Burgoyne's Defeat At Saratoga Research Paper

In 1781 general George Washington and his 17,000 troops of the continental army and the army of France entered the city of Yorktown, Virginia. With Lord General Cornwallis he only had 9,000 troops to try to defend the city of Yorktown. This is known as the most important battle in the revolutionary war.

The Continental Army’s choice of George Washington as their leader of the continental army was critical in ensuring the United States’ victory. While many in the colonies wanted freedom from Britain that was not the case for everyone. Individuals’ motives were largely location dependant. The Battle of Saratoga proved to be pivotal in ensuring the United States’ victory against British forces.

“The battle pitted approximately 2,400 soldiers of the Continental Army, commanded by George Washington, up against about 1,400 Hessian soldiers commanded by Colonel Johann Rall.”(Battle of Trenton Facts)This fact shows how the Americans had more soldiers than the British side.Causes, leaders ,events,effects of the battle shows how this battle was a major battle.

Saratoga was ultimately two battles, one in which the British had won. The first skirmish of Saratoga went to the British because of their seemingly foolproof divide and conquer strategy. John Burgoyne planned to invade the colonies by advancing down the Hudson Valley to Albany. He would then be joined by troops who were under the command of Sir William Howe. Burgoyne believed that their current strategy would isolate New England from the other colonies and would allow to assume control of the Hudson River which would demoralize the colonists and their allies. Burgoyne and his forces set off for Ticonderoga and prepared to meet their

The second crucial battle of Saratoga, the Battle of Bemis Heights, occurred on October 7, 1777. The start of the American revolution taking a complete turn. General Burgoyne was determined to launch an attack on the Americans at Bemis Heights. By this time, American General Gates was reinforced with his army of about 12,000 men versus around 4,000 British and Germans. The French Alliance changed the face of the war for the British, “the American war for independence was now in essence a world war”. France had been secretly supplying weapons and ammunition to the American soldiers. They kept it a secret because the French didn’t want a show or create an open alliance, but soon the French realized that the Patriots had an opportunity to win the war. They were now willing to form an open alliance with the Americans against the British. The alliance with French was critical and essential for winning the war. Without the French, the Patriots would have lost. Some benefits of the alliance were that the French provided supplies and ammunitions to the Americans so that they could continue fighting. French also volunteered their soldiers and generals. America was now ready for war with the British. Since Freeman's Farm, the Patriots had increased in strength. Gates’ army now had

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that contributed to the failure in the British Southern Campaign in the American Revolutionary war. This paper will examine British and American Southern Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Kings Mountain, and discuss assumptions the British made, including loyalists support, logistics, long rifle, and terrain advantage. It is important to study past military actions to identify mistakes and apply lessons learned to current U.S. military operations.

During the American Revolution, the Americans and French (Franco-American coalition) fought the British at the Battle of Yorktown also known as “The Siege of Yorktown”. The Americans and the French fielded a combined force of roughly 16,000 soldiers to defeat the British force estimated at 7,000 soldiers. American General George Washington and French Lieutenant General de Rochambeau led the American and French soldiers. The British commanding officer was Major General Lord Cornwallis. The battle occurred from September 28 thru October 19, 1781. Cornwallis lost his dominance in the Carolinas and decided to march his army north to Virginia and seize Yorktown and Gloucester along the York River.

The Americans had their heroes, those heroes were Andrew Jackson, Jacob Brown, and Winfield Scott (Hickey, para. 1). According to Hickey, the best American generals in this war – Andrew Jackson, Jacob Brown, and Winfield Scott – were unable to turn the tide because each was confined to one or two theaters in a war that had seven or eight theaters. Andrew Jackson, was the seventh president of the United States of America, when the war 1812 began Jackson was a military man in title. He had never served active duty and he had never led troops in combat. In December 1812 Jackson marched with to New Orleans with 1,500 troops to reinforce the garrison there. Jacob Brown, was a hero because he was an army officer during the war and he was a success on the northern border. Winfield Scott, was he won recognition for his leadership in the war with the Americans and British. These three men are true heroes to the Americans. Similarly, the Canadians team tagged with the Americans I would say the Americans were their heroes and also the three Americans Andrew Jackson, Jacob Brown, and Winfield were their heroes. Although, the Natives were in the battle with the British they still had their hero as well, Tecumseh was a Native American warrior and chief his confederacy helped in the capture of Fort Detroit. This was a leader to the Natives because he helped with the war of 1812 (Fixico, para. 4) According to Fixico,

The American Revolution marked the beginning of a new era for America, independence from Great Britain. The greatest military power in the world at the time had lost control of one of her most wealthy and rewarding colonies. However, a question arises to who won the war for the colonies? George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army during the war and was mildly successful. However it was in fact the brave and fearless efforts of the militia to rise to the occasion and fight alongside Continental troops, so brilliantly that George Washington proclaimed after the victory at Princeton:

The British enrolled about fifty thousand American Loyalists and enlisted the services of many Indians, who though unreliable, who fair-weather fighters, inflamed long stretches of the frontier”(135). This extra help from colonists, Loyalist, hessians, and the Indians only add to the army creating a bigger advantage towards the colonists. Even though they did not win it can said that the British seemed to have a bigger lead on the colonists. Colonists presented themselves as weak and disorganized, where one would presume that they wouldn’t win at all, “Yet the American rebels were badly organized for war. From the earliest days, they had been almost fatally lacking in unity, and a new nation lurched forward uncertainly like an uncoordinated centipede”(136). Organization is important for the colonists because they are competing against a well-developed and trained army.

During the Battle, both sides used different tactics and strategies. Burgoyne decided to go with a risky strategy of dividing his army into three columns, two towards Bemis Heights and one to follow the road that paralleled the Hudson. The American forces (led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold) placed expert riflemen (led by Daniel Morgan) in charge of taking out the left flank of the British (led by Simon Frasier). This strategy worked well for the Americans, of course until they ran out of ammunition.

The debate on Medical marijuana has been a controversial subject mainly because people have an abundance of opinions and very little scientific research to back up either side of the debate. The most important question here is “will medical marijuana be used for medical purposes or will it be used inappropriately?”

Discuss your role as an early years’ practitioner in supporting young children’s learning and development

How did the colonists manage to triumph in their battle for independence despite Great Britain’s military might? If any of these factors had been different, how might it have affected the outcome of the war?

The battle at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781 is most famously known as the “ battle that ended the Revolutionary War.” While this is true, there is still much that can be learned from the principles applied, that still has relevance today. General George Washington, along with his allied French commanders, Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Ponton de Rochambeau and Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, they exquisitely displayed how a execute siege operations. This battle also displayed a great example of how multinational operations can be successful.