Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga ( September 19 and October 7 , 1777 ) conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne ' s army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war . The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground , south of Saratoga , New York . Burgoyne ' s campaign to divide New England from the southern colonies had started well , but slowed due to logistical problems . He won a small tactical victory over General Horatio Gates and the Continental Army in the September 19 at the cost of significant casualties . His gains were erased when he again attacked the Americans in the October 7 and the Americans captured a portion of the British defenses . Burgoyne was therefore compelled to retreat , and his army was surrounded by the much larger American force at Saratoga , forcing him to surrender on October 17 . News of Burgoyne ' s surrender was instrumental in formally bringing France into the war as an American ally , although it had previously given supplies , ammunition and guns , notably the de Valliere cannon , which played an important role in Saratoga . Formal participation by France changed the war to a global conflict . This battle also resulted in Spain contributing to the war on the American side . The first battle , on September 19 , began when Burgoyne moved some of his troops in an attempt to flank the entrenched American position on Bemis Heights . Benedict Arnold , anticipating the maneuver , placed significant forces in his way . While Burgoyne succeeded in gaining control of Freeman ' s Farm , it came at the cost of significant casualties . Skirmishing continued in the days following the battle , while Burgoyne waited in the hope that reinforcements would arrive from New York City . Militia forces continued to arrive , swelling the size of the American army . Disputes within the American camp led Gates to strip Arnold of his command . Concurrently with the first battle , American troops also attacked British positions in the area of Fort Ticonderoga , and bombarded the fort for a few days before withdrawing . British General Sir Henry Clinton , in an attempt to divert American attention from Burgoyne , captured American forts in the Hudson River highlands on October 6 , but his efforts were too late to help Burgoyne . Burgoyne attacked Bemis Heights again on October 7 after it became apparent he would not receive relieving aid in time . In heavy fighting , marked by Arnold ' s spirited rallying of the American troops ( in open defiance of orders to stay off the battlefield ) , Burgoyne ' s forces were thrown back to the positions they held before the September 19 battle and the Americans captured a portion of the entrenched British defenses . Background . When the American Revolutionary War approached the two - year point , the British changed their plans . Giving up on the rebellious New England colonies , they decided to split the Thirteen Colonies and isolate New England from what the British believed to be the more loyal middle and southern colonies . The British command devised a grand plan to divide the colonies via a three - way pincer movement in 1777 . The western pincer , under the command of Barry St . Leger , was to progress from what is now Ontario through western New York , following the Mohawk River , and the southern pincer was to progress up the Hudson River valley from New York City . The northern pincer was to proceed southward from Montreal , and the three forces were to meet in the vicinity of Albany , New York , severing New England from the other colonies . British situation . In June 1777 British General John Burgoyne , known as " Gentleman Johnny " for his manners , moved south from the province of Quebec to gain control of the upper Hudson River valley . After his early capture of Fort Ticonderoga , his campaign had become bogged down in difficulties . Elements of the army had reached the upper Hudson as early as the end of July , but logistical and supply difficulties delayed the main army at Fort Edward . One attempt to alleviate these difficulties failed when nearly 1 , 000 men were killed or captured at the August 16 Battle of Bennington . Furthermore , news reached Burgoyne on August 28 that St . Leger ' s expedition down the Mohawk River valley had turned back after the failed Siege of Fort Stanwix . Combined with earlier news that General William Howe had sailed his army from New York City on a campaign to capture Philadelphia instead of moving north to meet Burgoyne , and the departure of most of his Indian support following the loss at Bennington , Burgoyne ' s situation was becoming difficult . Faced with the need to reach defensible winter quarters , which would require either retreat back to Ticonderoga or advance to Albany , he decided on the latter . Consequent to this decision he made two further crucial decisions . He decided to