124 Chapter 4 The American Revolution
soldiers who remained became a tough, professional
fighting force.The War Moves South
Spring brought a revival of American hopes in the
form of more supplies, new recruits, and, above all,
word of the French alliance. In May 1778 the British
replaced General Howe as commander with General
Clinton, who decided to transfer his base back to
New York. While Clinton was moving across New
Jersey, Washington attacked him at Monmouth Court
House. The fight was inconclusive, but the Americans
held the field when the day ended and were able to
claim a victory.
Thereafter British strategy changed. Fighting in
the northern states degenerated into skirmishes and
other small-unit clashes. Instead, relying on sea power,many Europeans who volunteered to fight on the
American side, “the unfortunate soldiers...had
neither coats, nor hats, nor shirts, nor shoes; their
feet and legs froze till they grew black, and it was
often necessary to amputate them.”
To make matters worse, there was grumbling in
Congress over Washington’s failure to win victories
and talk of replacing him as commander-in-chief
with Horatio Gates, the “hero” of Saratoga. (In
fact, Gates was an indifferent soldier, lacking in
decisiveness and unable to instill confidence in his
subordinates.)
As the winter dragged on, the Continental army
melted away. So many officers resigned that
Washington was heard to say that he was afraid of
“being left Alone with the Soldiers only.” Since
enlisted men could not legally resign, they deserted
by the hundreds. Yet the army survived. Gradually the
Lake OntarioATLANTIC
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Montreal R.SaratogaAlbanyBenningtonManchesterNew YorkFORT TICONDEROGAFORT ANNE
FORT OSWEGO FORT EDWARDFORT ST. JOHNFORT STANWIXWEST POINTFORT
HERKIMERJuly 6, 1777July 25, 1777 Oct. 17, 1777Aug. 16, 1777Kingston
Oct. 25, 1777Fort Montgomery
Oct. 6, 1777Battle of Oriskany
Aug. 6, 1777ST
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GATESBritish advance
American advance
Battle (British victory)
Battle (American victory)Saratoga Campaign, September 19 to October 17, 1777In 1777 the British, who controlled New York City,
decided to drive the Patriots from the rest of the colony through a three-pronged attack on Albany. All three British
generals failed to achieve their objectives: St. Leger, coming from the west, failed to advance beyond Ft. Stanwix;
Burgoyne, from the north, bogged down and found himself surrounded; and Clinton, from New York City, made it
to Kingston, but failed to relieve Burgoyne, whose army surrendered.