saratoga (battles that changed the world)

FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE

GETTYSBURG

HASTINGS

MARATHON

MIDWAY

NORMANDY

SARATOGA

TENOCHTITLAN

TET OFFENSIVE

WATERLOO

CH.BW.Sar.aFM.Final.q 3/26/02 10:50 AM Page 1

SARATOGA

RICHARD WORTH

CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERSPHILADELPHIA


CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS

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©2002 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary of Haights Cross Communications. All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States of America.

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First Printing

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Worth, Richard.Saratoga / Richard Worth.

p. cm. — (Battles that changed the world)Summary: Provides a historical account of the Revolutionary War campaign of Saratoga.Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 0-7910-6682-71. Saratoga Campaign, 1777—Juvenile literature. [1. Saratoga Campaign, 1777. 2. United

States—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Campaigns.] I. Title. II. Series.E241.S2 W67 2002973.3'33—dc21

2002002138

Frontispiece: This map of Saratoga shows the positions of the American and British armiesduring the battle. The British were greatly outnumbered by the Americans, and had nopossible avenue of escape.


DEATH IN THE FORESTOPENING BATTLESTICONDEROGAJOHN STARK AND THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTONVICTORY ALONG THE MOHAWKTHE BATTLE OF FREEMAN’S FARMVICTORY AT BEMIS HEIGHTSTHE TURNING POINTTIMELINE & CHRONOLOGY

FURTHER READING

INDEX

1234

5678

7

15

29

43

55

69

83

95108111112

CONTENTS


Death in the Forest

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T he northern shores of Lake Champlain echoed with thesound of fifes and drums as the British army set sail south-ward on June 20, 1777. Commanded by General John

Burgoyne, the army was heading for the American strongholdat Albany in an attempt to divide the northern colonies in half,isolate New England from New York, and stamp out theAmerican rebellion.

General Burgoyne’s army of more than 7,000 soldiers, oneof the largest forces ever seen in North America, created amagnificent spectacle as it traveled along Lake Champlain.The army included British regulars dressed in scarlet uniforms

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General John Burgoyne led anarmy of more than 7,000 soldiersduring his invasion of New York.Burgoyne also enlisted the aid of hundreds of Native Americanallies, who served as scouts andformed raiding parties designed to terrorize American settlements.

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as well as German mercenaries in dark blue. TheHessians, as the German mercenaries were called, camefrom the kingdoms of Brunswick and Hesse in centralEurope. They wore distinctive tall helmets decoratedwith polished metal insignias. In addition, there wereLoyalist troops—colonists who had remained loyal toEngland when the revolution began. The army traveledin wide boats called bateaux, which carried 30 or 40men as well as the large number of artillery pieces thataccompanied the soldiers. Since there were few roads inthe north, the only way for a large army to advance overlong distances was by water. They intended to sail alongLake Champlain, over a short land route to LakeGeorge, then down the Hudson River to Albany.

Burgoyne was also joined by approximately 500 NativeAmerican allies, who acted as scouts for the army andwent on raiding parties designed to terrorize theAmerican settlements. Among the Native Americanswere heavily painted warriors from the Wyandot,Ottawa, and Ojibwa tribes of the Great Lakes as well asthe Iroquois nations from western New York.

Before setting sail down the lake, Burgoyne hadissued a proclamation to the Indians. “Warriors, you arefree—go forth in might and valor of your cause—strikeat the common enemies . . . disturbers of public order,peace and happiness, destroyers of commerce [and the]state.” As one historian has written, this seemed like anopen invitation to the Native Americans to engage inbloody warfare across the frontier. But Burgoyneadded: “I positively forbid bloodshed when you are notopposed in arms. Aged men, women, children and prisonersmust be held sacred from the knife or hatchet, even inactual conflict.”

Unfortunately, many women and children foundthemselves in harm’s way and lost their lives, and their

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scalps, as Burgoyne’s army marched southward. TheBritish general reportedly offered bounties, or money,for every scalp brought in by an Indian warrior. But hemay not have needed to offer any reward. Many of theNative American tribes were determined to drive theAmerican settlers back to the Atlantic coast to preservetribal hunting grounds from being destroyed. ForBurgoyne, the purpose of the Indian raids was tofrighten colonials who might be thinking of joining theAmerican army and persuade them to stay at home andsit out the war. However, Burgoyne’s plan had thereverse effect, largely due to a single incident involvinga young woman named Jane McCrea.

Born in New Jersey, Jane was one of seven childrenof a Presbyterian minister in Jersey City. Her motherdied when she was still a child, and after her father’sdeath, Jane moved to New York to live with her brotherJohn who had settled along the Hudson River nearAlbany. After the American Revolution broke out in1775, John joined up with the American army. However,Jane had fallen in love with a young man named DavidJones, who had enlisted in Burgoyne’s army—so, shewas torn between her loyalties to the Americans and theBritish. At first, Jane followed her brother. But as newsof the British army’s advance reached her, she decidedto move in with a woman named Mrs. McNeil wholived in the path of Burgoyne’s advancing force. Mrs.McNeil was well known to the British because she wasthe cousin of one of Burgoyne’s commanders. By stayingwith Mrs. McNeil, Jane may have hoped to see Jones,who was now a captain in the British army.

Jane McCrea was reportedly a strikingly beautifulyoung woman, with long reddish hair that streameddown her back and may have even touched the floor.During July, as the British advanced southward, Jane and

DEATH IN THE FOREST 9


Mrs. McNeil remained in their house with a black femaleservant and two small children. Unfortunately, the housebecame the target of a Native American attack. As theIndians approached, Jane, Mrs. McNeil, the servant, andthe children tried to hide in a cellar underneath a sepa-rate part of the house. While the servant and childrenwere able to hide undetected, the Indians caught up withJane and Mrs. McNeil before they could find shelter. TwoIndians dragged them away.

Meanwhile, someone had brought news of the NativeAmerican attack to a group of American militiamenstationed at a nearby fort. They began to pursue theIndians. As the militia caught sight of them, shots wereexchanged. One of the soldiers was captured, and theNative Americans escaped with the two women and thesoldier. However, according to the soldier, an argumentbegan between the Indians over Jane McCrea. As thesoldier later reported: “In the midst of the fray, one ofthe Chiefs in a rage shot . . . McCrea in her breast, & shefell & expired immediately. Her hair was long and flow-ing, and the same chief took off the scalp, cutting so asto unbrace nearly the whole of that part of the head onwhich the hair grew.”

The Indian, named Panther, showed up at Burgoyne’scamp, carrying Jane McCrea’s scalp. As he displayed thetrophy, David Jones recognized his loved-one’s hairimmediately. He was horrified and greatly saddened byher murder. General Burgoyne was also stunned andwanted Panther executed immediately. However, theNative American warrior claimed that he had not killedMcCrea. He said that a stray bullet had accidentally hither during the battle with the American militia.Whatever was the true story, Burgoyne finally letPanther off with a reprimand. The general was afraidthat all his Indian allies might desert if Panther was

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The death of Jane McCrea at the hands of General Burgoyne’s Native Americanallies angered many Americans, who then joined General Gates to fight the British.


executed, and the British might lose valuable scouts.Nevertheless, the incident was not over. Because of

the cruelty of McCrea’s death, Burgoyne felt he owed anexplanation to the American commanding general,Horatio Gates. Burgoyne did not want the Americans tobelieve that the British were waging war on innocentwomen and children. As Burgoyne wrote: “The fact wasno premeditated barbarity. On the contrary, two chiefswho had brought her off for the purposes of security, notof violence to her person, disputed which should be herguard; and in a fit of savage passion in the one fromwhose hands she was snatched, the unhappy womanbecame the victim.”

General Gates, however, refused to accept Burgoyne’sexplanation. As Gates put it: “The miserable fate of MissMcCrea was particularly aggravated by her being dressedup to receive her promised husband, but met her murdereremployed by you.” General Gates’s letter was reprintedthroughout New England. In addition, the story of JaneMcCrea was published in a variety of newspapers in NewYork and Massachusetts, as well as in Pennsylvania,Maryland, and Virginia.

While other settlers had been murdered on the frontier,the death of Jane McCrea seemed to capture the attentionof many more Americans. Perhaps it was because she hadbeen so beautiful. She was also engaged to marry one ofBurgoyne’s own officers. If the British could not evenprotect their own supporters from the Indians, peoplereasoned, then no one was safe on the frontier.

The murder of Jane McCrea had an instant impactacross New York and New England. Hundreds of militia-men left their homes to join General Gates’s army that wasopposing the British invasion of New York. Eventually, theAmerican forces would far outnumber the invaders,which had a decisive effect on the battles around

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Saratoga, New York, that would be fought in Septemberand October 1777.

As one historian explained: “If the Battle of Saratogawas the turning point of the American Revolution, thedeath of Jane McCrea might rightly be argued as theturning point of that battle.”



Opening Battles


The Saratoga campaign of 1777 was part of a continuing back-and-forth struggle for the Hudson River Valley, consideredCanada’s gateway into New York and New England. The

battle for the valley had begun much earlier between France andGreat Britain, who were involved in a long conflict for power on theNorth American continent.

French explorers established settlements in Canada during the17th century. Quebec, located on the St. Lawrence River, becamethe capital of New France. Montreal, farther inland along the river,developed into a successful trading center. From Montreal, Frenchtrappers set out into the wilderness to hunt beaver and trade with

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Marquis de Montcalm, the Frenchcommanding general, died duringthe Battle of Quebec in 1759. TheBritish army’s decisive victory overthe French in this battle eliminatedthe threat of future French invasions.However, it also gave the Britisharmy strongholds from which toattack the Americans at the begin-ning of the Revolutionary War.


the Indian tribes along the Great Lakes for beaver pelts.These pelts were part of a profitable trade with Europe,where they were manufactured into fur hats, coats, andother garments.

To protect their trade and their empire, the Frenchestablished outposts, or forts, along the Great Lakes andthe Ohio River valley, as well as in northern New York. In1726, France built a fort called St. Frederic on LakeChamplain. And in 1755, the French began erecting alarge stone structure called Carillon at the base of LakeChamplain. No army could invade New France from thesouth without first capturing Carillon and St. Frederic.From these forts, however, the French could, and did,send their own troops and Native American allies in raidsagainst English settlements.

To counter the French positions, the English estab-lished their own trading posts and fortified positions inNorth America. Although the Dutch had originallyfounded New York, the colony fell to the English after abrief war in the 17th century. Albany, on the HudsonRiver, became a successful fur trading post. The Englishestablished close relations with the Iroquois Indians,whose villages lay in western New York State. With thepermission of the Iroquois, the English established a forti-fied post on Lake Ontario, called Oswego, during the1720s. Later, in 1755, the British also built Fort WilliamHenry at the base of Lake George to protect Albany frompossible capture by an invading French force.

By this time, France and England were engaged in atitanic struggle for control of North America—theFrench and Indian War—part of a worldwide conflictcalled the Seven Years War. France won the early battles.In 1756, a French army under the Marquis de Montcalmdestroyed Oswego, and the following year Montcalmcaptured Fort William Henry. But the English, relying on

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superior manpower and a better fleet, finally prevailed.In 1759, an army commanded by General Jeffrey Amherstcaptured forts Carillon and St. Frederic, renaming themTiconderoga and Crown Point. Quebec fell to a Britisharmy led by General James Wolfe, and Montreal wascaptured in 1760.

The English settlers could now rest easy because thethreat from New France had finally ended. But in 1775, asthe American Revolution began, these same settlers faced anew threat. The British might invade New York fromCanada, following the same route along Lake Champlainand Lake George that Montcalm had traveled in 1757.America’s political leaders decided that the best way toprevent such an invasion was to seize Fort Ticonderoga,called “the key to the gateway to the continent.”

Two very different men shared command of theAmerican forces. One of them, Ethan Allen, was a tall,powerful backwoodsman from Vermont who led agroup of militia called the Green Mountain Boys. Theother commander was Captain Benedict Arnold, whohad been a successful merchant in Connecticut beforethe outbreak of the war. During the dark morning hoursof May 10, 1775, Allen and Arnold led a small forceagainst Fort Ticonderoga. The fort had been allowed todeteriorate since the French and Indian War, as there wasno longer any threat from New France. In addition, only asmall force of British soldiers manned Ticonderoga. TheAmerican force took the British completely by surpriseand easily captured Fort Ticonderoga. But Arnold andAllen were not content with a single victory. Theyheaded northward, surprising the British garrison atCrown Point, and capturing this post, too.

Ethan Allen believed that the only way to end thethreat of British invasion was to lead an American forceinto Canada, capture Montreal and Quebec, and win over

OPENING BATTLES 17


the support of the French Canadians. As he put it: “Themore vigorous the Colonies push the war against theKing’s Troops in Canada, the more friends we shall findin that country. . . . Should the Colonies forthwith sendan army of two or three thousand men, and attackMontreal, we . . . would easily make a conquest of that

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Ethan Allen is depicted here, leading the raid on Fort Ticonderoga in 1775.The American forces, led by Allen and Benedict Arnold, also capturedCrown Point.


place.” Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, one ofthe American commanders in New York state, agreed. Aveteran of the victories at Crown Point and Ticonderogaduring the French and Indian War, Montgomerybelieved the key to the defense of the Hudson River layin Canada.

Montgomery set out from Fort Ticonderoga in Augustto invade Canada. After a long and difficult siege, theAmerican forces took the British outpost at St. Johns on theRichelieu River in November. By this time, winter hadalready begun, but Montgomery would not turn back. TheBritish put up only a mild defense of Montreal, and it wassurrendered on November 13, 1775.