deliberately cut communications to the north , so that he would not need to maintain a chain of heavily fortified outposts between his position and Ticonderoga , and he decided to cross the Hudson River while he was in a relatively strong position . He therefore ordered Baron Riedesel , who commanded the rear of the army , to abandon outposts from Skenesboro south , and then had the army cross the Hudson just north of Saratoga between September 13 and 15 . American situation . The Continental Army had been in a slow steady state of retreat ever since Burgoyne ' s capture of Ticonderoga early in July . By mid - August the army , then under the command of Major General Philip Schuyler , was encamped south of Stillwater , New York . On August 19 , Major General Horatio Gates assumed command from Schuyler , whose political fortunes had fallen over the loss of Ticonderoga and the ensuing retreat . Gates and Schuyler , who were from very different backgrounds , did not get along with each other , and had previously argued over command issues in the army ' s Northern Department . Gates became the beneficiary of an army that was growing in size as a result of increased militia turnout following calls by state governors , the success at Bennington , and widespread outrage over the slaying of Jane McCrea , the fiancée of a Loyalist in Burgoyne ' s army , by Indians in Burgoyne ' s command . Strategic decisions by the American commander in chief , General George Washington also improved the situation for Gates ' s army . Washington was most concerned about the movements of General Howe , and what his goal was . Aware that Burgoyne was also moving , he took some risks in July and sent aid north in the form of Major General Benedict Arnold , his most aggressive field commander , and Major General Benjamin Lincoln , a Massachusetts man noted for his influence with the New England militia . In August , before he was certain that Howe had indeed sailed south , he ordered 750 men from Israel Putnam ' s forces defending the New York highlands to join Gates ' army , and also sent some of the best forces from his own army : Colonel Daniel Morgan and the newly formed Provisional Rifle Corps , which comprised about 500 specially selected riflemen from Pennsylvania , Maryland , and Virginia , chosen for their sharpshooting ability . This unit came to be known as Morgan ' s Riflemen . On September 7 , Gates ordered his army to march north . A site known as Bemis Heights , just north of Stillwater and about south of Saratoga , was selected for its defensive potential , and the army spent about a week constructing defensive works designed by Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciusko . The heights had a commanding view of the area and commanded the only road to Albany , where it passed through a defile between the heights and the Hudson . To the west of the heights lay more heavily forested bluffs that would present a significant challenge to any heavily equipped army . First Saratoga : Battle of Freeman ' s Farm ( September 19 ) . Prelude . Moving cautiously , since the departure of his Indian support had deprived him of reliable reports on the American position , Burgoyne advanced to the south after crossing the Hudson . On September 18 the vanguard of his army had reached a position just north of Saratoga , about from the American defensive line , and skirmishes occurred between American scouting parties and the leading elements of his army . The American camp had become a bed of festering intrigue ever since Arnold ' s return from Fort Stanwix . While he and Gates had previously been on reasonably good terms in spite of their prickly egos , Arnold managed to turn Gates against him by taking on as staff officers friendly to Schuyler , dragging him into the ongoing feud between the two . These conditions had not yet reached a boil on September 19 , but the day ' s events contributed to the situation . Gates had assigned the left wing of the defenses to Arnold , and assumed command himself of the right , which was nominally assigned to General Lincoln , whom Gates had detached in August with some troops to harass the British positions behind Burgoyne ' s army . Both Burgoyne and Arnold understood the importance of the American left , and the need to control the heights there . After the morning fog lifted around 10 am , Burgoyne ordered the army to advance in three columns . Baron Riedesel led the left column , consisting of the German troops and the 47th Foot , on the river road , bringing the main artillery and guarding supplies and the boats on the river . General James Inglis Hamilton commanded the center column , consisting of the 9th , 20th , 21st , and 62nd regiments , which would attack the heights , and General Simon Fraser led the right wing with the 24th Regiment and the light infantry and grenadier companies , to turn the American left flank by negotiating the