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Battle Of Saratoga

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The Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The victory is made clear by a few things: On October 17, 1777, about 6,000 British and Hessian troops surrendered. General John Burgoyne had lost about 90 percent of his force that had victoriously marched into New York from Canada during summer in 1777. The divide-and-conquer strategy that Burgoyne presented to British ministers in London was to invade America from Canada by traveling down the Hudson Valley to Albany. There, he would be joined by other British troops under the command of Sir William Howe. Howe would be bringing his troops north from New Jersey and New York City. Burgoyne believed that this bold stroke would not only isolate New …show more content…

As the army proceeded south, Burgoyne had his men distribute a proclamation that, along with other things, included the statement "I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction, and they amount to thousands," which implied that Britain's enemies would be under attack from Native Americans that are allies with the British. More than any other act during the campaign, this threat and after widely reported cruelties such as the scalping of Jane McCrea made Americans do whatever it took to make sure that the threat did not become reality. Instead of heading north to help Burgoyne fight the rebels in Saratoga, General Howe sailed south and embarked on a campaign to capture Philadelphia. The American forces at Fort Ticonderoga recognized that once the British mounted artillery on high ground near the fort, Ticonderoga would be unprotected. A retreat from the Fort was ordered, and the Americans floated troops, cannon, and supplies across Lake Champlain to Mount Independence. From there the army set out for Hubbardton where the British and German troops caught up with them and fought. Burgoyne continued his march towards Albany, but on his way something …show more content…

They had just suffered a major setback the Battle of the Brandywine along with news of the fall of Philadelphia to the British. One American soldier declared, "It was a glorious sight to see the haughty Brittons march out & surrender their arms to an army which but a little before they despised and called paltroons." An amazing victory for America in October 1777, the success at Saratoga gave France the confidence in the American cause to become apart of the war as an American ally. Later American successes owed a great deal to French aid in the form of financial and military

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