Meanwhile, Benedict Arnold was leading anotherAmerican force against the capital city at Quebec. Joinedby Montgomery, Arnold attacked Quebec in a drivingblizzard on December 31, 1775. This time the Britishforces, commanded by Governor-General Guy Carleton,beat back the American attack. Montgomery was killed,and Arnold severely wounded. Still, the American forcesdid not retreat. Arnold continued to lay siege to Quebecthroughout the winter and spring of 1776. However, hissupplies began to run out, and many of his men becamesick with small pox.

The St. Lawrence River froze during the winter andcut off Canada from European ships. But by May, whenthe river thawed, Governor Carleton received reinforce-ments from England. Major General John Burgoynearrived with 4,000 British troops under his command.The Americans were chased out of Montreal, andretreated with their sick and wounded down the lakes toCrown Point and Ticonderoga.

The seesaw battle for control of the north had nowtaken another turn. During 1775, the Americans seemed tohave the upper hand. Now, in 1776, the advantage passed to

OPENING BATTLES 19


the British. General Carleton decided to capitalize on hisadvantage by invading New York and capturing CrownPoint and Fort Ticonderoga.

At these two posts the American army was in terriblecondition. Many of the men were sick or dying following

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General Richard Montgomery was killed during the American attack on theBritish-held city of Quebec in 1775. Although the American forces led byBenedict Arnold continued to battle for the city, they were eventually drivenback when British reinforcements arrived.


the retreat from Canada. They had little food to eat,their clothes were in tatters, and they lacked ammunitionto repel an invasion. General Philip Schuyler, whocommanded the northern army, decided that his troopswere too weak to hold Crown Point and decided toconcentrate his forces at Fort Ticonderoga. Gradually,reinforcements began to arrive along with supplies thatstrengthened the American position. By the end of August1776, there were almost 5,000 soldiers present and fitfor duty.

However, foot soldiers alone would not be enough todefend Lake Champlain. Schuyler and Benedict Arnoldboth realized that they needed ships to command the lakeand stop a British invasion. The Americans already hadseveral schooners on the lake. One had been captured atSt. Johns in 1775 and another at Ticonderoga. But thesewere not enough to stop Carleton who was reportedlybuilding a powerful flotilla at the other end of the lake.Since the forests around Lake Champlain were thickwith trees, Arnold set his men to work cutting timber. Asa merchant, he was familiar with shipbuilding and knewhow to command ships. The timber was cut using threesawmills in the area. Schuyler sent word to the NewEngland states that he needed ship’s carpenters and a fewof them traveled to Lake Champlain to shape the timberinto boats. They built large row galleys, which wereprotected by several cannon. Arnold also ordered that afew guns should be placed on the schooners.

At the same time, Carleton was building a fleet at St.Johns. He had a three-masted ship, two schooners, and aflotilla of gunboats. They carried more cannon thanArnold’s ships. Carleton’s army was also much stronger. Itincluded approximately 8,000 British troops led by GeneralBurgoyne, as well as 5,000 German soldiers under thecommand of Major General Baron von Riedesel.

OPENING BATTLES 21


By the end of August, Arnold’s fleet was complete andbegan sailing northward on Lake Champlain. Since he wasfacing a stronger force, Arnold decided to take up a defen-sive position. At Valcour Island, in the northern part ofLake Champlain, he arranged his ships in an arc. Theywere strung across the water toward the western shore,about a half-mile away. Carleton had left St. Johns in earlyOctober with his flotilla, but they were already south ofValcour Island before spotting the American position onOctober 11, 1775. Once they saw the Americans, the Britishfleet turned and began firing on the enemy ships. As Baronvon Riedesel later wrote: “A tremendous cannonade wasopened on both sides.”

Arnold was in one of the galleys, and led the attack onthe British schooner Carleton. The fighting was very heavy,with Arnold’s galley taking many direct hits. As Arnoldlater wrote: “Some of the enemy’s ships . . . rowed up withinmusket-shot of us. They continued a very hot fire withround and grape shot [types of artillery shells] until fiveo’clock.” Eventually, British fire power proved too much forthe Americans. By nightfall, 60 men had been killed orwounded and many of their ships were heavily damaged.Arnold decided to break off the engagement and escapesouthward under cover of nightfall.

The next morning, when Carleton realized that theAmerican flotilla had escaped, he pursued them. Eventually,the British caught up with Arnold’s ships and beganpounding them again. Arnold had no choice but to calloff the battle. He directed his damaged and leaky flotillaonto the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, and, after hismen had evacuated them, he burned the boats so theBritish could not use them.

The Battle of Valcour Island seemed like a defeat forthe American army. In reality, Arnold’s defense of LakeChamplain would prove vitally important to the Saratoga

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campaign the following year. Since it was already so latein the year, Carleton decided not to advance towardFort Ticonderoga. Indeed, he had been told that theAmericans had 10,000 men at the fort. Leading his armyagainst such a force in October, when winter was nearly

OPENING BATTLES 23

In the opening years of the Revolutionary War, battles between the British and American armies occurred along the Hudson RiverValley and Lake George and Lake Champlain.


at hand, and beginning a siege of the fort was highlyrisky. Carleton might not be able to supply his army fromCanada because snowy winter conditions would maketravel impossible.

So Carleton decided to retreat to Canada. In fact, hedid not even occupy Crown Point or leave a small garrisonthere for the winter. The return northward, which had

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Colonel Benedict Arnold led a small flotilla of ships that triedto stop a British invasion at the Battle of Valcour Island inOctober 1775.


been brought on because Carleton had been forced to spendseveral months building a fleet to oppose Arnold, meantthat the British would have to begin their campaign againfrom Canada in 1777. This would stretch British supplylines and give the Americans time to gather an army tooppose a new invasion.

General Burgoyne, who had participated in the Britishinvasion of 1776, disagreed with Carleton’s decision toretreat to Canada without leaving a garrison at CrownPoint or attempting to take Fort Ticonderoga. Burgoynewas a commander who believed in taking risks. He hadfought successfully against the French in Europe where hismen nicknamed him “Gentleman Johnny.” They loved hisboldness and regarded him as an effective commander.Burgoyne was also a playwright who hobnobbed withactors on the English stage, and he served as a member ofBritain’s parliament.

Most importantly, Burgoyne was a friend of LordGeorge Germain, Secretary of State for the Colonies,and the man in charge of propagating the war againstthe American rebels. After the 1776 campaign hadended, Burgoyne returned to London. His wife hadrecently died while he was away in Canada, and hegrieved over her loss. He also wanted to meet withGermain and propose a new campaign for 1777. BothGermain and King George III believed that the waragainst the Americans had to be pursued forcefully, andthe rebellion put down immediately.

During the summer of 1776, a British army com-manded by Lord William Howe had taken control ofNew York City. However, Howe allowed the Americanarmy under its commander-in-chief, General GeorgeWashington, to escape. Carleton, Germain believed, hadshown the same lack of initiative in not accomplishingmore during his invasion of upper New York. To remedy

OPENING BATTLES 25


this situation, General Burgoyne proposed a new plan ofattack for 1777. It was contained in what he called his“Thoughts” on the coming campaign. Burgoyne intendedthat the British regain the initiative in northern New York,which he believed had been lost with Carleton’s retreat.

Burgoyne wanted to gather a force of 8,000 British and

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General John Burgoyne convinced the British government that heshould command an army to invade New York and capture Albanyin 1777. Lord Germain and King George III both agreed that theAmerican rebellion had to be put down quickly.


German regular troops, along with 1,000 Indians and 2,000Canadian militias. While some of the regulars would be leftto hold Canada, the rest of the army would march southtaking control of Lake Champlain, capturing FortTiconderoga, and meeting up with the British army underLord Howe coming northward from New York City.Meanwhile, another, smaller force would march fromCanada to Lake Ontario down the Mohawk Valley, raisingsupport from Loyalists and Indians living in the area. Thus,three giant pincers would converge on Albany, capture thecity, and separate New York from New England, stampingout the rebellion.

Burgoyne, of course, expected to command the invasionfrom Canada. Lord Germain and King George acceptedBurgoyne’s plan during the winter of 1777. “GentlemanJohnny” sailed for Canada where he arrived in May, afterthe ice had melted and the St. Lawrence River was open tonavigation. Unfortunately, no one ever made clear to SirWilliam Howe what his role in the campaign should be. SirWilliam decided that instead of cooperating withBurgoyne, he would move most of his army southwardfrom New York for an attack on the American capital atPhiladelphia. Howe also hoped to force GeneralWashington into defending the capital city and, if possible,destroy the American army.

Therefore, Burgoyne was left on his own without anyassistance from Howe. This would have an enormousimpact on the outcome of the entire campaign.

OPENING BATTLES 27


Ticonderoga


In the cool autumn of 1755, Michel Chartier de Lotbinieresurveyed the dense forests that lay at the southern end of LakeChamplain. Lotbiniere was a Canadian, but he had studied in

France, receiving extensive training as an engineer in militaryfortifications. At the base of Lake Champlain he hoped to lay outa massive fort to guard the northern route to Canada. TheFrench called this fortress Le Carillon, the Chimes, because theythought a nearby waterfall sounded like the beautiful music ofchurch bells.

Before construction of Carillon could begin, Canadian work-men had to clear away a large swath of dense forest. Then, using

29

The French build Fort Ticonderoga,which they called Le Carillon, in1755-56 to guard the northern routeto Canada along Lake Champlain.


black powder, they blasted out thick stone ledges that lay inthe ground. Finally, work on Fort Carillon started. Thewalls were over 500 feet in length and they connected fourbastions at each corner that were shaped like stars. Theicy northern winter prevented Lotbiniere from finishingCarillon in 1755, but work continued the next spring andthrough the summer. Fort Carillon included a bakerywith ovens large enough to provide bread for the entiregarrison, as well as barracks for officers and soldiers, adungeon, and a powder magazine.

In the summer of 1758, during the French andIndian War, a British army of 14,000 soldiers under thecommand of General James Abercrombie sailed north-ward up Lake George to attack Fort Carillon. A Frencharmy of only 3,500 troops was defending the fort. TheFrench commander General Marquis de Montcalmrealized that he had too few soldiers to man all thebattlements at the fort. Therefore, Montcalm decided tobuild a defensive work north of Carillon. In the hot Julysun, French soldiers hastily erected a wooden breast-work. In front, they placed a massive network of sharppointed sticks—called an abatis—designed to stopenemy soldiers before they could climb the breastwork.On the morning of July 8, 1758, the British made afrontal assault on the French position. Unaccountably,General Abercrombie did not bring up his massiveartillery that could have easily destroyed the Frenchposition. Again and again, the British infantry chargedacross the open plateau toward the breastwork and eachtime they were driven back with terrible losses. Finally,Abercrombie retreated, leaving almost 2,000 of his mendead or wounded on the field. The French had won amiraculous victory. As Montcalm later wrote: “If evertroops were worthy of reward it has been those that I havethe honor to command.”

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A year later, the French had fallen back on Quebec,which was being besieged by a large British army.Another force of 11,000 men, commanded by GeneralJeffrey Amherst, advanced against Fort Carillon. Thistime the French were not strong enough to hold theirposition, and they retreated. But before leaving, they laidpowder charges around the fort. As one historian wrote,on the evening of July 26, 1759, there “was a swellingroar. A bright pillar of flame stabbed high into the nightsky and every corner and angle of Lotbiniere’s greatwork was outlined sharply against the lake. Men sawgreat masses of masonry tossed about like chips in a floodwhile the very ground shook and trembled. . . . The fireburned on through the night. Dull crashes sounded assolid beams collapsed under the weight they supported.”

The French had destroyed part of the fort, which theBritish occupied and renamed Ticonderoga—an Indianword that means “land between the waters.” But thefort remained in a state of disrepair until the Americanscaptured it in 1775. Two years later, as General Burgoyne’sarmy descended upon Lake Champlain, the Americanarmy scrambled to defend the fort against the British army.The defenses were still inadequate. In addition, theAmerican army numbered only about 2,500 men—too fewto adequately man the walls.

The American forces were commanded by MajorGeneral Arthur St. Clair (pronounced Sinclair). A veteranof the French and Indian War, St. Clair had alsocommanded troops during the early fighting of theAmerican Revolution. As St. Clair surveyed his forces,he realized that they were a mixed collection of troops.Some regiments were Continentals—men who hadenlisted for the duration of the war. While a smallnumber of these Continentals had seen action duringthe Revolution, others were still untrained. In addition,

TICONDEROGA 31


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Many of the American soldiers were experienced hunters. Part of theiruniform was a long hunting shirt made out of cloth or deer leather, withfringe on the sleeves. The shirt was originally supposed to be worn aroundcamp. But soldiers often wore the shirt in battle, because it was the onlyshirt they owned. The Continental army in 1777 could not afford to issuestandard uniforms to its troops. Unlike the British or German troops whowere smartly dressed in splendid uniforms, the American soldiers oftenwore what they had brought with them from home.

In addition to a hunting shirt, the continental infantryman wore atri-corned hat. The men also wore knee-length breeches or overalls aswell as boots or shoes. Today, we are used to having shoes fitted to ourright and left feet. During the colonial period, both shoes were identical. Asmart soldier might shift the shoes or boots back and forth from one footto the other to reduce wear. Buckles and straps kept the shoes from fallingof a soldier’s foot. Frequently, the shoes were not too well fitted.

Each member of a state militia carried a musket. A favorite musket wasthe so-called Brown Bess. This was the same musket used by the Britishsoldiers. Infantrymen were taught to load and shoot a musket every fifteenseconds to produce maximum fire power against the enemy. The musketshot a large lead ball. The ball could be combined with a load of powderand wrapped in a brown paper cartridge. The cartridges were kept dry incartridge boxes carried by Continental soldiers. The cartridge box hung atthe soldier’s waist. If the cartridges became wet, the powder would needto be dried before the ammunition could be used in battle.

