Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates ( July 26 , 1727 – April 10 , 1806 ) was a retired British soldier who served as an American general during the Revolutionary War . He took credit for the American victory in the Battles of Saratoga ( 1777 ) — a matter of contemporary and historical controversy — and was blamed for the defeat at the Battle of Camden ( 1780 ) . Gates has been described as " one of the Revolution ' s most controversial military figures " because of his role in the Conway Cabal ( which attempted to discredit and replace George Washington ) ; the battle at Saratoga ; and his actions during and after his defeat at Camden . Early career . Horatio Gates was christened on April 30 , 1728 , in the Parish of St Nicholas , Deptford , Greenwich borough , Kent county . His parents of record were Robert and Dorothea Gates . Evidence suggests that Dorothea was the granddaughter of John Hubbock , Sr . ( d . 1692 ) postmaster at Fulham , and the daughter of John Hubbock , Jr . , listed in 1687 sources as a vintner . She had a prior marriage , to Thomas Reeve , whose family was well - situated in the royal Customs service . Dorothea Reeve was housekeeper for the second Duke of Leeds , Peregrine Osborne ( d . June 25 , 1729 ) , which in the social context of England at the time was a patronage plum . Marriage into the Reeve family opened the way for Robert Gates to get into and then up through the Customs service . So too , Dorothea Gates ' s appointment circa 1729 to housekeeper for the third Duke of Bolton provided Horatio Gates with otherwise off - bounds opportunities for education and social advancement . Through Dorothea Gates ' s associations and energetic networking , young Horace Walpole was enlisted as Horatio ' s godfather and namesake . In 1745 , Horatio Gates obtained a military commission with financial help from his parents , and political support from the Duke of Bolton . Gates served with the 20th Foot in Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession , and later was promoted to captain in the 45th Foot in 1750 . He sold his commission in 1754 and purchased a captaincy in one of the New York Independent Companies . One of his mentors in his early years was Edward Cornwallis , the uncle of Charles Cornwallis , against whom the Americans would later fight . Gates served under Cornwallis when the latter was governor of Nova Scotia , and also developed a relationship with the lieutenant governor , Robert Monckton . Seven Years War . During the French and Indian War , Gates served General Edward Braddock in America . In 1755 he accompanied the ill - fated Braddock Expedition in its attempt to control access to the Ohio Valley . This force included other future Revolutionary War leaders such as Thomas Gage , Charles Lee , Daniel Morgan , and George Washington . Gates did not see significant combat , since he was severely injured early in the action . His experience in the early years of the war was limited to commanding small companies , but he apparently became quite good at military administration . In 1759 he was made brigade major to Brigadier General John Stanwix , a position he continued when General Robert Monckton took over Stanwix ' s command in 1760 . Gates served under Monckton in the capture of Martinique in 1762 , although he saw little combat . Monckton bestowed on him the honour of bringing news of the success to England , which brought him a promotion to major . The end of the war also brought an end to Gates ' prospects for advancement , as the army was demobilised and he did not have the financial wherewithal to purchase commissions for higher ranks . In November 1755 , Gates married Elizabeth Phillips and had a son , Robert , in 1758 . Gates ' military career stalled , as advancement in the British army required money or influence . Frustrated by the British class hierarchy , he sold his major ' s commission in 1769 , and came to North America . In 1772 he reestablished contact with George Washington , and purchased a modest plantation in Virginia the following year . American Revolutionary War . When the word reached Gates of the outbreak of war in late May 1775 , he rushed to Mount Vernon and offered his services to Washington . In June , the Continental Congress began organizing the Continental Army . In accepting command , Washington urged the appointment of Gates as adjutant of the army . On June 17 , 1775 , Congress commissioned Gates as a Brigadier General and Adjutant General of the Continental Army . He is considered to be the first Adjutant General of the United States Army . Gates ' s previous wartime service in administrative posts was invaluable to the fledgling army , as he and Charles Lee were the only men with significant experience in the British regular army . As adjutant , Horatio Gates created the army ' s system of records and orders and helped standardize regiments from the various colonies . During the siege of Boston , he was a voice of caution , speaking in war councils against what he saw as overly risky actions . Although his administrative skills were valuable , Gates longed for a field command . By June 1776 , he had been promoted to Major General and given command of the Canadian Department to replace John Sullivan . This unit of the army was then in disorganized retreat from Quebec , following the arrival of British reinforcements at Quebec City . Furthermore , disease , especially smallpox , had taken a significant toll on the ranks , which also suffered from poor morale and dissension over pay and conditions . The retreat from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga also brought Gates into conflict with the authority of Major General Philip Schuyler , commander of the army ' s Northern Department , which retained jurisdiction over Ticonderoga . During the summer of 1776 , this struggle was resolved , with Schuyler given command of the department as a whole and Gates command of Ticonderoga and the defense of Lake Champlain . Gates spent the summer of 1776 overseeing the enlargement of the American fleet that would be needed to prevent the British from taking control of Lake Champlain . Much of this work eventually fell to Benedict Arnold , who had been with the army during its retreat and was also an experienced seaman . Gates rewarded Arnold ' s initiative by giving him command of the fleet when it sailed to meet the British . The American fleet was defeated in the October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island , although the defense of the lake was sufficient to delay a British advance against Ticonderoga until 1777 . Saratoga . When it was clear that the British were not going to make an attempt on Ticonderoga in 1776 , Gates marched some of the army south to join Washington ' s army in Pennsylvania , where it had retreated after the fall of New York City . Though his troops were with Washington at the Battle of Trenton , Gates was not . Always an advocate of defensive action , Gates argued that Washington should retreat further rather than attack . When Washington dismissed this advice , Gates claimed illness as an excuse not to join the nighttime attack and instead traveled on to Baltimore , where the Continental Congress was meeting . Gates had always maintained that he and not Washington should have commanded the Continental Army , an opinion supported by several wealthy and prominent New England delegates to the Continental Congress . Although Gates actively lobbied Congress for the appointment , Washington ' s stunning successes at Trenton and Princeton subsequently left no doubt as to who should be commander - in - chief . Gates was then sent back north with orders to assist Schuyler in the Northern Department . But in 1777 , Congress blamed Schuyler and St . Clair for the loss of Fort Ticonderoga , though Gates had exercised a lengthy command in the region . Congress finally gave Gates command of the Northern Department on August 4 . Gates assumed command of the Northern Department on August 19 and led the army during the defeat of British General Burgoyne ' s invasion in the Battles of Saratoga . While Gates and his supporters took credit for the victory , military action was directed by a cohort of field commanders led by Benedict Arnold , Enoch Poor , Benjamin Lincoln , and Daniel Morgan . Arnold in particular took the field against Gates ' orders and rallied the troops in a furious attack on the British lines , suffering serious injuries to his leg . Because of his continuing reluctance to attack the British army directly , Gates was known derisively by Arnold as " Granny Gates " . John Stark ' s defeat of a sizable British raiding force at the Battle of Bennington – Stark ' s forces killed or captured over 900 British soldiers – was also a substantial factor in the outcome at Saratoga . Gates stands front and center in John Trumbull ' s painting of the " Surrender of General Burgoyne " at Saratoga , which hangs in the U . S . Capitol Rotunda . By Congressional resolution , a gold medal was presented to Gates to commemorate his victories over the British in the Battles of Bennington , Fort Stanwix and Saratoga . Gold and bronze replicas of that medal are still awarded by the Adjutant General ' s Corps Regimental Association in recognition of outstanding service . Gates followed up the victory at Saratoga with a proposal to invade Quebec , but his suggestion was rejected by Washington . Conway Cabal . Gates attempted to maximize his political return on the victory , particularly as George Washington was having no present successes with the main army . In fact , Gates insulted Washington by sending reports directly to Congress instead of to Washington , his commanding officer . At the behest of Gates ' s friends and the delegates from New England , Congress named Gates to head the Board of War , a post he