and by 1758 he was a lieutenant colonel in the Coldstream Guards. During the war, Burgoyne was instrumental in introducing light cavalry into the British Army. In this, Burgoyne showed initiative which was sorely needed in the British Military establishment. Now he began to sit for Parliament, and also serve in the army. In 1761 he sat for Midhurst, and in 1762 he served as a Brigadier-general in Portugal. In 1768 he sat for Preston and in 1772 he called for an investigation of the East India Company and its alleged widespread corruption. In 1775, the first play he wrote, The Maid of the Oaks was produced. In the army he had the rank of Major-General and with the American War of Independence, he was given a command. In 1777, he was given a command that should have coordinated with General's Howe and Clinton. Howe stayed put, a coward, and Clinton moved to slow to support Burgoyne. Even so, Burgoyne was successful at first, but overwhelming American forces under Gates caused Burgoyne to lose at Saratoga and he had to surrender his entire army. The American forces then broke the treaty of surrender that had been agreed to and imprisoned the army. It has taken many years to put the blame for the loss at Saratoga to the orders issued by Lord Germain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. His orders allowed Howe and Clinton their chance to send Burgoyne to defeat, instead of to victory. It took until