To fire a musket, the soldier shook powder into the pan of his musketat the rear of the weapon. A charge was then rammed down the musketwith a ramrod. Then the infantryman took aim and fired. The musketswere accurate over a distance of up to 100 yards.

On the march, soldiers had to carry rations with them. Wooden or tincanteens contained water. A soldier’s food rations might be kept in ahaversack, slung over his shoulder. The rations often consisted of a smallamount of beef as well as flour to make bread. Cooking was done in heavycast iron kettles over a campfire.

Military Equipment of Continental Soldiers


St. Clair commanded two regiments of militia. Themilitias were untrained farmers and shopkeepers whocould only be depended on to remain with the army forshort periods. When they grew tired of military service,they would return home to their regular jobs. The militiaoften panicked at the first sight of battle, but some of themwere skilled marksmen who might prove valuable in anupcoming fight.

In addition to his small military force, St. Clair hadonly a short supply of food and ammunition for hismen. All they could hope to do was delay Burgoyne’ssuperior army, then retreat southward. Instead of keep-ing his entire army inside the fort, St. Clair posted someof them on two outlying positions. One of these waslocated on Mount Hope, west of Fort Ticonderoga.Here the Americans had placed artillery to fire down onthe advancing British. South of the fort were South Bayand Wood Creek. On the eastern side of South Bay roseRattlesnake Hill, where the Americans had also builtdefenses and placed cannon. A third hill, called Mt.Defiance, lay south of Fort Ticonderoga and across agorge that connected Lake Champlain and LakeGeorge. However, the American commanders had putno defenses on this hill because they believed that it wasfar too difficult for an advancing army to climb.

On July 1, 1777, as Burgoyne advanced down LakeChamplain and neared Fort Ticonderoga, he split hisarmy. The British marched along the western side ofthe lake, while the German soldiers moved along theeastern shore. Burgoyne intended to attack the fortfrom two different directions and prevent the Americanarmy from retreating. In command of the British troopswas General Simon Fraser, 48 years old, and a veteranofficer who had fought at Quebec during the Frenchand Indian War. As Fraser’s soldiers approached Mount

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Hope, the American troops decided to abandon theirposition, burn it, and retreat towards Fort Ticonderoga.As they retreated, the Americans took cover behind theold French breastworks, where Indians attacked them.However, they beat back the Indian attack withoutsuffering any casualties.

Meanwhile, Fraser saw that Mount Defiance, acrossthe gorge from the fort, had a commanding view ofTiconderoga. He sent one of his engineers, Lieutenant

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General Simon Fraser, a veteran British officer, served valiantlythroughout the entire British invasion of 1777. He recognized thatMt. Defiance held the key to the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.


William Twiss, to find out if he could climb the hill.Twiss returned several hours later and reported that aroad might be built so artillery could be wheeled to thetop of the mountain. As one of Fraser’s officers put it:“Where a goat can go, a man can go and where a man cango he can drag a gun.” From this position the British couldfire their guns down into Fort Ticonderoga, forcing theAmericans to abandon it. On July 4, the British soldiersstarted building a narrow, dirt road up the mountain. Bynoon of the following day, they were positioning artilleryon the summit.

When General St. Clair realized what the British hadaccomplished, he knew that the American position insideFort Ticonderoga had become indefensible. He decidedimmediately to retreat. Fortunately, the German armycommanded by Baron von Riedesel, which was makingits way around behind Fort Ticonderoga from the east,had not reached its final position. St. Clair’s troops stillhad time to make their escape. But General St. Clairrealized how difficult a task lay before him. As he put it,“a retreat, with an inferior army, from before a superiorone, is perhaps the most delicate and dangerous under-taking in the whole circle of military operations.” St.Clair meant that if the smaller army is caught whileretreating and not ready for battle, the large force couldeasily destroy it.

Nevertheless, St. Clair had no other choice. Underthe cover of darkness on the night of July 5, part of hisforce embarked on ships to sail southward towardSkenesboro on Wood Creek. The other part of the armycrossed over the bridge from Fort Ticonderoga to theeastern shore to march to Hubbardton and Castleton.During the night, as the American troops retreated,their plan was almost revealed when the encampmenton Rattlesnake Hill was mistakenly blown up by one of

TICONDEROGA 35


the American commanders. The British, however,seemed unaware of the movements by the Americanforces. However, it was a difficult maneuver for St.Clair and his troops, many of whom were inexperiencedmilitia. Trying to retreat in the darkness, when no onecould be sure of their footing and when the Britishmight have attacked at any moment, was enough tocause complete panic among the troops. St. Clair and hiscommanders kept most of the men calm. By the follow-ing morning they had made their escape, and Burgoynewas surprised to discover that Ticonderoga had beencompletely abandoned.

Immediately, he sent General Fraser southward toHubbardton in pursuit of the Americans. Burgoyne,himself, destroyed the bridge across Lake Champlain sohis ships could sail from Lake Champlain, pastTiconderoga and pursue the American contingentheading toward Skenesboro. St. Clair made a rapidretreat to Hubbardtown. There he left a contingentunder the command of Colonel Seth Warner to delaythe British advance until the American forces couldreach Castleton and eventually rendezvous with the restof their troops at Skenesboro.

Since Warner’s men had endured a long, hot march toHubbardtown, he decided to let them rest. On the nightof July 6, he put out no pickets to warn his troops of anadvancing enemy. Unknown to the Americans, GeneralFraser was driving his men relentlessly forward.Although he let his men rest for a few hours, they wereon the road again by 3:00 A.M. on July 7. By daylight, theywere approaching the American camp. Fraser’s scoutswent ahead and reconnoitered the American position.When they came back, Fraser realized he had an oppor-tunity to surprise the Americans.

At approximately 7:00 A.M., a shout went up from

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the American camp: “The enemy are upon us.” Fraser’smen charged the center of the American position, whileanother contingent of British troops tried to outflankthe American left wing. At first, the British were suc-cessful. The American position was forced to retreat.Meanwhile, a force of American troops on the rightpushed back the British left, jeopardizing Fraser’sposition. But, before the Americans could defeat thispart of the British line, reinforcements led by Baron vonRiedesel and his German soldiers appeared. They hadbeen marching behind Fraser’s soldiers, and vonRiedesel realized that the battle would be lost unless hereinforced the British left flank quickly. The Germansswung into line and began firing, forcing the Americansto retreat towards Castleton after losing almost halftheir men.

While Fraser was engaged with the enemy atHubbardtown, Burgoyne was sailing southward with histroops toward Skenesboro. Colonel Pierce Long, com-manding the American forces, had enough time to burn thefort at Skenesboro as well as several ships before Burgoynearrived. The British had advanced far more quickly thanLong had anticipated. He was forced to retreat hastily, andthe British captured some of his ships as well as a largeportion of his food supplies. Meanwhile, Long headedsouth toward Fort Anne. Burgoyne sent Lt. Colonel JohnHill after Long with orders to intercept him. As Hillapproached Fort Anne through a narrow heavily woodedarea, Long was waiting to ambush him. When the firingstarted on the morning of July 8, both sides tried to gainthe advantage. The British held a position on a ridge,but the American troops were slowly advancing againstthem. Suddenly, a war whoop went up in the rear.Indians were arriving to assist the British. Fearinghimself outnumbered, Long decided to retreat. As it

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turned out, there were no Indians, but only a singleBritish officer named John Money. He had been leading agroup of Indians, but when they seemed reluctant to fightthe Americans, Money became impatient and ran ahead ofthem. His war whoop had won the battle.

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The American forces fighting under Pierce Long in 1777 retreated, andburned Fort Anne to be sure it would not fall to the British. Long’s menreceived exaggerated reports about the size of the British force theywere to battle.


Inside Fort Anne, the American forces received wordthat the British were advancing with a much larger force.Therefore, they decided to burn the fort and retreatsouthward to Fort Edward. General Burgoyne, however,seemed to be in no hurry to push his advantage. Instead,he established his headquarters at Skenesboro andwaited there for supplies. The supply route from Canadawas getting longer and longer as Burgoyne movedfarther south, so it would take many days for additionalfood and ammunition to arrive for the British andGerman troops.

Meanwhile, General Schuyler had ridden northfrom his headquarters at Albany to take command ofthe troops at Fort Edward. By mid-July there werealmost 3,000 Continentals and 1,600 militia. St. Clair’smen had arrived after their retreat from Ticonderoga,along with Colonel Long’s contingent and additionalreinforcements. However, Schuyler realized that hewas not strong enough to stop Burgoyne. The best hecould do was to delay him while waiting for more mento join the American army and establish a strong posi-tion farther south where he could fight Burgoyne on anequal footing.

To delay Burgoyne’s advance from Skenesboro,Schuyler ordered his men to destroy the road and bridgesthrough the woods and swamps leading from Fort Anne toFort Edward. Schuyler also told all the farmers in the areato destroy their crops and livestock so the enemy would nothave any additional food supplies. Schuyler’s men did sucha good job of obstructing the road that Burgoyne had tosend out his own men to build a new one. As a result, hisarmy did not reach Fort Edward until July 29. By that time,Schuyler had gone south to Saratoga.

Burgoyne’s troops were elated. They had capturedFort Ticonderoga and driven the enemy southward.

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Now, at Fort Edward, they were only a few miles fromthe Hudson River and the route to Albany. Victoryseemed within their grasp. But in early August,Burgoyne had received a message from General Howe.It said: “My intention is for Pennsylvania, where Iexpect to meet Washington.” Burgoyne and his army

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General Philip Schuyler led the American defense of the HudsonRiver Valley against the attack by the British army. Schuyler andhis men delayed the advancing British army on their march toFt. Edward by destroying roads and bridges.


were on their own. They could expect no help fromGeneral Howe who was leading his troops in the oppositedirection, toward the American capital at Philadelphia.With his lengthening supply line, Burgoyne must engagethe American army in battle and defeat it while he stillhad enough food and ammunition to supply his soldiers.But time was beginning to run out.

TICONDEROGA 41


J ohn Stark was a proud, powerfully-built soldier from London-derry, Vermont. Stark had been battle-tested during theFrench and Indian War when he served as a captain with

Robert Rogers’ Rangers. The Rangers were a unit of scoutsattached to the British army. They knew how to hide themselvesin the dense forests, steal up on an enemy position such asFort St. Frederic or Fort Carillon, and report on its strengthto the British commanders. The Rangers were also experts atambushing French and Indian war parties. In January 1757, forexample, Stark along with Rogers and his Rangers intercepted asled carrying French soldiers that was gliding along the ice onLake Champlain. Unfortunately, a larger unit of French troops

43

4

John Stark and theBattle of Bennington

General John Stark, a veteran of theFrench and Indian War, commandedAmerican troops at the Battle ofBennington in 1777.


spotted the Rangers. Rogers and his men tried to escapebut they were surrounded. Rogers, himself, waswounded and Stark had to lead the rangers to safety. Hediscovered a secure position for the night, but fearing therangers might be eventually overwhelmed, he went forhelp. Stark traveled 40 miles on snow shoes, arriving at alarge British outpost the next morning. He securedsleighs to carry off the wounded rangers and broughtreinforcements to save his men.

Stark left the army at the end of the war and settled inDerryfield, New Hampshire. But after the RevolutionaryWar broke out in 1775, he joined the American forces.As a colonel, he commanded a regiment on the frontlines at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. The follow-ing year, Stark participated in the American victory atTrenton. For his outstanding service, Stark expectedto be promoted to general. But he was overlooked bythe American Continental Congress, which was run-ning the war, and other men were promoted ahead ofhim. Stark was so angry that he resigned from theAmerican army.

As Burgoyne’s army headed south in the summer of1777, he seemed to threaten not only New York, butVermont and New Hampshire, which lay to the east ofthe Hudson River. Indeed, the British general hadthought about leading an army eastward and puttingdown the rebellion in the New England states. WhenFort Ticonderoga fell to the British, northern NewEngland felt especially threatened by Burgoyne’s army.Shortly afterward, John Langdon, the Speaker of theNew Hampshire legislature, rose and offered to bankrollan army. “I have a thousand dollars in hard money,” hesaid. “I will pledge my plate [silver dinner dishes] forthree thousand more. . . . They are at the service of thestate. If we succeed in defending our firesides and our

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homes I may be remunerated; if we do not then theproperty will be of no value to me. Our friend, JohnStark, who so nobly maintained the honor of our stateat Bunker Hill, may safely be entrusted with the honorof the enterprise and we will check the progress ofBurgoyne.”

Stark was made a Brigadier General and began toraise an army. His reputation was so widely respectedthroughout New Hampshire that 1,500 men joined himin only a few days. On July 30, 1777, General Starkmarched eastward to Manchester, Vermont, where hejoined Colonel Seth Warner, who had retreated with hismen from Hubbardton. In the meantime, GeneralSchuyler sent word to Stark that he should continue tomarch to New York to meet up with the main part ofthe American army. Schuyler wanted as many men aspossible to resist Burgoyne.

Stark refused. As he put it, his job was to defend NewHampshire and Vermont. In addition, he did not want toserve in the regular American army. He begged not to beput “under the Command of those officers on whoseaccount I quitted the army. Lest the remedy should proveworse to me than the disease.” Instead, on August 8,Stark led his army to Bennington, in southern Vermont.This was an important American supply center with foodand horses for the army.

Although Stark did not know it, a force of Germansoldiers was also heading for Bennington. Baron vonRiedesel had suggested to General Burgoyne that a smalldetachment might be sent eastward into Vermont to tryto round up horses and supplies for the army. There werealready too few horses for the cavalry, and the supply linefrom Canada was being stretched to the breaking point.General von Riedesel reasoned that the rich farmland inVermont might provide the army with what they needed.