heavily wooded high ground north and west of Bemis Heights . Arnold also realized such a flanking maneuver was likely , and petitioned Gates for permission to move his forces from the heights to meet potential movements , where the American skill at woodlands combat would be at an advantage . Gates , whose preferred strategy was to sit and wait for the expected frontal assault , grudgingly permitted a reconnaissance in force consisting of Daniel Morgan ' s men and Henry Dearborn ' s light infantry . When Morgan ' s men reached an open field northwest of Bemis Heights belonging to Loyalist John Freeman , they spotted British advance troops in the field . Fraser ' s column was slightly delayed and had not yet reached the field , while Hamilton ' s column had also made its way across a ravine and was approaching the field from the east through dense forest and difficult terrain . Riedesel ' s force , while it was on the road , was delayed by obstacles thrown down by the Americans . The sound of gunfire to the west prompted Riedesel to send some of his artillery down a track in that direction . The troops Morgan ' s men saw were an advance company from Hamilton ' s column . Battle . Morgan ' s men took very careful aim , and picked off virtually every single officer in the advance company , and then charged , unaware that they were headed directly for Burgoyne ' s main army . While they succeeded in driving back the advance company , Fraser ' s leading edge arrived just in time to attack Morgan ' s left , scattering his men back into the woods . James Wilkinson , who had ridden forward to observe the fire , returned to the American camp for reinforcements . As the British company fell back toward the main column , the leading edge of that column opened fire , killing a number of their own men . There was then a lull in the fighting around 1 : 00 pm as Hamilton ' s men began to form up on the north side of the field , and American reinforcements began to arrive from the south . Learning that Morgan was in trouble , Gates ordered out two more regiments ( 1st and 3rd New Hampshire ) to support him , with additional regiments ( 2nd New York , 4th New York , the 1st Canadian , and Connecticut militia ) from the brigade of Enoch Poor to follow . Burgoyne arrayed Hamilton ' s men with the 21st on the right , the 20th on the left , and the 62nd in the center , with the 9th held in reserve . The battle then went through phases alternating between intense fighting and breaks in the action . Morgan ' s men had regrouped in the woods , and busily picked off officers and artillerymen . They were so effective at reducing the latter that the Americans several times gained brief control of British field piece s , only to lose them in the next British charge . At one point it was believed that Burgoyne himself had been taken down by a sharpshooter ; it was instead one of Burgoyne ' s aides , riding a richly dressed horse , who was the victim . The center of the British line was very nearly broken at one point , and only the intervention of General Phillips , leading the 20th , made it possible for the 62nd to reform . The final stroke of the battle belonged to the British . Around 3 pm , Riedesel sent a messenger to Burgoyne for instructions . He returned two hours later with orders to guard the baggage train , but also to send as many men as he could spare toward the American right flank . In a calculated risk , Riedesel left 500 men to guard the vital supply train and marched off toward the action with the rest of his column . Two of his companies advanced on the double and opened vicious fire on the American right , and Fraser ' s force threatened to turn the American left flank . In response to the latter threat , Arnold requested more forces , and Gates allowed him to dispatch Ebenezer Learned ' s brigade ( 2nd , 8th and 9th Massachusetts ) . ( If Arnold had been on the field , these forces might have instead faced the larger danger posed by Riedesel ' s force . ) Fortunately for the American right , darkness set in , bringing an end to the battle . The Americans retreated back to their defenses , leaving the British on the field . Burgoyne had gained the field of battle , but suffered nearly 600 casualties . Most of these were to Hamilton ' s center column , where the 62nd was reduced to the size of a single company , and three quarters of the artillery men were killed or wounded . American losses were nearly 300 killed and seriously wounded . It has been widely recounted in histories of this battle that General Arnold was on the field , directing some of the action . However , John Luzader , a former park historian at the Saratoga National Historical Park , carefully documents the evolution of this story and believes it is without foundation in contemporary materials , and that Arnold remained at Gates ' headquarters , receiving news and dispatching orders through messengers . Interlude . Burgoyne ' s council discussed whether to attack the next day , and a decision was reached to delay further action at least one day , to September 21 . The army moved to consolidate the position closer to the American line while some men collected their dead . The attack on the 21st was called off when Burgoyne received a letter dated September 12 from Henry Clinton , who was commanding the British garrison in New York City . Clinton suggested that he could " make a push at [ Fort ] Montgomery in about ten days . " ( Fort Montgomery was an American post on the Hudson River , in the New York Highlands south of West Point ) . If Clinton left New York on September 22 , " about ten days " after he wrote the letter , he still could not hope to arrive in the vicinity of Saratoga before the end of the month . Burgoyne , running low on men and food , was still in a very difficult position , but he decided to wait in the hope that Clinton would arrive to save his army . Burgoyne wrote to Clinton on September 23 , requesting some sort of assistance or diversion to draw Gates ' army away . Clinton sailed from New York on October 3 , and captured Forts Montgomery and Clinton on October 6 . The furthest north any of his troops reached was Clermont , where they raided the estate of the prominent Patriot Livingston family on October 16 . Unknown to either side at Saratoga , General Lincoln and Colonel John Brown had staged an attack against the British position at Fort Ticonderoga . Lincoln had collected 2 , 000 men at Bennington by early September . Brown and a detachment of 500 men captured poorly defended positions between Ticonderoga and Lake George , and then spent several days ineffectually bombarding the fort . These men , and some of the prisoners they freed along the way , were back in the American camp by September 29 . In the American camp the mutual resentment between Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold finally exploded into open hostility . Gates quickly reported the action of September 19 to the Congress and Governor George Clinton of New York , but he failed to mention Arnold at all . The field commanders and men universally credited Arnold for their success . Almost all the troops involved were from Arnold ' s command and Arnold was the one directing the battle while Gates sat in his tent . Arnold protested , and the dispute escalated into a shouting match that ended with Gates relieving Arnold of his command and giving it to Benjamin Lincoln . Arnold asked for a transfer to Washington ' s command , which Gates granted , but instead of leaving he remained in his tent . There is no documentary evidence for a commonly recounted anecdote that a petition signed by line officers convinced Arnold to stay in camp . During this period there were almost daily clashes between pickets and patrols of the two armies . Morgan ' s sharpshooters , familiar with the strategy and tactics of woodland warfare , constantly harassed British patrols on the western flank . As September passed into October it became clear that Clinton was not coming to help Burgoyne , who put the army on short rations on October 3 . The next day , Burgoyne called a war council in which several options were discussed , but no conclusive decisions were made . When the council resumed the next day , Riedesel proposed retreat , in which he was supported by Fraser . Burgoyne refused to consider it , insisting that retreat would be disgraceful . They finally agreed to conduct an assault on the American left flank with two thousand men , more than one third of the army , on October 7 . The army he was attacking , however , had grown in the interval . In addition to the return of Lincoln ' s detachment , militiamen and supplies continued to pour into the American camp , including critical increases in ammunition , which had been severely depleted in the first battle . The army Burgoyne faced on October 7 was more than 12 , 000 men strong and was led by a man who knew how much trouble Burgoyne was in . Gates had received consistent intelligence from the stream of deserters leaving the British lines , and had also intercepted Clinton ' s response to Burgoyne ' s plea for help . Second Saratoga : Battle of Bemis Heights ( October 7 ) . British foray . While Burgoyne ' s troop strength was nominally higher , he likely had only about 5 , 000 effective , battle - ready troops on October 7 , as losses from the earlier battles in the campaign and desertions following the September 19 battle had reduced his forces . General Riedesel advised that the army retreat . Burgoyne decided to reconnoiter the American left flank to see if an attack was possible . As escort the generals took Fraser ' s Advanced Corps , with light troops and the 24th Foot on the right and the combined British grenadiers on the left , and a force drawn from all the German regiments in the army in the center . There were 8 British cannon under Major Williams and 2 Hesse - Hanau cannon under Captain Pausch . Leaving their camp between 10 and 11 am , they advanced about three quarters of a mile ( 1 km ) to Barber ' s wheat field on a rise above Mill Brook , where they stopped to observe the American position . While the field afforded some room for artillery to work , the flanks were dangerously close to the surrounding woods . Gates , following the removal of Arnold from the field command , assumed command of the American left and gave the right to General Lincoln . When American scouts brought news of Burgoyne ' s movement to Gates , he ordered Morgan ' s riflemen out to the far left , with Poor ' s men ( 1st , 2nd , and 3rd New Hampshire on the left ; the 2nd and 4th New York Regiments ) on the right , and Learned ' s ( 1st New York , 1st Canadian , 2nd , 8th and 9th Massachusetts Regiments , plus militia companies ) in the center . A force of 1 , 200 New York militia under Brigadier General Abraham Ten Broeck was held in reserve behind Learned ' s line . In all , more than 8 , 000 Americans took the field that day , including about 1 , 400 men from Lincolns command that were deployed when the action became particularly fierce . The opening fire came between 2 and 2 : 30 pm from the British grenadiers . Poor ' s men held their fire , and the terrain made the British shooting largely ineffective . When Major Acland led the British grenadiers in a bayonet charge , the Americans finally began shooting at close range . Acland fell , shot in both legs , and many of the grenadiers also went down . Their column was in a total rout , and Poor ' s men advanced to take Acland and Williams prisoner and capture their artillery . On the American left , things were also not going well for the British . Morgan ' s men swept aside the Canadians and Indians to engage Fraser ' s regulars . Although slightly outnumbered , Morgan managed to break up several British attempts to move west . While General Fraser was mortally wounded in this phase of the battle , a frequently told story claiming it to be the work of Timothy Murphy , one of Morgan ' s men , appears to be a 19th - century fabrication . The felling of Fraser and the arrival of Ten Broeck ' s large militia brigade ( which roughly equalled the entire British reconnaissance force in size ) , broke the British will , and they began a disorganized retreat toward their entrenchments . Burgoyne was also very nearly killed by one of Morgan ' s marksmen ; three shots hit his horse , hat and waistcoat . The first phase of the battle lasted about one hour , and cost Burgoyne nearly 400 men , including the capture of most of the grenadiers ' command , and six of the ten field pieces brought to the action . American attack . At this point , the Americans were joined by an unexpected participant . General Arnold , who was " betraying great agitation and wrath " in the American camp , and may have been drinking , rode out to join the action . Gates immediately sent Major Armstrong after him with orders to return ; Armstrong did not catch up with Arnold until the action was effectively over . The defenses on the right side of the British camp were anchored by two redoubts . The outermost one was defended by about 300 men under the command of the Hessian Heinrich von Breymann , while the other was under the command of Lord Balcarres . A small contingent of Canadians occupied the ground between these two fortifications . Most of the retreating force headed for Balcarres ' position , as Breymann ' s was slightly north and further away from the early action . Arnold led the American chase , and then led Poor ' s men in an attack on the Balcarres redoubt . Balcarres had set up his defenses well , and the redoubt was held , in action so fierce that Burgoyne afterwards wrote , " A more determined perseverance than they showed . . . is not in any officer ' s experience " . Seeing that the advance was checked , and that Learned was preparing to attack the Breymann redoubt , Arnold moved toward that action , recklessly riding between the lines and remarkably emerging unhurt . He led the charge of Learned ' s men through the gap between the redoubts , which exposed the rear of Breymann ' s position , where Morgan ' s men had circled around from the far side . In furious battle , the redoubt was taken and Breymann was killed . Arnold ' s horse was hit in one of the final volleys , and Arnold ' s leg was broken by both shot and the falling horse . Major Armstrong finally caught up with Arnold to officially order him back to headquarters ; he was carried back in a litter . The capture of Breymann ' s redoubt exposed the British camp , but darkness was setting in . An attempt by some Germans to retake the redoubt ended in capture as darkness fell and an unreliable guide led them to the American line . Aftermath . Burgoyne ' s failed campaign , as may be