Why the Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga was a Turning Point in the Conflict:
The 1777 battle of
John Burgoyne and the Plan to
Capture
General Burgoyne, senior
British commander in Canada (though nominally under Sir Guy Carleton), used his
considerable influence with powerful London war policy-makers to receive
approval to march a formidable British army south into New York with the intent
of capturing Albany and splitting the colonies.
Success of the plan depended
upon Sir William Howe, technically Burgoyne’s senior as commander-in-chief in
North America, sending an army up the
At the time Burgoyne began
preparing his army in June 1777, he was unaware that Howe was not planning to
send any troops north. Howe was busy brilliantly defeating George Washington in
a series of skirmishes that ended with British occupation of
Howe’s second in command, Sir
Henry Clinton, remained in
Benedict Arnold at
Although General Philip
Schuyler was responsible for American defenses and the eventual strategy that
would result in the encirclement of Burgoyne, he was replaced by Horatio Gates,
referred to by historians as the most
political of all American generals. Burgoyne, arrogant and uncompromising,
severely overextended his supply train, making it easier for the Americans to defeat
him at
After some minor victories
along the route (including the capture of Ticonderoga), Burgoyne lost a
sizeable number of troops at
At this point Burgoyne was
still able to evacuate northward, an action counseled by some senior officers
including Baron von Riedesel, commander of the two German brigades. But
Burgoyne still anticipated relief from either Howe or Clinton.
The ensuing battle, including
an attack on Burgoyne’s center by Benedict Arnold who was acting against
orders, resulted in such carnage that Burgoyne was forced to seek surrender
terms. His army had less than a week’s worth of food and, as one desperate
German officer wrote, “Never can the Jews have longed more for the coming of
the Messiah than we longed for the arrival of General Clinton.”
Terms and Aftermath
Horatio Gates accepted
Burgoyne’s counter-terms to the unconditional surrender he had requested.
Although Burgoyne threatened to fight to the death if his terms were not
accepted, Gates would be undone by the generous terms that included marching
the prisoners to
Sources:
William Digby, “The
Robert Harvey, “A Few Bloody Noses” The Realities and
Mythologies of the American Revolution (
Christopher Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution
Through British Eyes (New York: Avon Books, 1990
Published 7/4/2009 Suite101 by M.Streich
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