Battles of Saratoga

Battles of Saratoga
Part of the Saratoga campaign in the Northern Theater of the American Revolutionary War
Surrender of General Burgoyne by John Trumbull, 1822. British General John Burgoyne surrenders to General Horatio Gates, who respectfully refuses to take his sword.[1] The painting hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Date September 19 and October 7, 1777 Location Stillwater, Saratoga County, New York 42°59′56″N 73°38′15″W / 42.99889°N 73.63750°W / 42.99889; -73.63750 Result American victory Freeman's Farm: British victory Bemis Heights: American victory Burgoyne's surrender: October 17
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Quebec  Loyalists Hesse-Kassel Hesse-Hanau Brunswick–Lüneburg
Commanders and leaders
Horatio Gates Benedict Arnold (WIA) Benjamin Lincoln Enoch Poor Ebenezer Learned Daniel Morgan James Livingston William Whipple	John Burgoyne  Simon Fraser † William Phillips (POW) Friedrich Adolf Riedesel (POW) Heinrich von Breymann †
Strength
9,000 (first battle)[2] 12,000+ (second battle)[3] 15,000+ (at time of surrender)[4]	7,200 (first battle)[5] 6,600 (second battle)[3]
Casualties and losses
90 killed 240 wounded[6][7]	440 killed 695 wounded 6,222 captured[8][6]

The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign in the early phase of the American Revolutionary War. Resulting in a decisive American victory over British forces led by General John Burgoyne, the battles persuaded France to enter the war as an American ally. Historian Edmund Morgan described Saratoga as "a great turning point of the war because it won for Americans the foreign assistance which was the last element needed for victory."^[9] As part of a strategy to divide New England from the southern colonies, Burgoyne led an invasion army of 7,200–8,000 men southward from Canada through the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching eastward from Lake Ontario; the goal was to take Albany, New York. Burgoyne's strategy began promisingly, but stalled due to logistical issues. British General William Howe never moved his forces north, and Brigadier General Barry St. Leger turned back his forces meant to arrive from the west, leaving Burgoyne surrounded by the Americans in upstate New York, 15 miles (24 km) short of his goal. Burgoyne fought two battles, which took place 18 days apart, on the same ground 9 miles (14 km) south of Saratoga, New York.

In the first battle, at Freeman's Farm on September 19, Burgoyne won a tactical victory over General Horatio Gates and the Continental Army at the cost of significant casualties, with the battle often called a "Pyrrhic victory."^[a] The battle began with Burgoyne's attempt to flank the entrenched American position on Bemis Heights with some of his troops. American Major General Benedict Arnold anticipated the maneuver, and placed significant forces in his way. Still, Burgoyne was able to gain the field. Skirmishes continued in the following days, while Burgoyne waited in the hope that reinforcements would arrive from New York City.

Meanwhile, patriot militia forces continued to arrive, swelling the American ranks. Within the American camp, disputes led Gates to strip Arnold of his command. After it became apparent that he would not receive aid in time, Burgoyne attacked again in the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, but lost the battle and erased his tentative gains. Culminating in heavy fighting, this battle was marked by Arnold's spirited rallying of the American troops. Burgoyne's forces were thrown back to the positions they held before the action of September 19, and the Americans captured a portion of the entrenched British defenses.

Following this loss, Burgoyne was compelled to retreat to Saratoga (now Schuylerville). Finding himself surrounded by a much larger force, he surrendered his entire army to General Gates on October 17. Although British General Sir Henry Clinton moved up from New York City, attempting to divert American attention by capturing Forts Clinton and Montgomery in the Hudson River highlands on October 6, and Kingston on October 13, these efforts were too late to save Burgoyne. News of the surrender at Saratoga was instrumental in formally creating the Franco-American Alliance, although France had previously given supplies, ammunition, and guns, notably the de Valliere cannon which played an important role in Saratoga.^[14]

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