JOHN STARK AND THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 45


Burgoyne agreed. But instead of a small foragingparty, he decided to send a much larger force. Burgoynehoped to protect his left flank as he marched southward,and induce Tories in Vermont to join the army. To leadthe force, he chose Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum.Colonel Baum commanded a small army of over 600

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German soldiers like this regiment, along with Tories and Indians under thecommand of General Baum, marched to Bennington to capture horses andsupplies for General Burgoyne’s army.


men, including German soldiers, Tories, and Indians.Unfortunately, Baum could not speak any English. HowBurgoyne expected him to communicate with AmericanTories in Vermont and persuade them to enlist in thearmy was unclear. Shortly before Baum began his marcheastward, Burgoyne changed his orders. Baum was totake his army to Bennington and capture the Americansupplies. Although they did not know it, Baum and Starkwere now on a collision course.

As Baum headed toward Bennington, the Indianwarriors with him looted the countryside and frightenedthe local farmers. Stark heard about the Indian lootingand sent a contingent of 200 soldiers under ColonelWilliam Gregg to stop them. Instead, on August 14,Gregg ran into Baum’s force at a flour mill about ninemiles from Bennington. There were too few Americansto stop Baum, so they fired a single volley, destroyed abridge, and retreated. Baum immediately sent off a dis-patch to Burgoyne explaining that he had capturedsome supplies, and adding that he had found out that amuch larger force of Americans was awaiting him atBennington. However, Baum said that he did not intendto retreat.

On August 15, it rained heavily. Because Baum wasoutnumbered, he planned to take up a defensive positionoutside Bennington. On a hill along the WalloomsacRiver, Baum entrenched some of his men behind abreastwork of logs that they had built. A second contin-gent with several cannon was entrenched on another hillnearby. Baum himself took up a position on a road in thecenter. Across the Walloomsac River, Baum placed a thirdgroup, including his Indian warriors.

Stark sent out scouts to find out where the Germanshad positioned themselves. He realized that they had prob-ably spread their forces far too thin, so that no contingent



could easily support another. Stark and Colonel Warnerdecided that since they outnumbered Baum almost three toone, they would try to strike him at three different placessimultaneously. One contingent would hit him on the leftflank, another on the right flank, and Stark would attack inthe center. This would confuse Baum, and give his men notime to support each other’s positions.

By noon on August 16, 1777, the skies began clearing.Stark’s men moved into position through dense woods,trying to prevent the Germans from seeing them. Athree-pronged attack depends on perfect timing. Eachcontingent must be in place and advance simultaneouslyto have the maximum impact. Stark’s troops executed theplan perfectly. The battle began about 3:00 P.M. As Starksignaled his men to attack, he reportedly said: “There areyour enemies, the Hessians and the Tories. We must beatthem or tonight Molly Stark [my wife] sleeps a widow.”

The struggle for the entrenched position on the hillwas fierce. The American troops charged amid thesmoke from their musket fire, but they were beaten backby the German defenders. However, the militia keptadvancing, and finally swarmed over the Germanposition. As one American soldier put it: “The day wasvery warm. They were in full dress & very heavy armedand we in our shirts and trousers. . . . Some were killedin their works. Many were killed and taken in goingdown the hill and others on the flat upon the river.”Across the river, the Indians and Tories had met asimilar fate; they were overcome after firing a singlevolley. However, Colonel Baum continued to holdhis position with a contingent of German soldiers.Eventually, they ran out of ammunition. But still theykept fighting. Baum ordered his men to use theirmusket butts to club the enemy and charge them withbayonets. However, there were too many American

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militias. As the Germans retreated, Baum was hit by abullet and fell to the ground. The Germans had seenenough and began to surrender.

Some of Stark’s men now began to gather up theprisoners. Others were exhausted from the hard foughtbattle and stopped during the hot afternoon to rest anddrink water. Still others started looting the German camp


American soldiers beat back the German infantry at the Battle of Bennington,August 16, 1777.


and stealing possessions from the German dead. WhileStark’s men were scattered across the battlefield, someof them spotted another army of German soldiersapproaching from the west. General Burgoyne had sentout reinforcements under the command of LieutenantColonel Heinrich Breymann. His force included over 600men as well as artillery. Breymann had marched slowlythrough the mud and rain from the main British positionalong the Hudson. By the time he had reached the battle-field, Baum was already defeated. But Breymann did notknow it, and he ordered his men to advance againstStark’s militia.

As Breymann recalled: “I noticed through the woodsa considerable number of armed men . . . hasteningtowards an eminence on my left flank. I thereuponordered [one] battalion . . . to move toward the height.. . . The engagement now commenced and lasted untilnear eight o’clock. The cannon were posted on a roadwhere there was a log house. This we fired upon as it wasoccupied by the rebels. This drove them out and we thenrepulsed them on all sides and . . . notwithstanding theyreceived reinforcements.”

An American soldier recalls encountering the Hessianreinforcements: “. . . we met Breymann with 800 freshtroops and larger cannon which opened fire of grapeshot. Some of the grape shot riddled a . . . fence near me,one struck a small white oak tree behind which I stood.Though it hit higher than my head I fled from the treethinking it might be aimed at again.” At first theAmericans were pushed back by Breymann’s troops. ButColonel Seth Warner arrived on the battlefield to takecommand of the scattered American forces. A freshcontingent also arrived from Vermont. “Fix bayonets!Charge!” Warner yelled. By this time, Breymann’s troopshad almost run out of ammunition. Stark had also rallied

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some of his troops who were fighting alongside Warner.It was too much for the Germans, who turned aroundand retreated from the battlefield. Gradually, they beganrunning down the road with the Americans firingtoward them from the flanks and the rear.


Statue of Colonel Seth Warner, who took command on the battle-field at Bennington and helped defeat the German reinforcementsled by Colonel Heinrich Breymann.


As the battlefield became dark, Breymann and mostof his men escaped. He later wrote a letter to GeneralBurgoyne, but did not mention the rout of his soldiers:“The troops did their duty, and I know of no one whodoubts this fact. After our ammunition was all expended,and the artillery . . . ceased firing, nothing was morenatural than to suppose that the enemy would beencouraged to renew his attack. . . . I retreated on theapproach of darkness.”

General Burgoyne, however, was sadly disappointedwith Breymann’s performance. But the British com-mander had only himself to blame for the outcome. Insending Baum, General Burgoyne had picked thewrong man. He should have sent a more experiencedcommander, at least one who understood English. AsBaum saw the American militia advance on the day ofthe battle, he thought they were Tories. Therefore,Baum had given orders that his pickets should retreatand let the “Tories” advance. This only increased thesurprise when the battle began and allowed theAmerican troops to get closer to the German positionand fire their muskets with greater accuracy.

In addition to sending out the wrong commander,Burgoyne was indecisive regarding the purpose of themission. He sent too many men for a quick hit and runraid to obtain supplies. But he sent too few men to engagea substantial force of American troops. As a result,Baum’s mission was almost doomed from the beginning.

The American army under General John Stark andColonel Seth Warner had won an impressive victory atBennington. With a loss of about 70 men, they had killedor captured more than 900 German soldiers. Thesesoldiers were now unavailable to General Burgoyne forthe rest of the campaign. Furthermore, the Americanshad prevented Burgoyne from obtaining any supplies at

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Bennington. He could not now risk sending out anotherforce to find food and horses in Vermont. Instead, hewould need to rely on his long supply line from Canada.Finally, the American victory probably discouraged mostTories from Vermont or New Hampshire from joiningthe British army.

What had begun for the British with a victory at FortTiconderoga was now turning to defeat. And more badnews for Burgoyne was about to follow from theMohawk River valley.



Victory Along the Mohawk


While Burgoyne was advancing southward, he had sentanother army down from Canada to Lake Ontario, orderingit to advance along the Mohawk River Valley and link up

with his main force. Along the way, this army was supposed to enlistthe support of the powerful Iroquois nations and persuade them torise up against the Americans who lived in the Mohawk Valley.

In 1777, the villages of the six Iroquois nations stretched fromthe Hudson River westward to Lake Ontario. Nearest the Hudsonlay the lands of the Mohawks, followed by the Oneidas who livedalong the Mohawk River, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and theSenecas, while to the south lay the hunting grounds of the

55

The lands of the six Iroquoisnations stretched from theHudson River across New York to Lake Ontario. The Six Nationshad formidable warriors, and theirallegiance was sought by both the British and American armies.


Tuscoraras. The Iroquois formed a confederacy, whichhad originally been founded during the 16th century bya legendary Onondaga chief, Hiawatha. The Iroquoissachems met together at the capital of the confederacy inOnondaga, located in western New York. Here theydebated important issues, such as whether the confederacyshould declare war. Decisions had to be unanimous, or theIroquois could not act together. However, in the absence ofagreement, each tribe was free to act on its own.

Onondaga was a prosperous Indian capital lying on ariver that, according to travelers, flowed through “a verybeautiful and fertile” valley, while the town itself was filledwith “a strange mixture of cabins interspersed with greatpatches of high grass, bushes and shrubs, some of peas, corn,and squashes.” The Iroquois were not only successfulfarmers, but also aggressive traders and warriors. Duringthe 17th century they had become the primary middlemenin the lucrative fur trade. Since beaver had mostly disap-peared in the land of the Iroquois, there were no furs totrade for guns and other items which Dutch and Britishmerchants sold at Albany. Therefore, the Iroquois waged aseries of successful wars against tribes such as the Huron toreplace them as middlemen. The Iroquois could thencarry furs from the western Indians to Albany in return fortrade goods to barter with the tribes. However, the Albanymerchants often paid low prices for furs, and the Iroquoissoon learned they could make a better deal if they tradedwith both the British and the French, playing one againstthe other. During the 18th century the Albany merchantswere trying to get around the Iroquois by trading directlywith the French in Montreal. This, of course, greatlyangered the Six Nations.

Stepping into this tangled political situation in 1738 wasa young Irishman named William Johnson. He set upa farm and a trading post along the Mohawk River and

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quickly won a reputation for giving the Iroquois fairprices for their furs, far better than they received inAlbany. Johnson also had a genuine interest in theIroquois culture. He learned the Mohawk language,danced and sang with the Mohawks in their tribal cele-brations, and was eventually adopted into the Mohawktribe. They called him Warraghiyagey, “a man who under-takes great things.”

VICTORY ALONG THE MOHAWK 57

Sir William Johnson, an English trader and colonial administrator,befriended the Iroquois and maintained their alliance with Great Britain.


Johnson’s influence among the Iroquois was eventuallyrecognized by the British authorities in Albany whonamed him Colonel of the Six Nations and their Allies in1755. That same year, Johnson led the Iroquois to a victoryagainst the French on Lake George. During the Frenchand Indian War, he helped maintain Iroquois neutrality,and the Six Nations did not join the French when theywon a string of victories against the British in 1756 and1757. The Iroquois might have put at least 1,500 warriorsin the field and decimated the Mohawk River valley.Finally when the tide turned in favor of Great Britain,many of the Iroquois agreed to go to war against France.After the war, Johnson continued to handle Indian affairsfor the British government from his home at Johnson Hallon the banks of the Mohawk River. He had even marrieda Mohawk woman named Molly Brant, further strength-ening his ties with the Iroquois.

Johnson died in 1774, and his position was taken over byhis son, John Johnson, and nephew, Guy Johnson. Anotherinfluential leader among the Iroquois was Joseph Brant, thebrother of Molly Brant. Joseph Brant had been educated ata school for Indians in Lebanon, Connecticut, fought alongside William Johnson during the French and Indian War,traveled to England, and even had his portrait painted—asign of wealth and prestige in those times. His role, alongwith the Johnsons, would become crucial during theRevolutionary War.

In 1775, as the war began, the Six Iroquois nationsmet in a large council to decide what role they shouldplay. The Confederacy eventually decided to remainneutral. However, Brant believed that this decision wasa tremendous mistake. He was afraid that if theAmericans won the war, they would continue pushingwestward and deny the Iroquois their ancestral homes.Under his influence, four of the Iroquois tribes—the

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Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas—formedan alliance with Great Britain.

In the meantime, John Johnson was defending JohnsonHall where 700 of his soldiers had taken up a fortifiedposition. Early in 1776, General Schuyler advancedwith an army of 3,000 men to force Johnson out of theMohawk Valley. Eventually, Johnson decided to sur-render and agreed never again to make war against theAmerican armies. Only a few months later, however,he left the valley and fled north to Canada. Here heraised a new army, called the Royal Greens because ofthe color of their uniforms, and prepared to return toNew York.

In July 1777, an army commanded by Lt. ColonelBarry St. Leger left Canada for Lake Ontario and aninvasion of the Mohawk Valley. St. Leger’s force of about900 men included the Royal Greens, commanded by JohnJohnson, a unit of Tories under the leadership of ColonelJohn Butler, as well as almost 1,000 Iroquois led byJoseph Brant. They were marching toward Fort Stanwix,an American stronghold on the Mohawk River near theGreat Carrying Place. This was the area between WoodCreek and the Mohawk where travelers had to carry ortransport their boats.

Fort Stanwix had been built during the French andIndian War. It was a logical defensive location for a fortbecause an invading French army would follow this routefrom Canada and pass over the Great Carrying Place toreach the Mohawk River. Built under the direction ofGeneral John Stanwix, the fort was constructed of logs andearth and included four large pointed bastions, one on eachcorner. After the war had ended, the fort was not kept ingood condition because there seemed to be no need for itany longer. In April 1777, Colonel Peter Gansevoort arrivedat the fort, and, along with his second in command,



Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willet, they began to improveits condition to withstand an attack. By June, NativeAmericans had already begun to send out raiding parties inthe Mohawk Valley in advance of the British invasion. Two

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Built during the French and Indian War, Fort Stanwix guarded the Mohawk River Valley against an invasion by the French fromCanada. The American army used the fort to the same end underthe command of Colonel Gansevoort in 1777.


soldiers were attacked, tomahawked, and scalped about amile from Fort Stanwix. In early July, a group of seven menwere ambushed by Indians who killed one of them and tookfour prisoners. By the end of the month, St. Leger’s armyhad reached Wood Creek. Here they were delayed by largetrees that the Americans had cut to block their boats frommoving along the water. On August 2, just before St. Legerarrived in front of Fort Stanwix, several boats filled withsupplies as well as reinforcements of about 200 men reachedthe defenders at the fort, bringing their total force to about750 soldiers.