filled while retaining his field command — an unprecedented conflict of interest : The post technically made Gates Washington ' s civilian superior , conflicting with his lower military rank . At this time , some members of Congress briefly considered replacing Washington with Gates as commander - in - chief , supported by military officers also in disagreement with Washington ' s leadership . Washington learned of the campaign against him by Gates ' s adjutant , James Wilkinson . In a letter to Gates , Wilkinson forwarded remarks of General Thomas Conway critical of Washington to General William Alexander , who passed them on to Washington . Gates ( then unaware of Wilkinson ' s involvement ) accused persons unknown of copying his mail and forwarded Conway ' s letter to the president of Congress , Henry Laurens . Washington ' s supporters in Congress and the army rallied to his side , ending the " Conway Cabal " . Gates then apologized to Washington for his role in the affair , resigned from the Board of War , and took an assignment as commander of the Eastern Department in November 1778 . Camden . In May 1780 , news of the fall of Charleston , South Carolina and the capture of General Benjamin Lincoln ' s southern army reached Congress . It voted to place Gates in command of the Southern Department . He learned of his new command at his home near Shepherdstown , Virginia ( now West Virginia ) , and headed south to assume command of the remaining Continental forces near the Deep River in North Carolina on July 25 , 1780 . Gates led Continental forces and militia south and prepared to face the British forces of Charles Cornwallis , who had advanced to Camden , South Carolina . In the Battle of Camden on August 16 , Gates ' s army was routed , with nearly 1 , 000 men captured , along with the army ' s baggage train and artillery . Analysis of the debacle suggests that Gates significantly overestimated the capabilities of his inexperienced militia , an error magnified when he lined up those forces against the British right , traditional position of the strongest troops . He also failed to make proper arrangements for an organized retreat . Gates ' s principal accomplishment in the unsuccessful campaign was to cover in three days on horseback , heading north in retreat . His disappointment was compounded by news of his son Robert ' s death in combat in October . Nathanael Greene replaced Gates as commander on December 3 and Gates returned home to Virginia . Board of Inquiry . Because of the debacle at Camden , Congress passed a resolution calling for a board of inquiry , the prelude to a court martial , to look into Gates ' s conduct . Always one to support a court martial of other officers , particularly those with whom he was in competition for advancement , such as Benedict Arnold , Gates vehemently opposed the inquiry into his own conduct . Although he was never again placed in field command , Gates ' s New England supporters in Congress came to his aid in 1782 , repealing the call for an inquiry . Gates then rejoined Washington ' s staff at Newburgh , New York . Rumors implicated some of his aides in the Newburgh conspiracy of 1783 . Gates may have agreed to involve himself , though this remains unclear . After the war . Gates ' wife Elizabeth died in the summer of 1783 . He retired in 1784 and again returned to his estate , Traveller ' s Rest , in Virginia ( near present day Kearneysville , Jefferson County , West Virginia ) . Gates served as vice president of the Society of the Cincinnati , the organization of former Continental Army officers , and president of its Virginia chapter , and worked to rebuild his life . He proposed marriage to Janet Montgomery , the widow of General Richard Montgomery , but she refused . In 1786 he married Mary Valens , a wealthy woman from Liverpool who had come to the colonies in 1773 with her sister and Rev . Bartholomew Booth , to operate a boy ' s boarding school in Maryland . Booth had been the curate for the " Chapel in the Woods , " later to become Saint John ' s Church at Hagerstown , Maryland . Gates sold Traveller ' s Rest in 1790 and freed his slaves at the urging of his friend John Adams . The aging couple retired to an estate on northern Manhattan Island . His later support for Jefferson ' s presidential candidacy ended his friendship with Adams . Gates and his wife remained active in New York City society , and he was elected to a single term in the New York State Legislature in 1800 . He died on April 10 , 1806 , and was buried in the Trinity Church graveyard on Wall Street , though the exact location of his grave is unknown . Legacy . Horatio Street in Manhattan ' s Greenwich Village , New York City , is named in Gates ' s honor , as is Gates Avenue in Brooklyn , Gates Avenue in Jersey City and Gates County , North Carolina . The Gen . Horatio Gates House was his home during the Second Continental Congress at York , Pennsylvania .