On this day in Military History - 17 October

2014-10-17T08:49:59-04:00

British general and playwright John Burgoyne surrenders 5,000 British and Hessian troops to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York, on this day in 1777.

In the summer of 1777, General Burgoyne led an army of 8,000 men south through New York in an effort to join forces with British General Sir William Howe's troops along the Hudson River. After capturing several forts, Burgoyne's force camped near Saratoga while a larger Patriot army under General Gates gathered just four miles away. On September 19, a British advance column marched out and engaged the Patriot force at the Battle of Freeman's Farm, or the First Battle of Saratoga. Failing to break through the American lines, Burgoyne's force retreated. On October 7, another British reconnaissance force was repulsed by an American force under General Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Bemis Heights, also known as the Second Battle of Saratoga.

Gates retreated north to the village of Saratoga with his 5,000 surviving troops. By October 13, some 20,000 Americans had surrounded the British, and four days later Burgoyne was forced to agree to the first large-scale surrender of British forces in the Revolutionary War.

Burgoyne successfully negotiated that his surviving men would be returned to Britain by pledging that they would never again serve in North America. The nearly 6,000-man army was kept in captivity at great expense to the Continental Congress until the end of the war.

Soon after word of the Patriot victory at Saratoga reached France, King Louis XVI agreed to recognize the independence of the United States and French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Count de Vergennes, made arrangements with U.S. Ambassador Benjamin Franklin to begin providing formal French aid to the Patriot cause. This assistance was crucial to the eventual American victory in the Revolutionary War.

Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/americans-win-more-than-a-battle-at-saratoga

Americans win more than a battle at Saratoga - Oct 17, 1777 - HISTORY.com

On this day in History, Americans win more than a battle at Saratoga on Oct 17, 1777. Learn more about what happened today on History.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2014 8:58 AM

2014-10-17T08:58:46-04:00

COL Sam Russell Thank you, for posting about the Battles of Saratoga. For the last 20 or so years I have lived right outside of Saratoga. I don't think that the campaigns in Saratoga, Oriskany, Fort Stanwix, and Fort Ticonderoga get the credit that they are due.

Also, another unsung hero of these campaigns was Benedict Arnold. He stopped the British advance down Lake Champlain a year earlier at the Battle of Valcour Island, giving the Americans time to prepare. Thanks to the fleet he built on Lake Champlain to counter the British, the village of Whitehall claims to be the Birthplace of the US Navy. There is a monument to Benedict Arnold at the Saratoga Battlefield, recognizing his contributions and his injuries during the battle. Due to his future actions, there is no name on the monument.