seen by the titles of some of the books that cover it in detail , marked a major turning point in the war . After the battle , he withdrew his men 10 – 15 miles north , near present - day Schuylerville , New York . General Burgoyne returned to England and was never given another commanding position in the British Army . Armies and Casualties . Burgoyne lost 1 , 000 men in the two battles , leaving him outnumbered by roughly 3 to 1 ; American losses came to about 500 killed and wounded . Burgoyne had lost several of his most effective leaders , his attempts to capture the American position had failed , and his forward line was now breached . That night he lit fires at his remaining forward positions and withdrew under the cover of darkness . On the morning of October 8 , he was back in the fortified positions he had held on September 16 . By October 13 he was surrounded at Saratoga , and on October 17 he surrendered his army . The remnants of his expedition retreated from Ticonderoga back to Quebec . The British learned that the Americans would fight bravely and effectively . Said one British officer : In recognition of his contribution to the battles at Saratoga , General Arnold had his seniority restored ( he had lost it after being passed over for promotion earlier in 1777 ) . His leg wound left Arnold bedridden for five months . Later , while still unfit for field service but serving as military governor of Philadelphia , Arnold entered into treasonous correspondence with the British . He received command of the fort at West Point and plotted to hand it over to the British , only to flee into the British lines when the capture of his contact John Andre led to exposure of the plot . Arnold went on to serve under William Phillips , the commander of Burgoyne ' s right wing , in a 1781 expedition into Virginia . Although he left the direction of the battle to subordinates , General Gates received a great deal of credit as the commanding general for the greatest American victory of the war to date . He may have conspired with others to replace George Washington as the commander - in - chief . Instead he received the command of the main American army in the South . He led it to a disastrous defeat at the 1780 Battle of Camden , where he was at the forefront of a panicked retreat . Gates never commanded troops in the field again . In response to Burgoyne ' s surrender , Congress declared December 18 , 1777 , as a national day " for solemn Thanksgiving and praise " ; it was the nation ' s first official observance of a holiday with that name . French Aid . Once news of Burgoyne ' s surrender reached France , King Louis XVI decided to enter into negotiations with the Americans that resulted in a formal Franco - American alliance and French entry into the war . This moved the conflict onto a global stage . As a consequence , Britain was forced to divert resources used to fight the war in North America to theaters in the West Indies and Europe , and rely on what turned out to be the chimera of Loyalist support in its North American operations . Being defeated by the British in the French and Indian War a decade ago , France found an opportunity of revenge by aiding the colonists throughout the Revolutionary War . Prior to the Battle of Saratoga , France didn ' t fully aid the colonists . However , after the Battles of Saratoga were conclusively won by the colonists , France realized that the Americans had hope of winning the war , and began fully aiding the colonists by sending soldiers , donations , loans , military arms , and supplies . Legacy . " Main article : " Saratoga National Historical Park The battlefield and the site of Burgoyne ' s surrender have been preserved , and are now administered by the National Park Service as the Saratoga National Historical Park , which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 . The park preserves a number of the buildings in the area , and contains a variety of monuments . The Saratoga Monument obelisk has four niches , three of which hold statues of American generals : Gates and Schuyler and of Colonel Daniel Morgan . The fourth niche , where Arnold ' s statue would go , is empty . A more dramatic memorial to Arnold ' s heroism , that does not name him , is the Boot Monument . Donated by Civil War General John Watts de Peyster , it shows a boot with spurs and the stars of a major general . It stands at the spot where Arnold was shot on October 7 charging Breymann ' s redoubt , and is dedicated to " the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army " . Six Army National Guard units ( 101st Eng Bn , 102nd Inf , 125th QM Co , 181st Inf , 182nd Inf and 192nd MP Bn ) are derived from American units that participated in the Battle of Saratoga . There are now only thirty units in the U . S . Army with lineages that go back to the colonial era . Links to sites that discuss the Hessian soldiers — some with pictures