonderoga. At Freeman's Farm, 19 September, Burgoyne's three‐pronged attack was stalled by Col. Daniel Morgan's riflemen and thrown back by a charge under Gen. Benedict Arnold. British losses were 566, American 313. At Bemis Heights, 7 October, Burgoyne's 1,723‐man spearhead was repulsed by an unauthorized but successful attack led by Arnold, who was wounded in the leg. British losses were 631, American 130.

Gen. Henry Clinton, Howe's successor in command at New York, declined to send reinforcements, and Burgoyne had waited too long to turn back. He retreated to Saratoga, and on 17 October surrendered his force of 5,895 men. The defeat of a major army led the British government to restrict operations to the southern coast. More important, the American success at Saratoga led France to sign the France‐American Alliance and provide the forces that ultimately helped win the Revolutionary War.
[See also Militia and National Guard; Revolutionary War: Military and Diplomatic Course.]

Bibliography

Hoffman Nickerson , The Turning Point of the American Revolution, 1928; repr. 1967.
Max M. Mintz , The Generals of Saratoga, 1990.
Richard M. Ketchum , Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War, 1997.

Max M. Mintz

Saratoga campaign June–Oct., 1777, of the American Revolution. Lord George Germain and John Burgoyne were the chief authors of a plan to end the American Revolution by splitting the colonies along the Hudson River. Burgoyne was to advance S from Canada along Lake Champlain to Albany, where he would join Sir William Howe , advancing N from New York City up the Hudson, and Barry St. Leger , coming E along the Mohawk River. Howe, however, became engaged in the campaign against Philadelphia, and Sir Henry Clinton , who assumed the command in New York City, never reached Albany. Burgoyne had no trouble in taking Ticonderoga (July 6), but his march south proved difficult. The column of Hessians (German mercenaries) he sent to raid Bennington was badly beaten (Aug. 14–16) by troops (including the Green Mountain Boys ) under John Stark and Seth Warner . Meanwhile, the force under St. Leger besieged the Revolutionary forces at Fort Stanwix (Fort Schuyler). An American party under Nicholas Herkimer , which had come to relieve the fort, was ambushed (Aug. 6, 1777) when crossing Oriskany Creek; Herkimer was mortally wounded, and the force dispersed. The British siege did not prosper, however, and when rumors came that a large Revolutionary force was approaching under Benedict Arnold , the Indians deserted the British service. St. Leger had to abandon (Aug. 22) the siege and retreated to Canada. Burgoyne continued southward, crossed the Hudson (Sept. 13), and halted near the present Saratoga Springs, where, on Bemis Heights, the Americans had taken up position. With Benjamin Lincoln threatening his rear and his supplies running low, Burgoyne tried to break through at Freeman's Farm (Sept. 19) and at Bemis Heights (Oct. 7). Both attempts were stopped by Benedict Arnold, Daniel Morgan , and Horatio Gates , who had replaced Philip J. Schuyler as American commander. The British commander then tried to retreat, but, finding himself outnumbered and surrounded, he surrendered on Oct. 17, 1777. The battle of Saratoga was the first great American victory of the war, and it is considered by many the decisive battle of the Revolution. Besides the heartening effect on the patriots, the campaign also encouraged the French, who had helped the victory by unofficial supplies and funds, to send official aid.

Bibliography: See studies by H. Nickerson (1928, repr. 1967), C. E. Bennett (1933), H. Bird (1963), R. Furneaux (1971), and R. M. Ketchum (1997).

Saratoga, Battle of (1777). In 1777 the British strategy to quell the American Revolution involved plans to seize the Lake Champlain–Hudson River channel of communication, thereby isolating rebellious New England. As formulated by the appointed commander, John Burgoyne, and authorized by the secretary of state for the colonies, George Germain, the main army would descend from Montreal, Canada, while an auxiliary force under Barry St. Leger would sweep westward through Lake Ontario, both to unite at Albany with William Howe's army ascending from New York City. Germain, however, failed to send adequate instructions to Howe, who chose to sail south to capture Philadelphia. Burgoyne, with 4,135 British regulars, 3,116 German mercenaries, 500 Indians, and 500 French Canadian militia, captured the inadequately defended Fort Ticonderoga on 6 July 1777. Believing his orders mandatory, and despite St. Leger's failure to capture Fort Stanwix, he then crossed the Hudson, cutting his Canadian supply line.

Horatio Gates (ca. 1728–1806) replaced the unpopular Philip Schuyler as commander of the American army, now camped at Stillwater, New York. On 19 September, at the Battle of Freeman's Farm, the 10,277 Americans, spearheaded by Daniel Morgan's riflemen and spurred by Benedict Arnold, defeated Burgoyne's three‐pronged offensive. The British suffered 566 casualties, the Americans 313. On 7 October, at the Battle of Bemis Heights, an unauthorized American attack led by Arnold repulsed Burgoyne's 1,723‐man advance force. British losses were 631, American 130. Burgoyne waited futilely for reinforcements from New York and finally retreated to Saratoga, where on 17 October he surrendered his army of nearly 6,000 men. A major turning point of the war, the American victory in the Battle of Saratoga encouraged France to conclude the treaty of alliance, which assured American independence.
See also Revolutionary War.

Bibliography

Hoffman Nickerson , The Turning Point of the American Revolution, 1928, reprint 1967.
Max M. Mintz , The Generals of Saratoga: John Burgoyne and Horatio Gates, 1990.

Max M. Mintz

Saratoga campaign (1777) An operation devised by BURGOYNE to isolate New England from the other American colonies during the War of American INDEPENDENCE. He advanced south from Montreal expecting to meet Howe from New York and St Leger from Oswego at Albany and thus secure the line of the Hudson valley. Thanks to bad coordination, however, Howe chose this time to embark on his Philadelphia campaign. Burgoyne captured Ticonderoga but his advance was slowed by unsuitable equipment, lack of supplies, and guerrilla attacks. Defeated at BENNINGTON and Freeman's Farm, with no help forthcoming from Howe, he was halted, and forced to surrender to GATES. This British defeat encouraged France to enter the war in 1778 and was a vital tonic to the American cause.

Saratoga, Battle of (October 7, 1777) First American victory in the American Revolution, fought in upper New York. In a series of battles, the Americans, led by Horatio Gates, prevented the British from linking up with other forces at Albany and taking the Hudson valley. The Americans eventually surrounded the British, forcing them to surrender. The victory persuaded the French to intervene against Britain.

Saratoga, Battles of two battles of the Revolutionary War, in September and October of 1777, in which American forces under Gen. Benedict Arnold defeated British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne. The American victories led France to sign the Alliance with the United States and provide the forces that ultimately helped win the war.

Saratoga, Battle of either of two battles fought in 1777 during the War of American Independence, near the modern city of Saratoga Springs in New York State. The British defeats are conventionally regarded as the turning point in the war in favour of the American side.