Saratoga Surrenders: France Joins American Revolution
British General John Burgoyne surrendered his entire army of 5,895 men to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777. The surrender was the culmination of a disastrous campaign in which Burgoyne had marched south from Canada expecting to link up with British forces from New York City. That support never arrived. Burgoyne's supply lines stretched through hostile wilderness, his Hessian allies were mauled at Bennington, and Benedict Arnold's aggressive fighting at the Battle of Bemis Heights broke the British line. The victory at Saratoga was the single most consequential battle of the American Revolution because it persuaded France to enter the war. French money, soldiers, and naval power transformed a colonial rebellion into a conflict Britain could not win.
October 17, 1777
249 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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