|
|
A History | Revolutionary War Battles | The Battle of Saratoga - September 19, 1777
The Battle of Saratoga - September 19, 1777
A Brief History
The Surrender of Gen. Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York, 1777
Painting The Frick Collection, New York
John Trumbull painted this portrait
of the surrender of General Burgoyne
at the Battle of Saratoga.
In the painting, General Burgoyne
surrenders his sword to General
Gates, commander of the American
forces at Saratoga.
|
Historians consider the Battle of Saratoga to be the major turning point of the American Revolution. This battle
proved to the world that the fledgling American army was an effective fighting force capable of defeating the
highly trained British forces in a major confrontation. As a result of this successful battle, the European powers,
particularly the French, took interest in the cause of the Americans and began to support them.
In the British Campaign of 1777, Major General Burgoyne planned a concentric advance of three columns to meet in
Albany, New York. He led the main column, which moved southward along the Hudson River. A second column under
General Barry St. Leger served as a diversionary attack, moving eastward from Canada along the Mohawk River.
General Howe was expected to direct the third element of the attack. According to
the plan, General Henry Clinton, under the direction of Howe, would move northward along the Hudson River and
link up with Burgoyne in Albany. Through this campaign, the British hoped to isolate and destroy the Continental
forces of New England.
Initially, the British plan appeared to be working, with British victories at Ticonderoga and Hubbardton.
Burgoyne's army continually pushed back the Americans southward along the Hudson River with only minor casualties.
The Battle of Bennington marked the first significant American victory, when
General John Stark led the American militia to victory against a British resupply expedition.
In an attempt to slow the British advance, the American General Philip Schuyler
detached 1000 men under the command of Major General Benedict Arnold. This
force moved west to thwart St. Leger's eastward advance along the Mohawk River. Arnold returned with his detachment
after repelling St. Leger in time serve in the Battle of Saratoga.
At the Battle of Freeman's Farm, the new commander of the Northern Department of the American army,
General Horatio Gates, lost an indecisive battle. During this First Battle of
Saratoga, fought 19 September 1777, the American forces lost ground to the British forces under General Burgoyne.
Disagreements in tactics and personalities led to a heated argument between Generals Gates and Arnold. General Gates
relieved Arnold of command as a result. The Battle of Bemis Heights was the second battle of Saratoga, taking place
October 7th when Burgoyne desperately attacked rebel defenses with his tired, demoralized army. At Bemis Heights,
Gate's defensive tactics insured a tactical victory for the Patriots. However,
Arnold saw an opportunity to seize the offensive while Burgoyne was vulnerable and led a counterattack. This bold
move so badly wounded the British forces that Burgoyne surrendered days later
at Saratoga.
On September 19, 1777 the Royal army advanced upon the American camp in three separate columns within the present
day towns of Stillwater and Saratoga. Two of them headed through the heavy forests covering the region; the third,
composed of German troops, marched down the river road.
American scouts detected Burgoyne's army in motion and notified Gates, who ordered Col.
Daniel Morgan's corps of Virginia riflemen to track the British march. About 12:30 p.m., some of Morgan's men
brushed with the advance guard of Burgoyne's center column in a clearing known as the Freeman Farm, about a mile
north of the American camp. The general battle that followed swayed back and forth over the farm for more than three
hours. Then, as the British lines began to waver in the face of the deadly fire of the numerically superior
Americans, German reinforcements arrived from the river road. Hurling them against the American right, Burgoyne
steadied the wavering British line and gradually forced the Americans to withdraw. Except for this timely arrival
and the near exhaustion of the Americans' ammunition, Burgoyne might have been defeated that day. Though he held
the immediate field of battle, Burgoyne had been stopped about a mile north of the American line and his army
roughly treated.
Shaken by his "victory," the British commander ordered his troops to entrench in the vicinity of the
Freeman Farm and await support from Clinton, who was supposedly preparing to move north toward Albany from New
York City. For nearly three weeks he waited but Clinton did not come. By now Burgoyne's situation was critical.
Faced by a growing American army without hope of help from the south, and with supplies rapidly diminishing, the
British army became weaker with each passing day. Burgoyne had to choose between advancing or retreating. He
decided to risk a second engagement, and on October 7 ordered a reconnaissance-in-force to test the American left
flank. Ably led and supported by eight cannon, a force of 1,500 men moved out of the British camp. After marching
southwesterly about three-quarters of a mile, the troops deployed in a clearing on the Barber Farm. Most of the
British front faced an open field, but both flanks rested in woods, thus exposing them to surprise attack.
By now the Americans knew that Burgoyne's army was again on the move and at about 3 p.m. attacked In three
columns under Colonel Morgan, Gen. Ebenezer Learned, and Gen. Enoch Poor. Repeatedly the British line was broken,
then rallied, and both flanks were severely punished and driven back. Gen. Simon Fraser, who commanded the British
right, was mortally wounded as he rode among his men to encourage them to make a stand and cover the developing
withdrawal. Before the enemy's flanks could be rallied, Gen. Benedict Arnold -
who had been relieved of command after a quarrel with Gates- rode onto the field and led Learned's brigade against
the German troops holding the British center.
Under tremendous pressure from all sides, the Germans joined a general withdrawal into the fortifications on the
Freeman Farm. Within an hour after the opening clash, Burgoyne lost eight cannon and more than 400 officers and
men. Flushed with success, the Americans believed that victory was near. Arnold led one column in a series of
savage attacks on the Balcarres Redoubt, a powerful British fieldwork on the Freeman Farm. After failing
repeatedly to carry this position, Arnold wheeled his horse and, dashing through the crossfire of both armies,
spurred northwest to the Breymann Redoubt. Arriving just as American troops began to assault the fortification,
he joined in the final surge that overwhelmed the German soldiers defending the work. Upon entering the redoubt,
he was wounded in the leg. Had he died there, posterity would have known few names brighter than that of Benedict
Arnold.
Darkness ended the day's fighting and saved Burgoyne's army from immediate disaster. That night the British
commander left his campfires burning and withdrew his troops behind the Great Redoubt, which protected the high
ground and river flats at the northeast corner of the battlefield. The next night, October 8, after burying General
Fraser in the redoubt, the British began their retreat northward. They had suffered 1,000 casualties in the fighting
of the past three weeks; American losses numbered less than 500.
After a miserable march in mud and rain, Burgoyne's troops took refuge in a fortified camp on the heights of
Saratoga. There an American force that had grown to nearly 20,000 men surrounded the exhausted British army. Faced
with such overwhelming numbers, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17,1777. By the terms of the Convention of Saratoga,
Burgoyne's depleted army, some 6,000 men, marched out of its camp "with the Honors of War" and stacked
its weapons along the west bank of the Hudson River. Thus was gained one of the most decisive victories in American
and world history.
 
American and British Forces at the two Battles of Saratoga.
The route of defeat of British General John Burgoyne and his troops.
These articles and maps were taken from the Official Guide to the Saratoga National Historical Park from the United
States National Park Service.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