“Next morning,” Willet later wrote, “the enemyappeared in the edge of the woods about a mile belowthe fort, where they took post, in order to invest it.”Then St. Leger sent an ultimatum to Gansevoort callingon him to surrender. In order to persuade him to acceptthe ultimatum, St. Leger ordered his troops and NativeAmericans to march in front of the fort. The Americans,however, were not intimidated and refused to hand overFort Stanwix to the British.

Willett wrote that while his men were trying to putpieces of sod on the walls of the fort to make it higher, theywere “much annoyed by a sharp fire of musketry from theIndians and . . . riflemen, as our men were obliged to beexposed on the works, [who] killed one man and woundedseven. The day after, the firing was not so heavy, and ourmen were under better cover; all the damage was one mankilled by a rifle ball.” On the evening of August 4, Willetreported that “the Indians were uncommonly noisy, theymade most horrid yellings great part of the evening in thewoods, hardly a mile from the fort. A few cannon shot werefired among them.”

While the Americans were trying to maintain theirposition, a relief force was on its way to help the fort.General Nicholas Herkimer had gathered the force east



of Fort Stanwix. The son of a German immigrant,Herkimer had become a successful farmer and trader, andheld a prominent position among the many Germans whohad settled in the Mohawk Valley. Once his men wereassembled, Herkimer had asked for volunteers to bringmessages to Fort Stanwix. In case one was caught by theenemy, he sent several with the same message; he asked thefort’s defenders to fire three cannon and attack the Englishcamp when the messengers arrived, distracting them asHerkimer’s relief force approached the fort.

Herkimer waited with his 800-man army until heheard the cannon shots. But none came. The general andhis officers discussed whether to advance even without thesignal and finally decided to move ahead. In the meantime,St. Leger had heard about the approach of the relief forceand sent out some of his men to set a trap for it. Near theOriskany village, the road to Fort Stanwix ran through adeep ravine. On August 6, 1777, St. Leger sent the RoyalGreens led by Colonel Butler and the Iroquois underJoseph Brant to hide in the woods surrounding the ravine.As Herkimer and his men advanced along it, Brant andButler planned to attack.

Apparently, Herkimer failed to send out any flankerswho might have seen the enemy hidden in the woods, andhis men walked directly into the trap. Firing began just asthe head of Herkimer’s column of troops were reaching theend of the ravine. Some of his troops were immediately shotand killed before they could even fire. Others tried to fire atthe Indians, but as the American militiamen reloaded,Indian warriors would charge and tomahawk them.During the opening of the battle, Herkimer himself had hishorse shot out from under him and his leg was wounded.His men wanted him to leave the battlefield, but he orderedthem to carry him to a nearby tree. There he sat, smokinghis pipe and directing the battle.

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Gradually, the American militia gained a position ona hill overlooking the ravine and defended it against theirattackers. As the battle raged, the skies darkened and aheavy rain began. Since the rain dampened the powderthat the soldiers put in their rifles to fire musket balls, the


Joseph Brant was an influential Iroquois leader. Iroquois led byBrant ambushed a group of American militia, led by GeneralNicholas Herkimer, at the Battle of Oriskany.


shooting suddenly stopped. Once the rain was over, thefighting resumed. By this time, Herkimer had told hismen that they should fight in pairs against the Indians.As one soldier fired and then stopped to reload, the othercould defend him by firing against an attacking warrior.

More and more Native Americans were now being hit,and Brant’s warriors were beginning to lose their initialadvantage in the battle. Suddenly, cannon shots were heardfrom the direction of Fort Stanwix. These shots werefollowed by rifle fire as the defenders advanced from thefort. Under the direction of Colonel Willett, about 250 menattacked the British camp, which was lightly defended.They captured a large quantity of supplies and returned tothe fort without any casualties.

At Oriskany the Indians began to retreat from thebattlefield with cries of “Oonah! Oonah!” After hearingthe cannon fire from Fort Stanwix, they had decided toreturn there. Butler’s Greens, who were now outnum-bered by the Americans, also retreated. The Battle ofOriskany, which had lasted most of the day, had been adraw. Although the Greens and the Iroquois had with-drawn from the battlefield, they had stopped the reliefforce from reaching Fort Stanwix. The American militiahad lost several hundred men who were killed orwounded in a very bloody battle and retreated eastward.General Herkimer died after his leg was amputated afew days after the battle.

St. Leger continued his siege of Fort Stanwix. Onceagain, he called on the Americans to surrender, but theyrefused even after being told that General Herkimer hadbeen defeated at Oriskany. Instead, Colonel Willett wasgiven a mission to sneak through the enemy lines and tryto reach General Schuyler’s headquarters near Albanywhere he might be able to gather another relief force.Schuyler had already heard that the British were besieging

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Fort Stanwix and wanted to send an army to help itsdefenders. But some of his officers opposed this decision,fearing that it might weaken the main army that wasopposing Burgoyne. According to one historian, Schuyler


As the tide of the Battle of Oriskany turned, many of the Iroquoiswarriors led by Brant were killed or wounded. They returned toFort Stanwix, where they prevented reinforcements from reachingthe Americans.


was so angry that he bit the stem of his clay pipe in half.“Gentlemen,” he said, “I shall take the responsibilityupon myself. Fort Stanwix and the Mohawk Valley shallbe saved! Where is the [general] who will commandthe relief?”

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Barry St. Leger was born in England in 1737. After attending college atCambridge University, St. Leger joined the British Army in 1756. At thistime, the Seven Years War was breaking out in Europe. England and itsally, King Frederick the Great of Prussia, were fighting against Franceand Austria. St. Leger became an officer in an infantry regiment andsailed to North America.

Over the next three years, St. Leger participated in several of the mostimportant campaigns during the French and Indian War. In 1757, heserved under General James Abercrombie who was trying to defend theNew York frontier against the French. However, Abercrombie’s effortswere unsuccessful, and French General Louis Montcalm captured FortWilliam Henry. This important British outpost guarded the base of LakeGeorge in New York. The following year, St. Leger was sent north wherehe fought during the siege of Louisbourg. Located on Cape BretonIsland, near Nova Scotia, Louisburg was a large French citadel whichguarded the St. Lawrence River. Under the leadership of General JeffreyAmherst and General James Wolfe, the British laid siege to the massivefortress and captured it in July, 1758. The following year, St. Leger joinedWolfe’s army at the successful siege of Quebec, and in 1760 helpedcapture the French citadel at Montreal.

During the American Revolution, St. Leger, now a Lieutenant Colonel,was selected to capture Fort Stanwix. Although this expedition failed, hecontinued to participate in the war. From his base at Montreal, St. Legerled a force of British rangers who harassed the American troops. In1781, he was sent on an expedition to capture General Philip Schuyler.However, this mission failed. After the war, St. Leger returned to Canada.He died in 1789.

Barry St. Leger


That general was Benedict Arnold, who volunteeredto lead a relief column to Fort Stanwix. With a force ofapproximately 1,000 troops, he moved swiftly down thevalley. Although Arnold had been told that St. Leger’soutnumbered his army, he continued to advance. Inaddition, he tried to trick St. Leger into believing that theAmerican army was far bigger than it really was. Arnold’smen had captured a Tory named Hon Yost Schuyler andsentenced him to hang for recruiting soldiers to help theBritish. Schuyler often acted in a crazy way, appearing to bementally ill. Among the Indians, the mentally ill werethought to have great wisdom given to them by God.Schuyler made General Arnold an offer: If the generalagreed to free him, he would go to St. Leger’s camp andspread the word among the Indians, some of whom he mayhave known, that a large army was approaching.

Hon Yost Schuyler traveled westward and entered theBritish siege lines. He claimed to have barely escaped fromthe Americans with his life and told the Indians thatArnold was approaching with several thousand troops.This was a much greater force than the Indians couldwithstand, and they immediately began to leave the Britishcamp. Without the Indians, St. Leger had too few men tocontinue the siege and retreated westward. The trick hadworked, and before Arnold reached Fort Stanwix onAugust 24, the siege had ended.

Suddenly, Burgoyne had lost another part of his army.The British withdrawal also meant that the NativeAmericans and Tories in the Mohawk Valley who mighthave joined Burgoyne decided instead to sit out the rest ofthe campaign. The standoff at the Battle of Oriskany,combined with American victories at Fort Stanwix andthe Battle of Bennington, had greatly reduced thestrength of Burgoyne’s invasion. Gradually, the odds of aBritish victory were growing worse and worse.



W hile the Mohawk Valley campaign was still underway,General Philip Schuyler was replaced as commander of theAmerican army in northern New York. The Continental

Congress had lost faith in Schuyler following the defeat at FortTiconderoga, coupled with his constant retreats from the advancingBritish army. In addition, the New England militia did not likeSchuyler because of his Dutch ancestry, and they resented the factthat he was a wealthy landowner while they were small farmers andmerchants. The New Englanders also found Schuyler arrogant andaloof, accusing him of spending far more time living at his mansionin upstate New York rather than remaining with them and sharingthe harsh life in the army camp.

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6

The Battle ofFreeman’s Farm

In August 1777, General Horatio Gates tookcommand of the American army opposingthe British invasion of the Hudson Valley.The Continental Congress had becomefrustrated with General Schuyler’s constantdefeats and retreats from the British army.


Whatever his faults may have been, General Schuylerhad provided a valuable service to the army he commanded.In the face of Burgoyne’s superior forces, Schuyler had littlechoice but to retreat because the American army was muchtoo weak to confront the British in a decisive battle. In themeantime, he had stretched Burgoyne’s supply line almostto the breaking point, while keeping the American armytogether and its soldiers from panicking and deserting.Schuyler had also engineered the victory at Fort Stanwixand the failure of St. Leger’s expedition in the MohawkValley. In short, he had bought time for the American armyto grow stronger so it could defeat the British.

Schuyler was replaced by Horatio Gates, a veteran ofthe French and Indian War and a member of GeneralWashington’s staff. General Gates inherited an armywhose morale was low because of its numerous retreats, butas one of his biographers put it: “Gates had an electrifyingeffect upon the Northern army for a number of reasons.For one thing, he held a high opinion of the NewEngland troops that formed the backbone of the army.Yankee soldiers responded by showing a great affectionfor this little gray-haired general who came to be knownas ‘the darling of the New Englanders.’ Gates also earnedthe respect of his men by sharing with them the rigorsof camp life.”

As a result of Gates’s arrival in August 1777, moremilitia began to join the army. Many joined because theywere also outraged at the murder of Jane McCrea byseveral of Burgoyne’s Indian allies. Following the victoriesat Bennington and Fort Stanwix, many Americans beganto sense that the tide was turning in the North. By thebeginning of September, the army had reached 7,000soldiers. General Arnold had returned with his men fromthe Mohawk Valley. In addition, General Washington hadsent more than 300 riflemen north under the leadership of

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one of the army’s most successful field commanders,Daniel Morgan.

Morgan had known Washington since the 1750s whenthey fought together in the French and Indian War. Duringthe war he had been disciplined by a British officer andgiven 500 lashes across his back. Morgan never forgot thebeating or forgave the British. He joined the Americanarmy in 1775 after war broke out, and fought alongsideBenedict Arnold at the battle of Quebec. Morgan’s riflemenwere crack shots and hardened veterans who could play akey role in any major battle.

Soon after Morgan’s arrival, the American armyadvanced northward. This, in itself, heartened the soldierswho had known nothing but retreat. General Gates haddecided to take up a position on some bluffs that arosealong the western bank of the Hudson River. Theywere called Bemis Heights in honor of a man namedJotham Bemis who owned a nearby tavern. ThaddeusKosciuszko, the polish engineer who served with thearmy, had laid out a series of defensive works alongBemis Heights. Following his plan, the American soldiersconstructed a large “U” shaped breastwork made of logsand dirt, and hauled up cannon to put at several pointsalong the defensive structure. To protect the road thatran beside the river, the American soldiers dug a trenchand put cannon behind it as well as a redoubt (protectivebarrier) with more cannon another mile up the road. BySeptember 15, the army was completely ready for battle.

Although General Gates may have enjoyed a warmrelationship with the New England militia, he did notbelieve they could stand up to the British regulars on anopen battlefield. Gates thought the best chance of the army’ssuccess was a defensive position behind strong breast works.He was prepared to let the British army try to batter itself ina frontal attack against the Americans. Gates knew that

THE BATTLE OF FREEMAN’S FARM 71


while his army was getting stronger, the British army wasweakening. He reasoned that Burgoyne would have toforce a battle because it was the only way he could reachAlbany before winter set in.

The British general saw things about the same way thatGates had seen them. As Burgoyne marched down the eastside of the Hudson River, he was faced with a choice. He

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General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer, designed defen-sive works for the American army along Bemis Heights near theHudson River.


could remain on that side and try to bypass Gates’s position.However, further south, where the river was much wider,Burgoyne would have to cross to the western side to attackAlbany, which was located on that bank of the river. Or


Engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko was born in Poland in 1746. He attendedmilitary school in Warsaw, Poland, then traveled to France. There hewas trained in artillery and military engineering. Kosciuszko believedstrongly in political freedom, so he volunteered his services to theAmerican army after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He was oneof many European soldiers who voluntarily helped the American army.Among the others was the Marquis de Lafayette of France and thePrussian General Frederich von Steuben.

