Saratoga campaign

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 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, 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