3 - battle of saratoga - u.s. history: mr. hunt...3. battle of saratoga background: after trenton,...

3.BattleofSaratogaBackground:AfterTrenton,LordGeorgeGermain,themanchosentodirecttheBritishtroops,hadanewstrategytodividetheAmericanrebelsbytakingcontrolofNewYork’sHudsonRiverValley,andcuttingoff supplies to theContinentalArmy.Tocarryouthisplan,General JohnBurgoyne left Canada in June 1777 with about 8,000 British soldiers and American Indianwarriors.HeplannedtomovethisarmysouthtoAlbany,NewYork,wherehewouldmeetupwithGeneralHoweandhisarmy.Burgoynedidnottravellight,withanarmyofmorethan600wagons, and 30 of them filled with personal items.Meanwhile, General Howemade otherplans,andinsteadofmeetingBurgoyne,HowemarchedhistroopstoPhiladelphia,therebel’scapital. Once Burgoyne and his army finally reached Saratoga Springs on the Hudson RiverValley,hewasoutnumberedbyAmericanrebels.Burgoyneorderedanattackedanyway,andagain and again, the rebels beat back his troops. OnOctober 17, 1777, Burgoyne accepteddefeat.HissurrendermarkedaturningpointinthewarinthatbeforethevictoryatSaratoga,mostoftheworldbelievedtheAmericancausewashopeless.SoonafterthisAmericanvictory,theFrenchandSpanishenteredthewarasallieswiththeUnitedStates.Source:SurrenderofGeneralJohnBurgoyneattheBattleofSaratoga,7thOctober1777,engravedbyGodefroy(coloredengraving),Fauvel, (18thcentury)/BibliothequeNationale,Paris,France/ArchivesCharmet/TheBridgemanArtLibrary.