Writing of the significance of Saratoga, Sir Edward Creasy, the eminent English historian, said: “Nor can any military event be said to have exercised more important influence upon the future fortunes of mankind, than the complete defeat of Burgoyne’s expedition in 1777; a defeat which rescued the revolted colonists from certain subjection; and which, by inducing the Courts of France and Spain to attack England in their behalf, insured the independence of the United States, and the formation of that transatlantic power which not only America, but both Europe and Asia, now see and feel.”
THE BURGOYNE EXPEDITION
CANADA TO SARATOGA, 1777
June 17—Burgoyne leaves St. Johns June 20—Rendezvous of British Army June 21—Conference with the Indians June 25—The British land at Crown Point July 6—Ticonderoga falls July 7—Fraser defeats the Americans July 7—Burgoyne arrives at Skenesboro July 26—The British reach Fort Ann July 30—Burgoyne arrives at Fort Edward Sept. 13—Burgoyne crosses Hudson to Saratoga Aug. 16—Battle of Bennington
THE BRITISH PLAN FOR CAMPAIGN OF 1777 WAS TO DIVIDE THE REBELLIOUS AMERICAN COLONIES BY OCCUPYING THE STRATEGIC LINE OF THE HUDSON RIVER AND LAKES GEORGE AND CHAMPLAIN. A BRITISH WEDGE FROM CANADA TO THE ATLANTIC WOULD ENABLE EASY CONQUEST OF AMERICA.
THE CENTRAL POINT OF THREE COOPERATING ARMIES WAS ALBANY.
BURGOYNE SUGGESTED THAT:
1. SIR WILLIAM HOWE MOVE UP THE HUDSON RIVER FROM NEW YORK. 2. JOHN BURGOYNE MOVE SOUTH FROM CANADA. 3. BARRY ST. LEGER MOVE EAST THROUGH THE MOHAWK VALLEY FROM OSWEGO.
LACK OF COORDINATION WRECKED THE BRITISH PLAN.
HOWE NEVER SAILED UP THE HUDSON.
ST. LEGER WAS BLOCKED BY THE AMERICANS AT FORT STANWIX AND ORISKANY.
BURGOYNE, AFTER A VICTORIOUS ADVANCE THROUGH NORTHERN NEW YORK, DRIVING A DEFEATED AMERICAN ARMY FROM TICONDEROGA TO THE MOUTH OF THE MOHAWK RIVER, CROSSED TO THIS SIDE OF THE HUDSON AT OLD SARATOGA (SCHUYLERVILLE) ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1777, AND APPROACHED THIS POSITION WHERE HE WAS OPPOSED BY AN AMERICAN ARMY OF GROWING STRENGTH.
A contemporary of the event said of it, “Rebellion which a twelve-month ago was a contemptible pygmy, is now in appearance a giant.” Saratoga truly must be considered as one of the cornerstones of American liberty and as one of those momentous events which shape the destiny of nations. Even in the light of the nearly two centuries that have elapsed, the significance of this epochal victory is difficult to appraise fully.
The British Plan of 1777
The Hudson River-Lake Champlain route for centuries has constituted a great strategic highway of the continent. Long the warpath of the powerful Iroquois, this route in pre-Revolutionary years had witnessed the ebb and flow of the tides of invasion as England and France locked in a titanic struggle for possession of the New World. Along this route the British commander, General Abercrombie, advanced in 1758 on his ill-fated attempt to seize Ticonderoga from the French. The graves of the “Black Watch” attest the blunders of his judgment. One year later his successor, Lord Amherst, followed the same route, to succeed where his predecessor had failed.
With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War the area again became the scene of active fighting, as colonial arms pushed boldly northward to seize Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Montreal, and to storm the ramparts of Quebec. In 1776, the British launched a counterattack which, after wiping out most of the American gains, was dramatically checked by the gallant action of the American fleet under Gen. Benedict Arnold on Lake Champlain.
