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With time and terrain on the American side, Gates allowed Burgoyne to wear down the British forces with costly assaults on the patriotic lines. In the first battle of Freeman’s farm(September 19,1777), Burgoyne suffered suffered 600 casualties to Gate’s 320. At Bemis Heights , or the second battle of freeman’s farm (October 7, 1777), Burgoyne’s men were repulsed by Gates, Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan. Once again British losses were roughly 600, four times the American |
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casualty figure. Outnumbered, surrounded and unable to secure relief, Burgoyne’s retreated to Saratoga (which today is Schuylerville) and surrendered on October 17, 1777. The Battles of Saratoga marked the turning point in the war, motivating the French to assist the American insurgents openly. First it provided the American Army a much needed victory increased their willingness to continue their quest for independence, and forced the British to concentrate their military strength on the southern colonies in order to maintain them, virtually abandoning all claims to the colonies in the north. Finally, the news of the victory at Saratoga combined with General Howe’s failure to destroy General Washington’s army in Pennsylvania provided the final impetus to bring France into the war. The alliance with France led ultimately to the joint effort at Yorktown, in 1781, which produced Cornwallis’s surrender paving the way for the end of the war in 1783.
From the Interpretive Prospectus for the Saratoga National Historical park..” But there is more then the military significance, the immediate significance of the time. It is here that every American can stand and truthfully say, “ Had General Gates not beaten Burgoyne on this spot, I might not be an American today”. It was at Concord, Independence Hall, Trenton, Yorktown and Saratoga that this nation was assured its life. The flickering light for freedom was strengthened here and a Nation based on some of the most liberal and selfless principles of all time was assured an existence. Without this battle, without the existence of Bemis Heights with the river running close by, this Nation may never have existed. That is the significance of Saratoga. |
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It is most appropriate to call them the Battles at Saratoga since there were two successive battles. The Saratoga Campaign, of the American revolution fought in upstate New York, permanently ended British hopes of dividing the colonies along the Hudson River. British General John Burgoyne, commanding 6,000 regulars and various auxiliaries, pushed down from Canada in June 1777. His plan was to advance to Albany, where he would join forces with Barry St. Leger from the Mohawk Valley. The revolutionists offered feeble resistance at first but by the time Burgoyne reached Bemis Heights, west of the Hudson, the American Army had been strengthened and given a popular commanding general. Horatio Gates. |
