New York was located in the Northern theatre of the American Revolutionary War. New York served as the launching point for the failed Invasion of Canada in 1775, the first major military operation of the newly formed Continental Army. General George Washington took the Continental Army from Boston after the British withdrew following the Fortification of Dorchester Heights, and brought it to New York in 1776, correctly anticipating the British would return there. The Battle of Saratoga in 1777 was a turning point in the war. West Point on the Hudson was a strategic asset. And New York played a central role for the British in their attempt to divide New England from the rest of the colonies.