During 1776, Kosciuszko helped to build up the defenses protectingPhiladelphia, the capital of the new republic. The following year, he wassent north to assist General Horatio Gates in fortifying the Americanposition at Bemis Heights. After the victory at Saratoga, Kosciuszkospent two years, 1778-1780, strengthening the fortifications at theAmerican stronghold of West Point on the Hudson River. Kosciuszkolater served as a cavalry leader as well as an engineer with theAmerican army in the South during 1781.

After the American Revolution, Kosciuszko went home to Poland.During the 1790s, he defended his country against an invasion by theRussians. However, the Russian army was victorious, and Kosciuszkowent to France. He later returned to Poland to continue fighting againstthe Russian invaders. Kosciuszko was captured, imprisoned, and laterreleased. In 1797, he came back to the United States, where he waswelcomed as a hero. Although he was given some land by the U.S.government, Kosciuszko decided that he did not want to settle in NorthAmerica. Instead, he returned to Europe. Kosciuszko spent the rest ofhis life trying to convince the great nations of Europe to support Polishindependence. However, he was unsuccessful in getting their help. Hedied in 1817 in Switzerland.

The Polish Engineer


Burgoyne could cross the Hudson north of Bemis Heightswhere the river was much narrower and risk everything ona single battle against the Americans.

As Gates’s army was entrenching at Bemis Heights,Burgoyne built a bridge of boats across the Hudson Riverand his army crossed over to the western side, a few milesnorth of the American position. Burgoyne realized that heneeded to concentrate all his troops and supplies for thecoming battle against the American army. Therefore, hehad ordered that everything be removed from Fort Edwardand Fort Anne and brought southward. Although therewere still troops at Fort Ticonderoga, the garrison there wasreduced and many of the soldiers marched south to joinBurgoyne. The British general had now cut his communi-cations with Canada in order to make a final bold thrustsouthward. As he wrote to the British government inLondon: “The moment is a decisive one.”

Burgoyne had no time to lose. His army had beenreduced to about 6,000 soldiers, less than the Americans. Hehad enough supplies for about four weeks, but only becausehis men were forced to get along on reduced rations. Someof his soldiers were not satisfied with the amount of rationsthey received and decided to go on a foraging expedition tolocal farms. However, American riflemen ambushed theforaging soldiers, killing and wounded some of them.

Burgoyne’s army took up a position at Saratoga on thewest bank of the Hudson River and began to move towardthe Americans. Since most of the Indians had desertedfollowing the defeats in the Mohawk Valley, Burgoyne wasnot certain exactly where the Americans were located, buthe sensed that Bemis Heights was their likely position. Onthe morning of September 19, 1777, the British armyadvanced to battle. General Simon Fraser, commanding theright, had been ordered by Burgoyne to occupy a hill to thewest of Bemis Heights from which the British might

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bombard the American position. Burgoyne hoped to use thesame tactic he had successfully employed at Ticonderogaseveral months. Commanding the British center was GeneralJames Hamilton, while Baron von Riedesel marched withhis German troops along the river road on the British leftflank. The British advanced to a steep ravine, which theycrossed, and took up a position at one end of a large fieldthat had been cleared from the thick woods, covering mostof the area. The field had been owned by John Freeman andwas called Freeman’s Farm.

Although General Gates was aware that the Britishwere advancing, he was content to keep his men inside theirdefensive position on Bemis Heights. However, BenedictArnold believed that this tactic was a grave mistake. Arnoldwas afraid that a British flanking movement might occupythe hill to the west of Bemis Heights. He also feared that ifthe Americans could not hold the breastworks on theHeights there was nowhere for them to retreat and theymight flee headlong down the road to Albany. Arnoldstrongly urged Gates to send out some of his soldiers to findout exactly where the British were headed. As one historianwrote: “Arnold persisted in his appeals. Gates, who seemedalmost paralyzed by indecisiveness, finally relented, butprobably only to stop Arnold from pestering him.”

Gates sent out Daniel Morgan and his riflemen alongwith Colonel Henry Dearborn’s light infantry. They arrivedat one end of Freeman’s Farm early in the afternoon, just asBritish advance pickets had reached the other side.Morgan’s men took cover and launched a deadly fire at theBritish, hitting many of their officers. As the British beganto retreat, the riflemen ran forward believing that theenemy’s entire line was retreating. They met with a terriblesurprise. One American officer recalled that “having forcedthe picket, they had closed with the British line, had beeninstantly routed, and from the suddenness of the shock and



the nature of the ground, were broken and scattered in alldirections. . . . I then turned about to regain the camp andreport . . . when my ears were saluted by an uncommonnoise which I approached and perceived Colonel Morgan,attended by two men only, who with a turkey call wascollecting his dispersed troops.”

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Daniel Morgan led a contingent of experienced riflemen at thebattles of Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights.


After his men had been hurled back by British rein-forcements, Morgan tried desperately to reestablish hisposition. General Gates, who remained back at head-quarters, was told what was happening to Morgan andimmediately sent reinforcements to support him.Historians have debated where Benedict Arnold waslocated at this moment of the battle. But as least some ofthe American soldiers saw him in the thick of the fight-ing, urging the Continentals to hold their groundagainst the British. A fierce battle now raged aroundFreeman’s Farm, claiming the lives of many men oneach side. General Arnold saw an opening between theBritish right wing and the center. He tried to drive histroops through the opening so they could separate theBritish army into two pieces and defeat each one of themseparately. As one soldier recalled: “Riding in front ofthe line, his eyes flashing, pointing with his sword to theadvancing foe, with a voice that rung clear as a trumpet,[he] called upon the men to follow him . . . and . . . hehurled them like a tornado on the British line . . . nothingcould exceed the bravery of Arnold on this day.” Thebattle lines swayed back and forth as both sides foughtfor control of the British artillery. At one point, theAmericans had driven back the British and takenpossession of the cannon, only to be driven back them-selves. The battle continued throughout the afternoon.But General Arnold was convinced that with a few moremen he could win an American victory. He beggedGates to send him additional men, and the commandingofficer finally but reluctantly agreed. However, theywere not given sufficient instructions about which partof the battlefield to reinforce and ended up going to thewrong place.

Meanwhile, Burgoyne, who was commanding theBritish forces from the center of the battlefield, realized that



his army needed immediate reinforcements. He sent amessage to General von Riedesel on the river road orderinghim to send some of his troops toward Freeman’s Farm andhit the Americans in the right flank. Since Gates hadneglected to send out any troops to advance against vonRiedesel, he was free to march to the aid of Burgoyne. VonRiedesel struck the American right and pushed it backward.By this time it was already nightfall, and both sides with-drew and stopped the fighting. The Battle of Freeman’sFarm was over. As one British officer put it: “This crash ofcannon and musketry never ceased till darkness parted us,when they retired to their camp, leaving us masters of thefield; but it was a dear bought victory.”

The British had technically won the battle but at a hugecost—they suffered over 500 casualties, almost 10 percent ofthe entire army. That night, as the British remained at theirpositions, they “heard the groans of our wounded and dyingat a small distance, yet could not assist them till morning,not knowing the position of the enemy, and expecting theaction would be renewed at daybreak.” General Burgoynehoped to continue the battle on the morning of September20. However, his subordinate officers convinced him thatthe army was not strong enough to keep fighting. Perhapsanother attack by the British might have been enough todisorganize the Americans and force a retreat southward.But Burgoyne would never find out.

In the meantime, General Gates kept the bulk of hisarmy on Bemis Heights. He had been afraid to make amajor commitment of his men to the battle at Freeman’sFarm, as Arnold had wanted. Instead, Gates reasoned, timewas on his side and if he waited the British army wouldgrow gradually weaker and be forced to destroy itselfagainst his defensive works. As a result, some historiansbelieve that Gates lost an opportunity to defeat Burgoyne atFreeman’s Farm. Had the American general put more men

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in the center of the field, as Arnold had asked, and sent astrong detachment along the river road so General vonRiedesel could not have reinforced Burgoyne’s center, therebel army might have won a tremendous victory.

But Gates resented Arnold’s interference, just as Arnoldresented Gates’s refusal to act more decisively. When Gates


German soldiers under Baron von Riedesel stopped the Americanadvance at the Battle of Freeman’s Farm and probably savedGeneral Burgoyne’s army from defeat.


sent a report of the battle to the Continental Congress, henever mentioned Arnold’s role in the victory. GeneralArnold was furious. While these disagreements raged in theAmerican army, Burgoyne entrenched his army nearFreeman’s Farm on September 21. General Burgoyne haddecided to wait where he was, because he had received amessage from General Henry Clinton, commanding the

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General Horatio Gates decided not to commit the majority of histroops to the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, and may have lost anopportunity to decisively defeat the British.


British troops in New York City. The message read inpart: “You know my good will. . . . If you think 2000men can assist you effectually, I will make a push . . . inabout ten days.”

General Clinton planned a small diversionary expeditionthat might draw off some of Gates’s troops. Clinton proposedto attack Forts Montgomery and Clinton on the west bankof the Hudson River, south of Albany. This was the firstgood news Burgoyne had received in weeks. As he wrote toClinton: “An attack or the menace of an attack, . . . must beof great use, as it will draw away part of this force and I willfollow them close. Do it my friend directly.” Burgoyne washoping for any of kind of help. Otherwise he might betrapped where he was. Already, an American raiding partyhad attacked Mt. Defiance near Fort Ticonderoga, takena number of British soldiers prisoner, and freed somecaptured rebel troops. This showed Burgoyne that his lineof retreat to Canada could not be protected.

Burgoyne had informed Clinton that his food supplieswould “not last him over a month” and hoped that Clintonwould advance to Albany and meet Burgoyne there. ButGeneral Clinton had no plans to do anything but create adiversion. Clinton left New York and advanced up theHudson. He landed his troops on the east side of the river toconfuse American troops stationed nearby of his real plans.Then, under cover of a dense fog, Clinton recrossed theriver and advanced rapidly against the American forts. TheBritish attacked them in the rear, and after heavy fire fromthe American garrison, finally overwhelmed them andcaptured both Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery. OnOctober 8th, he wrote Burgoyne: “I sincerely hope this littlesuccess of ours may facilitate your operations. . . . I heartilywish you success.” Clinton then retreated to New York City,leaving General Burgoyne and his troops on their own.



D uring the last week of September, the American and Britisharmies faced each other from their entrenched positions.General Gates had ordered that the hill west of Bemis Heights

be fortified. Meanwhile, General Burgoyne built several small fortsalong his line north of Freeman’s Farm. One fort guarded the leftflank near the Hudson River, another anchored the right flank, anda large fort was built in the rear of the line to protect it if theAmericans tried to attack from that direction.

Time seemed on the side of the Americans. As more militiajoined the army, there were approximately 11,000 soldiersserving. Burgoyne’s force, on the other hand, was sufferingdesertions. General von Riedesel reported that the Americans

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7

Victory at Bemis Heights

The British grenadier guards held the leftflank of General Burgoyne’s line at theBattle of Bemis Heights, October 7, 1777.


were sending special agents to the British camp “whoendeavored to induce the soldiers . . . to desert; and itbeing already known that the Americans treated theirprisoners very kindly, and that they were not as strictin their discipline as the Europeans, the agents hereand there found a willing ear.” Since food was in shortsupply in the British army and far more plentiful on theAmerican side, English and German deserters wereglad to change sides.

Perhaps some of the soldiers also realized that thechances of English victory were growing slimmer andslimmer. Late in September, the army received word ofthe successful American attack on Mt. Defiance nearFort Ticonderoga, which effectively cut off any retreatnorthward. During the night, the American sentries alsokept up a steady pressure against the British positionnear Freeman’s Farm. As one British officer, CaptainThomas Anburey, wrote: “ . . . the armies being so near. . . not a night passes but there is firing and continualattacks upon the advanced pickets especially those of theGermans. It seems to be the plan of the enemy to harassus by constant attacks, which they are enabled to dowithout fatiguing their army, from the great superiorityof their numbers.”

While the British tried to deal with the enemyconfronting them, inside the Americans lines there was aserious internal conflict between Horatio Gates andBenedict Arnold who had disagreed about the way theBattle of Freeman’s Farm had been handled. After Gatessubmitted his report to Congress, and never mentionedArnold’s role in the victory, Arnold had become evenangrier with his commander. The two generals engaged ina heated argument, which ended with Gates replacingArnold as one of his commanding officers. Arnold with-drew to his headquarters, highly offended at how he had

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been treated. Although he remained in camp, he planned totake no part in any upcoming battles.

While this conflict was occurring inside the Americancamp, the British commanders were planning one moreattempt to achieve a military breakthrough and march toAlbany. On October 4, General Burgoyne met with hiscommanding officers and proposed a plan for a massiveassault against the left wing of the American army.General von Riedesel disagreed, pointing out that theyhad very little information about the American positionso an attack could easily fail. Von Riedesel, instead,urged Burgoyne to retreat across the Hudson River andtry to reestablish communications with Canada. GeneralFraser supported von Riedesel’s position. Burgoyne,however, refused to consider retreating. Instead heproposed that a force of about 1,500 men be sent out on areconnaissance mission to get more information about theAmerican left wing. If they discovered that this positioncould be successfully attacked, then reinforcementsmight be sent in immediately. This was similar to theplan that had taken Colonel Baum to Bennington withtoo many men for a reconnaissance but not enough towin a battle. In trying to hedge, Burgoyne once morecommitted a terrible mistake.

On the morning of October 7, 1777, Burgoyne’s troopsadvanced to a position about half way between Freeman’sFarm and Bemis Heights. General Fraser and the Earl ofBalcarres held the right, General von Riedesel the center,and on the left were the British grenadiers—the finesttroops in the army. The English and Germans stopped on aslight hill, with woods on both sides and a wheat field infront. Foragers went into the field to cut the wheat, whilesome officers climbed on top of the roof of a cabin to catchsight of the American lines with telescopes. The Americanpickets had spotted the British advance, and Major James

VICTORY AT BEMIS HEIGHTS 85


Wilkinson took the information back to General Gates.Wilkinson began:

“They are foraging, and endeavoring to reconnoiteryour left and I think, sir, they offer you battle.”

