badly defeated. Burgoyne at this juncture
would have been justified by withdrawing
back to Canada, but he refused. Instead, he in-
sisted on proceeding as planned and crossed
the Hudson River near Saratoga. There, on
September 19, 1777, the British attacked
Gates’s dug-in forces at Freeman’s Farm and
were bloodily repulsed by Gen. Benedict
Arnold, losing 600 men compared to an
American loss of 300. Burgoyne, clearly out-
numbered and running short of food and am-
munition, entrenched himself in the vain hope
that Clinton or St. Leger would arrive. The
British position nonetheless grew untenable,
so on October 7, 1777, Burgoyne directed an
attack upon Bemis Heights to dislodge the be-
siegers. This move was repulsed by riflemen
under Col. Daniel Morgan with an additional
600 casualties, including Gen. Simon Fraser.
Burgoyne, now reduced to 5,700 effectives,
faced an enemy more than twice his size that
was slowly encircling him. Effectively aban-
doned by Howe and Clinton, the beleaguered
general had no recourse but to enter into ne-
gotiations with Gates for his surrender. On
October 17, 1777, Burgoyne formally capitu-
lated a fully intact British army, an event that
had never previously happened. Beyond the
obvious personal humiliation to Burgoyne,
the ramifications of this act were immense for
Britain. The kingdom of France, still smarting
from its loss of Canada to England in 1760,
now granted formal diplomatic recognition to
the fledgling American government. This
move was necessary for America to secure fi-
nancial aide, military supplies, and—ulti-
mately—direct French intervention. For all
these reasons, and the ultimate outcome they
engendered, Saratoga was one of the most de-
cisive victories of military history.
By the terms of his “convention” with
Gates, Burgoyne was allowed to return to En-
gland, but his army remained behind in limbo.
Congress was incensed that Gates agreed to
allow the British soldiers to proceed to
Boston and be pardoned en masse, so it re-
neged on the deal and ordered the entire
force imprisoned. Back in England, Burgoyne
was greeted with derision by government offi-
cials, who were equally culpable for what had
happened. Furthermore, he was refused a
court-martial to clear his name, and King
George III stripped him of every military title
held, save his rank. Burgoyne, abandoned by
both the military and the Tories, countered by
joining the opposition Whig Party. When the
Whigs returned to power in 1781, he was ap-
pointed commander in chief of Ireland. How-
ever, the Tories regained control the following
year and forced Burgoyne from office, and so
he formally withdrew from political life. Over
the next decade he worked dutifully to reha-
bilitate his reputation, and also established
himself as a minor playwright of note. He died
suddenly in London on August 4, 1792, and
was buried in Westminster Abbey. Many still
blamed him for the loss of his army—and ulti-
mately America. In sum, “Gentleman Johnny”
was a capable military leader, but his inexpe-
rience in fighting under New World condi-
tions, coupled with the refusal of other gener-
als to assist him, doomed his grandiose
scheme from the start.See also
Arnold, BenedictBibliography
Cook, Fred J. Dawn over Saratoga: The Turning Point
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Northern Campaigns of the War for Independence.
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and America: Scapegoat for a System.London: Gor-
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Haven: Yale University Press, 1990; Murray, Stuart.
The Honor of Command: General Burgoyne’sBURGOYNE, JOHN