The Saratoga Campaign Gen. John Burgoyne Click here to see a map of Burgoyne's plan Battle of Saratoga Burgoyne Surrenders by John Trumbull	For the new year, General Howe submitted a stretagic plan to the Secretary for North American Affairs, Lord Germain, to scrush the rebellion.  The plan initially called for Howe, following the conquest of Philadelphia, and then, if possible, send a portion of his command up the Hudson River to Albany, where it would meet up with the forces of General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne, who would march south from Montreal along the familiar Lake Champlain-Hudson River route.  A second army led by General Clinton would march from Newport, Rhode Island, while a third army of redcoats and Iroquois, commanded by Colonel Barry St. Leger, would veer east across the Mohawk Valley from Ft. Oswego and link up at Albany as well, thereby isolating New England.  The plan revealed Britain's continuing adherence to the idea that all the problems stemmed from New England--and specifically, Massachusetts--and if they could just isolate them, the rest of the colonies would come back into the fold.      In the end, however, poor communication and wishful thinking spoiled the plan's chances for success.  Lord Germain fooled himself into believing facts that were not supported by evidence.  He believed that Howe could accomplish the impossible task of capturing Philadelphia, then turn around and commit his entire force to the Albany attack.  Howe repeatedly told Germaine this was not possible.  Neither Germain nor Burgoyne had any knowledge of the American terrain that had to be covered.       When spring arrived, Howe completed his part of the strategy:  he sailed with fifteen thousand men up the Chesapeake Bay toward Philadelphia.  The Continental Congress had already abandoned the city, knowing that Washington could not prevent enemy occupation.  Although the Americans made two efforts to block Howe, first at Brandywine Creek and then at Germantown, the British had little problem capturing Philadelphia.      At Fort Oswego, Colonel St. Leger could not gather the expected number of Indian troops and so set out wit a smaller force than anticipated.  Not far from Oswego, St. Leger battled with a combined force led by Generals Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold.  Suffering defeat, he retreated back to Oswego.  He would not proceed to Albany as planned to link up with Burgoyne.           Blissfully unaware of these problems, Burgoyne led his army from Montreal in June of 1777.  The troops floated down Lake Champlain in canoes and flat bottom boats and easily retook Ft. Ticonderoga.  From Ticonderoga, the invading army continued to march toward Albany.  From this point on, things went badly for Burgoyne.  His supply train was huge.  In addition to fifty pieces of artillery, the wagons contained Burgoyne's mistress, her personal wardrobe and his, and a generous supply of champagne.  When the caravan entered New York's swamps and gullies, movement slowed to a snail's pace.      The Americans took full advantage of the situation.  Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys harassed the British as they entered Allen's home region of Vermont.  A bloody, head-on battle near Bennington further slowed Burgoyne's progress.  When the general's army finally reached Albany in mid-September, neither St. Leger nor Howe was anywhere in sight.      This left Burgoyne stranded in the heart of New York.  By mid-September 1777, with his supplies dwindling, he realized his only option was to break northward through the American lines and take refuge in Canada--or surrender.  On September 19, Burgoyne attacked, hoping to clear a path of retreat for his army.  The elderly American general, Horatio Gates, was neither bold nor particularly clever, but it took little daring or genius to defeat Burgoyne's weary, dispirited British soldiers.  When Burgoyne tried again to break through in October 7, Gates and his men held their ground.  On October 17, 1777, General Burgoyne surrendered.      News that a major British army had been defeated spread quickly on both sides of the Atlantic.  It was a powerful boost to American confidence and an equally powerful blow to British self-esteem.  The report also reversed the fortunes of America's diplomatic efforts in Europe.  Until Saratoga, American appeals to France, Spain, and Holland for supplies, loans, and military support had met with only moderate success.  Now, hopes ran high that France would recognize American independence and join the war against Britain.
"The French Connection" Louis XIV Visit the PBS website on Benjamin Franklin	Saratoga was the turning point of the War of Independence.  (One historian went so far as to call it the most important battle in modern history in that it led to American independence and all that entailed.)  Its significance lay not in its military brilliance but because it led directly to an American alliance with France.      In 1776, when America declared its independence from Great Britain, France and other British enemies had been only too happy to see George III expend his resources and military personnel in an effort to quell a colonial rebellion.  Although these nations expected the rebellion to fail, they were more than eager to  keep the conflict going as long as possible.  Before Saratoga, they preferred to keep their support unofficial.      Thus it was that, with the help of King Louis XVI's chief minister, the Comte de Vergennes, set up a connection with an American entrepreneur named Arthur Lee.  Through this ostensibly private commercial firm, the French traded with America, siphoning arms and money from France to the revolutionaries.  France also agreed to open ports to American privateers and to provide French ships and seamen for raids on British commercial shipping.      The Americans hoped for more.  In December 1776, Congress sent Benjamin Franklin to Paris in hopes of winning formal recognition of American independence.  The charming and witty Franklin was the toast of Paris, adored by aristocrats and common people alike.  However, even he could not persuade the king to support the Revolution openly.      Burgoyne's surrender changed everything.  After Saratoga, the British began scrambling to end a war that had become an embarrassment, and the French government began scrambling to reassess its diplomatic position.  Vergennes suspected that the English would quickly send a peace commission to America after Burgoyne's defeat.  If the American Congress agreed to a compromise ending the rebellion, France could gain nothing more.  But if the French kept the war alive by giving the Americans reason to hope for total victory, perhaps they could recoup some of the territory and prestige lost to Britain in the Seven Years' War.  This meant, of course, recognizing the United States and entering a war with Britain.  Vergennes knew a choice had to be made--but he was not yet certain what to do.      Meanwhile, the British government was indeed preparing a new peace offer for Congress.  At the heart of the British offer were two promises that George III considered to be great concessions.  First, Parliament would renounce all intentions of ever taxing the colonies again.  Second, the Intolerable Acts, the Tea Act, and any other objectionable legislation passed since 1763 would be repealed.  Many members of Parliament thought these overtures were long overdue.  They had been vocal critics of their government's policies in the 1760s and 1770s and had refused to support the war.  After Burgoyne's defeat, popular support for a compromise also increased in England.  The Americans, however, were unimpressed by the offers.  For Congress, a return to colonial status was now unthinkable.      Benjamin Franklin knew that Congress would reject the king's offer.  But he was too shrewd to believe the Comte de Vergennes's fear that a compromise was in the works.  Franklin warned that France must act quickly and decisively or accept the consequences.  His gamble worked, and in 1778 France and the United States signed a treaty.  The pact linked France and American fates tightly together for under its provisions neither country could make a separate peace with Great Britain.  By 1779, Spain had also formally acknowledged the United States, and in 1780, the Netherlands (Holland) did so, too.  George III had no choice but to declare war against these European nations.      The American Revolution had become a world war--a war that further taxed British resources further and made it impossible for Britain to concentrate all its military might and naval power in America.  With ships diverted to the Caribbean and to the European coast, Britain could no longer blockade American ports as effectively as before or transport troops as quickly to the American mainland.  Above all, France's entry into the war opened new strategic possibilities for General Washington and his army.  If the Americans could count on the cooperation of the French fleet, a British army could be trapped on American soil, cut off by French ships from supplies, reinforcements, and any chance of escape.
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