“What is the nature of the ground, and what youropinion?”

“Their front is open, and their flanks rest on woods,under cover of which they may be attacked;their right is skirted by a lofty height. I wouldindulge them.”

“Well, then, order on Morgan to begin the game.”

Gates ordered Daniel Morgan on a flanking move-ment to swing way around the British right. A force ofmilitia and Continentals under the command of GeneralEnoch Poor would assault the enemy left, while a thirdunit commanded by Colonel Ebenezer Learned wouldattack the center. This force far outnumbered the 1,500men sent out by Burgoyne. As Poor’s men reached theBritish position, heavy rounds of grape shot from theartillery struck them. Much of the grape shot flew highand hit the leaves of the trees through which Poor’s menhad advanced without being seen. Most of the grape shotwent high over their heads. They held their fire, and asthe British charged, the American troops unleashed ablistering volley that sent the grenadiers reeling back-ward. The Americans captured their artillery pieces.Meanwhile, Learned sent his men on a successful attackagainst the Germans in the center.

On the right flank, Daniel Morgan’s men had workedtheir way to the rear of the British position. Morgan’ssoldiers were met with a hail of grape shot, but made agallant charge, pushing back the enemy. By this time, newsof the battle had reached General Gates at headquarters.

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According to one account, his immediate subordinates,including General Arnold who was apparently eager toparticipate in the battle, had joined him. Arnold said toGates: “‘Shall I go out and see what is the matter?’ GeneralGates made no reply, but upon being pressed, said, ‘I amafraid to trust you, Arnold.’ To which Arnold answered,


General Enoch Poor led a force of American soldiers that attackedthe British left flank at the Battle of Bemis Heights.


‘Pray let me go. I will be careful, and if our advance doesnot need support, I will promise not to commit you.’”

Before Gates could reply, General Arnold had left theroom, borrowed a nearby horse, and headed for thebattlefront. Arnold first reached General Poor’s units.

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General Burgoyne brought artillery with his army during the Saratogacampaign. The British used this artillery during the battles at Freeman’sFarm and Bemis Heights. Most of the artillery consisted of field cannon.These could fire solid balls at an advancing army or at the enemy’s forti-fied positions. Field artillery was also used to fire grape shot and canister.Grape shot consisted of iron balls wrapped in canvas. After the grape shotwas fired, the canvas would open up and the balls would fly out. Thesecould kill or injure several of the enemy. Grape was also used againstfortifications. Canister consisted of a case loaded with small lead balls.After firing, the balls would fly out of the canister. This was especiallyeffective at wounding many soldiers.

In battle, each artillery piece was drawn into place by ropes pulled by agun crew. Once a cannon was in position, the crew would aim the artillery.A bag of powder was then rammed down the barrel from the front of thegun. Then a cannon ball or can of canister or bag of grape was rammeddown after it. Powder was also used to prime a vent hole at the rear of thecannon over the bag of powder. Then a match was put to the vent hole andthe cannon fired. After firing, the barrel had to be cleaned with wet sheep-skin. Otherwise, sparks left in the barrel might ignite a new charge ofpowder accidentally, blowing up the gun and killing the crew.

In addition to field cannon, the armies of the Revolutionary War alsorelied on other types of artillery. These included howitzers which couldshoot a projectile on a high arc into the air at the enemy. Howitzers wereused to lob shells over the wall, fort, or fortified position. In addition, thearmies used mortars. These were similar to howitzers. They had shortstubby barrels and could also shoot projectiles at a high arcing trajectory.Howitzers and mortars regularly used exploding shot against their targets.

Field Artillery


After asking whose men they were and finding out thatsome of them had come from Connecticut, Arnold’s homestate, he said: “God bless you! Now, come on boys, if theday is long enough, we’ll have them all in hell beforenight!” Almost immediately, Arnold launched an attackagainst the German troops, but they had been reinforcedand beat back the assault.

In the meantime, General Fraser had been trying torally his troops, riding across the lines encouraging hismen to hold their positions. Arnold spotted him and saidto Morgan: “That officer upon a grey horse . . . must bedisposed of—direct the attention of some of the sharp-shooters amongst your riflemen to him.” Morgan calledon one of his riflemen and said: “That gallant officer isGeneral Fraser. I admire him, but it is necessary that heshould die, do your duty.” The rifleman, named TimMurphy, hoisted himself into a tree and fired at Fraser;the first shot missed. He fired again, but missed a secondtime. Once more the riflemen aimed his musket andsqueezed the trigger. The third shot knocked Fraser offhis horse. With General Fraser out of action, GeneralBurgoyne, who was in the thick of the fighting, orderedthe British line to retreat to the fortified position north ofFreeman’s Farm.

Here the battle might have ended. However, GeneralArnold still believed that the Americans could win acomplete victory and he led his forces toward the Britishentrenchment. According to several observers, Arnoldwas “raging like a madman” as he drove his horse acrossthe battlefield. He might have easily been shot by aBritish musket ball, but somehow he escaped injury.First, Arnold attacked near the center of the British linebut was beaten back. He then galloped across the battle-field and led some of Colonel Learned’s men againstseveral cabins that the British had fortified on the right



side of their line. The Americans easily overwhelmed thedefenders and began to sweep in behind the fort that theBritish had constructed in their rear. At the same timeanother American unit in the front was attacking this fort.The German soldiers commanded by Lt. Colonel vonBreymann fired back at the advancing Americans. VonBreymann, who was considered a tough disciplinarian,beat his soldiers with his sword to prevent them fromleaving the fort in the face of an overwhelming enemycharge. Finally one of the German soldiers turned hismusket on von Breymann and killed him. The Germansretreated, and the Americans took control of the fort.

As the Germans fell back, they saw General Arnold.One of them shot Arnold’s horse, which fell, breaking thegeneral’s leg and putting him out of action. When askedwhere he had been wounded, Arnold pointed to his leg.“I wish it had been my heart,” he said. Arnold believedthat if the battle had continued for just a little longer, hemight have won a complete victory and forced Burgoyneto surrender.

Darkness was already falling, and both sides decidedto call off the fight. Called by some historians the Battleof Bemis Heights and by others the Second Battle ofFreeman’s Farm, it had been an American victory.General Gates’s losses were only about 150 men, whilethe British had lost over 600; among them was GeneralFraser who died on the day after the battle. The despairon the British side was easy to see, although Burgoynetried to claim that he had won the battle.

Historians disagree about who should be given creditfor the American victory at Bemis Heights. HistorianRupert Furneux wrote: “Arnold’s heroic interventioncontributed nothing to the battle that had already been wonby General Gates.” Furneux believed that Gates hadalready sent out a force under Daniel Morgan that was far

SARATOGA90


superior to the 1,500 men under General Simon Fraser.The early action of Morgan, Poor, and Learned would havedriven Burgoyne back to his fortified position regardless ofwhat Arnold had done. As a result, Gates and Morganassured the American victory at Bemis Heights.

Historian Richard Ketchum disagrees. “UnlikeBurgoyne,” he wrote, “who chose . . . to be out on the front


General Benedict Arnold was wounded while leading his troops against theBritish during the American victory at the Battle of Bemis Heights.


lines with his troops . . . Gates never moved from his head-quarters, two miles from the battlefield, too far removedeven to see what was happening. . . . As it happened, hisonly contributions to the battle on this day were the orderto Morgan to circle around the British right, and sendingout additional detachments while the fighting went on. . . .Benedict Arnold had many faults . . . yet it is not too muchto say that this climactic battle was won in part because ofhis extraordinary bravery, magnetism, and energy.” George

SARATOGA92

After the Battle of Bemis Heights, the British remained at their positions andburied General Simon Fraser, who had been shot and killed during the battle.


Athan Billias, one of Arnold’s biographers, agrees: “Perhapsmore than any single officer he had been responsible for thedecisive American success.”

Because of Benedict Arnold’s intrepid leadership on thebattlefield, Bemis Heights had been a decisive Americanvictory. Had Burgoyne been allowed to retreat to the safetyof his entrenched position, following the successful attackby Morgan, Learned, and Poor, British losses would nothave been so great. Arnold’s assault on the Britishentrenched position and the capture of the fort that theGermans had defended made it clear that Burgoyne couldno longer remain on the battlefield. Another day’s battlewould destroy his army. As the size of the American forcesgrew larger, and Burgoyne’s numbers dwindled, thereseemed no reasonable chance for him to capture Albany.The British invasion was now over.



The Turning Point


General John Burgoyne was deeply troubled. As he took stockof his army on the evening of October 7, 1777, he saw agroup of tired, bedraggled, beaten men. The Americans had

turned his right flank during the day’s battle, and Burgoyne wasforced to move his men backward to the safety of a large fort, orredoubt, to prevent them from being encircled. But this was onlythe beginning of his problems. He had to face the fact that hisdream of winning a tremendous victory and perhaps ending thewar had ended. Burgoyne was an aristocrat and a showman wholoved the pomp and ceremony of the British army, considered thegreatest fighting force in the world. He was also a fearless leader,

95

The British were defeated at theBattle of Bemis Heights, and wereforced to pull back to the safety ofthe redoubt at Saratoga. Burgoyne’shope of a decisive victory over theAmerican rebels was crushed bythe retreat.


who had been in the thick of the fighting at Freeman’sFarm and Bemis Heights. The general’s men weredevoted to the man they called “Gentleman Johnny.”Burgoyne, himself, believed that they had fought hardenough to achieve a victory; instead they had sufferedtwo humiliating defeats. Now he would be forced to givethe one command that he had never issued during theentire campaign: retreat. It was a bitter pill for Burgoyneto swallow, especially because he had hoped that by hisvictory over the American rebels and his capture ofAlbany to become the most famous soldier in England.

Still, on the morning of October 8, Burgoyne hesitatedto start his army on the march. Time was of the essence.If he intended to lead his men northward along theHudson and back to Fort Ticonderoga, the British had tohurry. Winter was approaching. Even more importantly,the American forces might move in behind him and cutoff his retreat. But the British lingered in camp until theevening, before beginning to move. If the Americanarmy had attacked, it might have destroyed the enemy.General Arnold would have attacked, but he was lying incamp with a serious wound. Horatio Gates was noArnold. He decided to allow his men to rest, givingBurgoyne the time he needed to escape.

About nine o’clock, the British army moved eastwardto the heights of Saratoga. Burgoyne had fortified thisposition earlier in September as he advanced towardAlbany. The following day, October 9, the British retreatcontinued. But it moved extremely slowly because ofheavy rains that made the roads almost impossible to use.The retreat was made even more miserable becauseAmerican snipers kept firing from the rear. At one point, thearmy came to a complete halt, too exhausted to continue.Finally, the retreat resumed later in the afternoon, andthe army eventually reached Saratoga where the men dug

SARATOGA96


into their positions along the Hudson River. “Our retreat,”wrote one of Burgoyne’s officers, “was made withinmusket-shot of the enemy, and, though greatly encum-bered with baggage, without a single loss.”

If Burgoyne intended to make a dash for FortTiconderoga, he was moving far too slowly. But he wasdelayed by the rain, and his men were tired. Perhaps healso hoped that General Clinton was still advancingnorthward. Burgoyne had not heard from Clinton, andcould not know that his soldiers had captured FortsClinton and Montgomery and were preparing to turnaround and head back to New York City.

Once he reached Saratoga, Burgoyne strengthenedhis defenses. He put one detachment to the north of theheights to guard that approach if the Americans shouldtry to flank his position. In addition, he set up artillery tofire across the Hudson, in case the rebels tried to fire onhis position from the east. In addition, Burgoyne sent adetachment of men northward toward Fort Edward tohold open a British escape route.

In the meantime, General Gates ordered part of hisarmy to advance against the British position at Saratogaon October 10. Gates’s spies had mistakenly reported thatthe British army had already begun its retreat towardFort Ticonderoga, leaving only a rear guard at Saratoga.On the morning of October 11, the Americans wereabout to begin their attack when they captured a Britishdeserter. He told them that the entire British army wasstill at Saratoga. Just in time, the American commanderscalled off their attack, or they would have hit the centerof the British line and suffered a serious defeat. Gatesdecided to wait and continue firing at the British positionwith his cannon. Although he outnumbered Burgoynemore than three to one, General Gates saw no reason torisk a frontal attack. Instead, he sent Daniel Morgan to a

THE TURNING POINT 97


position just northwest of Saratoga. Meanwhile Gates’smain army remained to the south; and across the HudsonRiver, he had posted another American force with heavyartillery so the British could not escape in that direction.However, there was still a route open to the north alongthe west bank of the river, and the British might still takethat road to safety.

On the afternoon of October 12, General Burgoynemet with his commanding officers to discuss theiroptions. As one historian explained: “They were askedfor their views on five possible courses of action. First, tostand at Saratoga, hoping to repel an enemy attack, andtrusting that something might turn up. Second, to launchan attack. Third, to retreat, taking the guns with them,which would mean having to repair bridges en route.Fourth, to withdraw by night, abandoning guns andbaggage. Fifth, to take advantage of Gates’s extendedleft, slip past him, and march rapidly on Albany.”

Burgoyne’s officers believed that the only effectiveoption was number four—withdrawing by night withouttheir guns or baggage. This would enable the army to movequickly northward under cover of darkness. Trying towithstand another attack or continue the advance wouldonly lead to disaster. However, the option was closed downalmost immediately when a report came that the NewHampshire militia under the command of General JohnStark had positioned themselves across the northwardroute along the west side of the Hudson River. For theBritish, the situation was hourly growing more desperate.As one soldier recalled: “Numerous parties of Americanmilitia . . . swarmed around the little . . . army like birds ofprey. Roaring of cannon and whistling of bullets from theirrifle pieces were heard constantly day and night.”

