Battle of Saratoga

Battle of Saratoga

Part of: American War of Independence

General Burgoyne surrenders in Saratoga

date	September 19 to October 17, 1777
place	Saratoga County
output	Decisive American victory

Parties to the conflict
Great Britain	United States
Commander
John Burgoyne	Horatio Gates
Troop strength
10,000 men	15,000
losses
1,600 killed, wounded or missing 6,000 captured	800 killed, wounded or missing

The Battle of Saratoga , consisting of two individual battles , is seen as a turning point in the American War of Independence and a decisive battle in American history . A British force under General John Burgoyne was defeated in two skirmishes and eventually forced to surrender.

prehistory

In the summer of 1777 General Burgoyne advanced with about 10,000 men - mostly British soldiers - from Canada on a campaign . The goal was to take Albany and cut New England off from the rest of the colonies by taking control of the Hudson River Valley . In the spring of 1777 the British took the colonial forts at Crown Point and Ticonderoga , whereupon the Americans withdrew. But a successful delaying tactic by the colonists by systematically blocking roads, demolishing bridges and continuing attacks on British forces by snipers slowed the British advance beyond the southern ends of Lake Champlain and Lake George to a few kilometers a day. Burgoyne's force was ultimately held up in the area north of Saratoga by the Continental Army and Colonial Militia under General Horatio Gates . During the summer of 1777 the colonists' force grew to about 15,000 men.

The battles

The Battle of Freeman's Farm

Main article: Battle of Freeman's Farm

The Battle of Saratoga consisted of two individual skirmishes, the first of which was the Battle of Freeman's Farm . The British advanced on Saratoga and encountered American forces on September 19 during a reconnaissance mission in the woods around Freeman's farm. General Benedict Arnold , who commanded the left wing of the American armed forces, ordered Colonel Daniel Morgan to attack the British while they were still marching in separate columns through the woods. Morgan ventured into General Simon Fraser's column, inflicting significant losses before being repulsed.

Map of the battlefield of the Battle of Saratoga and views from the south, east and inside of John Neilson's house, which had served as the headquarters of Generals Enoch Poor and Benedict Arnold .

Arnold sent General Enoch Poor and General Ebenezer Learned's brigades forward to aid Morgan. Burgoyne sent James Inglis Hamilton and Fraser to attack the Americans across the field. Arnold's replenished line repelled the British attack with heavy losses. Arnold was upset with the American commander Horatio Gates for not sending reinforcements to break the British lines. At the end of the battle, the British had repulsed one final American attack and Arnold was removed from command. Although they had to give up the field, the Americans had stopped Burgoyne's advance and inflicted losses on the British that they could not make up for. Burgoyne built entrenchments and fortified his position. The Americans also built fortifications about three kilometers south.

The Battle of Bemis Heights

Main article: Battle of Bemis Heights

The second and final stand of the Battles of Saratoga became known as the Battle of Bemis Heights and took place on October 7th . Although the British had suffered badly in the Battle of Freemans Farm and Gates had received reinforcements since then, Burgoyne planned to attack the American lines with three columns. The main attack was to be led by the Braunschweig troops under Friedrich Adolf Riedesel on the Bemis Heights (Bemis Heights). General Benjamin Lincoln now commanded Enoch Poor's division and Ebenezer Learned's brigade , which were stationed on Bemis Heights.

Burgoyne's attack began early in the morning. Not firing until the Braunschweiger were within range, Poor's brigade destroyed the first wave of attacks and rubbed off the survivors in a counterattack. Morgan attacked the Canadian infantry and extended the attack to Fraser's regular brigade. Fraser began rallying his division when, at that crucial moment, Benedict Arnold appeared on the battlefield. Although he was stripped of command and received no orders after the Battle of Freeman's Farm, he ignored Commander-in-Chief Gates and ordered Fraser to be shot. One of Morgan's snipers then fatally wounded Fraser. From Morgan's front, Arnold rode on to Learned's brigade. Uncertainty spread among Learned's men who were looking forward to an attack in Brunswick. Arnold arrived again at the crucial moment and called the Americans together. With Arnold and Learned at the helm, they started a counterattack. Poor and Morgan came towards them in the rear of the Brunswick and the Brunswick front gave way. The British withdrew to their starting positions. Arnold then led Learned's men in an attack on the Hessian fortifications. Before he was withdrawn from the battlefield, Arnold tried to bring another brigade forward, but a messenger from Gates called him back for good as the darkness spread across the battlefield.

Burgoyne's surrender

The British forces eventually retreated a few kilometers north until their withdrawal was blocked by colonial forces under the command of Horatio Gates. Surrounded and outnumbered sixty kilometers from Fort Ticonderoga, supplies dwindling and winter ahead of him, Burgoyne had few options. He capitulated on October 17, 1777 .

Aftermath

Burgoyne's troops were disarmed and were supposed to be sworn in to return to Britain and never again engage in conflict with the colonies - a common military practice in the 18th century. Instead, the American Congress refused to ratify the "Convention," the document that carried out the terms of surrender negotiated between Gates and Burgoyne. With the exception of a few British and German officers who were eventually exchanged for captured American officers, most of the ordinary soldiers of the " Convention Army " as it was now called were imprisoned in camps in New England, Virginia and Pennsylvania until the end of the war held. Burgoyne himself was sent back to England in dishonor. The news that the entire British Army had not only been defeated but taken prisoner with all their weapons earned the insurgents great confidence. France in particular increased its support for the independence movement. Years later, French military and naval units played a key role in the surrender of the British Second Army at the Battle of Yorktown and in ending the war.

literature

• Richard H Ketchum: Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War. Henry Holt & Company, 1997, ISBN 0-8050-4681-X (Paperback: ISBN 0-8050-6123-1 ) (English)
• Max M. Mintz: The Generals of Saratoga: John Burgoyne and Horatio Gates. Yale University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-300-04778-9 (Paperback: ISBN 0-300-05261-8 ) (English)

Web links

Commons : Battle of Saratoga  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• The Battles of Saratoga (description on the website at the Saratoga National Historial Park of the National Park Service ; English)

Coordinates: 42 ° 59 ′ 56 "  N , 73 ° 38 ′ 15"  W.