Baron von Riedesel summed up the situation this way:“There was no place of safety for the baggage; and the

SARATOGA98


ground was covered with dead horses that had either beenkilled by the enemy’s bullets or by exhaustion. . . . Even forthe wounded, no spot could be found which could affordthem a safe shelter—not even, indeed, for so long a time asmight suffice a surgeon to bind up their ghastly wounds.”

On October 13, Burgoyne met with his commandersonce again. At this meeting, they considered a sixth option:surrender. It seemed the only thing left for the army to do.The following day, Burgoyne sent Lieutenant ColonelRobert Kingston to General Gates. Kingston carried amessage from Burgoyne saying that he was prepared toconsider ending the conflict between the two armies ifthe Americans would give him honorable terms. Gates,however, demanded that Burgoyne agree to an uncondi-tional surrender, which meant that all his troops wouldbecome prisoners of war. These were not the honorableterms that Burgoyne had in mind. Instead, he proposedthat his men would put down their arms and march outof camp with safe passage being guaranteed back toEngland on condition of “not serving again in NorthAmerica during the present contest.”

General Gates agreed to these terms. He was eager tobring an end to the conflict because American spies hadreported that the British were again moving up theHudson. Although General Clinton had returned to NewYork, he had sent a small force northward. Burgoyne hadreceived the same news regarding British troops from aTory. Now he hesitated to accept Gates’s terms of surrender.Perhaps there was still a chance the British army might besaved. But even Burgoyne realized that it was only a slimchance. His commanders told him that the honorable thingto do was to sign the surrender agreement since Gates hadagreed to all the terms for which Burgoyne had asked.

On October 16, 1777, General Burgoyne signed the termsof surrender.



The following morning, the sound of fifes and drumsdrifted through the woodlands around Saratoga. Afterstacking their arms, the British and German soldiersmarched out of camp toward the American lines. Ahead

SARATOGA100

At Saratoga, the British were greatly outnumbered by the Americans, andhad no possible avenue of escape. The victory at Saratoga convincedthe French to form an alliance with the Americans and declare war onthe British.


of the defeated army rode General John Burgoyne,resplendent in a bright scarlet coat and the insignias of acommanding general in the British army. He was followedby his aides and subordinate officers. Riding toward him,completely alone, was General Horatio Gates, muchsmaller than Burgoyne, wearing a simple faded blue coat.As the two generals approached each other, Burgoyne said:“The fortune of war, General Gates, has made me yourprisoner.” Gates answered him, very courteously, “I shallever be ready to testify that it has not been through anyfault of your Excellency.” Burgoyne removed his swordand handed it to Gates, as the symbol of surrender.General Gates held it momentarily, and then gave it backto Burgoyne.

As the British troops marched into the American camp,one officer seemed surprised to discover that he and his menhad been beaten by such an unusual army. He recalled:“They [the Americans] stood like soldiers, erect with amilitary bearing, so still that we were greatly amazed. . . .Not one of them was properly uniformed but each manhad on the clothes in which he goes to the field, the churchor to the tavern. . . . The officers wore very few uniformsand those they did wear were of their own invention.” Butthe British were also amazed at how disciplined theAmerican soldiers were as they stood completely silentand at attention. Some of the men were quite young, otherswere much older, in their fifties and sixties. Another Britishofficer recalled that the American soldiers treated his menwith the utmost honor. “They behaved with the greatestdecency and propriety, not even a Smile appearing in any oftheir Countenances, which circumstance I really believewould not have happened had the case been reversed.”

These soldiers had never before suffered such a defeatat the hands of the American army. In a letter to theContinental Congress, following the victory at Bemis



Heights, General Gates had lavishly praised the courage ofhis soldiers in battle. He had even singled out GeneralArnold for his role in the victory. Not only had the northbeen saved, the British also abandoned Fort Ticonderogaand retreated to Canada. The surrender at Saratoga came at

SARATOGA102

After his surrender at Saratoga, General John Burgoyne returned toEngland. Many people there did not welcome him home. In fact, he wasblamed for the defeat of the British army at the hands of the Americans.However, Burgoyne believed that he was not at fault for the British loss.Instead, he said that General William Howe was responsible. Howe,according to Burgoyne, should have brought his army north and caughtthe American army in a trap. However, Howe chose to attack Philadelphia.Burgoyne also blamed General Henry Clinton for not helping him.According to Burgoyne, his army might have been able to escape defeatat Saratoga if General Clinton had attacked Albany. However, Clintonreturned to New York after only capturing two American forts on theHudson River.

General Burgoyne never came back to America. For a short time, 1782-1783, he was appointed commander-in-chief of British forces in Ireland.But Burgoyne’s real talents lay in the theater. In 1780, for example, hewrote part of an opera. Then, in 1786, Burgoyne published a play, titled“The Heiress.” For an entire year, this play was the hit of the British stage.It was also performed on the European continent. General Burgoyne hadfinally found the fame that had escaped him as a military leader during theAmerican Revolution.

General Burgoyne died on June 4, 1792. However, one of his sons madea name for himself in the British army. John Fox Burgoyne was an engineerwho accompanied the British troops who invaded New Orleans during theWar of 1812. Burgoyne participated in the Battle of New Orleans, whichwas fought in 1815. At that battle, General Andrew Jackson soundly beatthe British army. Once again, a Burgoyne had been present at a majorBritish defeat by an American army.

Burgoyne After Saratoga


an especially important moment for the American armies.Southward, in Pennsylvania, General Howe had defeatedGeneral Washington at the Battle of BrandywineCreek in September and captured the American capitalat Philadelphia. The Continental Congress had moved toYork, Pennsylvania. In an effort to defeat Howe, GeneralWashington had attacked the British at Germantown,outside of Philadelphia. But after an initial success, theAmerican troops had lost another battle.

Instead of Burgoyne becoming the most famous


General John Burgoyne surrendered his army to General Horatio Gates atSaratoga, October 17, 1777.


commander in England, that honor went to GeneralHowe. On October 20, General Burgoyne wrote a letterto Lord George Germain in London trying to explainthe reasons for the surrender. As Burgoyne put it: “TheBritish have persevered in a strenuous and bloodyprogress. . . . But as it was, will it be said, my Lord, thatin the exhausted situation described, and in the jaws offamine, and invested by quadruple numbers, a treatywhich saves the army to the state, for the next campaign,was not more than could have been expected? I call it

saving the army.”News of Gates’s victory and Washington’s defeats

traveled quickly throughout America. It was Decemberbefore the information finally reached France, carriedby ship from the United States to Europe. TheContinental Congress had sent three envoys to France:Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee.These men were trying to convince the French to jointhe war on the side of the American armies. During theearly days of the Revolutionary War, France had sentthe Americans some money and war supplies to carryon the conflict. But this was all the support that theFrench had given. While France had hoped to avengeits defeat during the French and Indian War, thegovernment of Louis XVI was not yet prepared to commitFrench soldiers to the support of the Americans. KingLouis was looking for proof that the American armywould be a strong ally that could stand up against theBritish in battle.

On December 4, 1777, Benjamin Franklin received amessenger from America. Franklin was now an elderlyman of more than seventy, but his age did not reduce hisvigorous efforts on behalf of the American governmentin trying to win over the French. Franklin had alreadyheard rumors that the armies of General Washington

SARATOGA104


had suffered a defeat. “Is Philadelphia taken?” he askedthe messenger almost immediately and was told that theAmerican capital had indeed fallen. Franklin was veryupset. The messenger continued: “But sir, I have greaternews than that. General Burgoyne and his whole armyare prisoners of war!” Franklin was jubilant.


News of Burgoyne’s surrender reached America’s ambassador toFrance, Benjamin Franklin, in December, 1777. Two months later,the French signed a treaty to assist the United States in their waragainst Great Britain.


This was the victory that Franklin had been awaiting.When news of it reached the French government, theimpact was immediate. On December 17, 1777, Franklinwas informed that Louis XVI had decided to recognizeAmerican independence and form an alliance with the newgovernment. On February 6, 1778, the treaty was formallysigned, and during the following month France declaredwar on Great Britain.

By June of 1778, French and English ships wereengaged in battle off the European coast. The war wouldalso spread to the Caribbean Sea, where Britain andFrance would battle each other for rich colonies. Theentry of France into the war meant that the British couldno longer concentrate their armies and navies in NorthAmerica, trying to put down the revolution. Instead,English forces would have to be spread much thinner—between America, Europe, and the Caribbean. In themeantime, France began sending troops and ships toAmerica, as well as more money and military supplies.These helped to support the American armies and keepthem in the field where they continued to confrontthe English.

Eventually, in June 1778, the English forces evacuatedPhiladelphia and concentrated their armies in New York.Meanwhile, the British decided to invade the South, hopingthat the large number of Tories reported to be there mightrise up and join them. After some early victories, however,the British retreated to Virginia. There, in 1781, a Britisharmy under the command of General Charles Cornwallis,entrenched itself at Yorktown on the coast of Virginia.While Cornwallis was there, a combined French andAmerican army marched to Virginia and besieged theBritish soldiers. Cornwallis hoped that an English fleetwould rescue his army. However, the fleet was defeated offthe coast by a French squadron.

SARATOGA106


Almost exactly four years after Burgoyne’s surrenderat Saratoga, Cornwallis was forced to surrender atYorktown. The alliance that had brought France into thewar had led to a final victory in 1781 that securedAmerican independence.

The road to Yorktown had begun at Saratoga, forwithout this victory, Yorktown would have beenimpossible. Saratoga was the turning point of theAmerican Revolution.

The French alliance with the United States led to final victory against theBritish at Yorktown in 1781.



1776American assault onQuebec is repulsed

by British

1775American Revolutionbegins with battlesat Lexington andConcord

1775Montreal capturedby Americans

1776British win Battle of

Valcour Island onLake Champlain

CHRONOLOGY108

1775 1776

Timeline

1755 French begin construction of Fort Carillon

1759 British capture Fort Carillon, renaming it Fort Ticonderoga

British capture Quebec

1760 Montreal falls to the British

1775 American Revolution begins with battles at Lexington and Concord

Fort Ticonderoga captured by Americans

Montreal captured by Americans

American assault on Quebec is repulsed by British

1776 British capture New York City

British win Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain

1777

June Burgoyne leaves Canada to begin invasion of New York

1775Fort Ticonderoga capturedby Americans

CH.BW.Sar.zBM.Final.q 3/26/02 10:59 AM Page 108

July British capture Fort Ticonderoga

British General Fraser wins Battle of Hubbardtown

Burgoyne captures Skenesborough

August Americans win Battle of Bennington

British lay siege to Fort Stanwix on Mohawk River

Americans and British fight at Battle of Oriskany

Siege of Fort Stanwix is lifted, and British retreat

September British troops under General Howe defeat General Washington at Battle of Brandywine Creek near Philadelphia

Americans and British fight at Battle of Freeman’s Farm

General Howe occupies Philadelphia

October General Howe wins Battle of Germantown

CHRONOLOGY 109

December 1777France recognizesAmerican independence

June 1777Burgoyne leavesCanada to begininvasion of New York

July 1777British capture Fort

Ticonderoga

British General Fraserwins Battle ofHubbardtown

Burgoyne capturesSkenesborough

1777 1778August 1777Americans win Battle of

Bennington

British lay siege to FortStanwix on Mohawk River

Americans and British fightat Battle of Oriskany

Siege of Fort Stanwix islifted, and British retreat

September 1777Americans and British fightat Battle of Freeman’s Farm

October 1777Americans win decisive battle

at Bemis Heights

British capture FortMontgomery and FortClinton on Hudson River

General Burgoyne surrendersat Saratoga

February 1778France signs formal

treaty of alliancewith Americans

France declareswar on Great Britain


Americans win decisive battle at Bemis Heights

British capture Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton on Hudson River

General Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga

December France recognizes American independence

1778

February France signs formal treaty of alliance with Americans

France declares war on Great Britain

June British evacuate Philadelphia

1781 General Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown

CHRONOLOGY110


Billias, George Athan, ed. George Washington’s Generals. New York: William Morrow, 1964.

Connell, Brian. The Savage Years. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959.

Cook, Fred J. Dawn Over Saratoga: The Turning Point of the Revolutionary War. GardenCity: Doubleday, 1973.

Flexner, James Thomas. Mohawk Baronet: Sir William Johnson of New York. New York:Harper and Brothers, 1959.

Furneaux, Rupert. The Battle of Saratoga. New York: Stein and Day, 1971.

Hibbert, Christopher. Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes.

New York: Norton, 1990.

Ketchum, Richard. Saratoga: Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War. New York:Henry Holt, 1997.

Koster, John. “Jane McCrea, remembered as a victim of American Indian brutality, may have died under different circumstances.” Military History, June, 2000.

Lancaster, Bruce. Ticonderoga: The Story of a Fort. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959.

Lunt, James. John Burgoyne of Saratoga. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.

Martin, James Kirby. Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero. New York: New YorkUniversity Press, 1997.

Moore, Howard. The Life of General John Stark of New Hampshire. Boston: Spaulding-Moss, 1949.

Scheer, George and Rankin, Hugh. Rebels and Redcoats. Cleveland: The WorldPublishing Company, 1957.

Ward, Christopher. The War of The Revolution. New York: Macmillan, 1952.

FURTHER READING 111


Abercrombie, James, 30Albany

and British, 7-8, 27, 40,85, 93, 96

and fur trade, 16, 56Allen, Ethan, 17-19Amherst, Jeffrey, 17, 31Anburey, Thomas, 84Anne, Fort, 37, 39, 74Arnold, Benedict

and Battle of BemisHeights, 87-90, 91,92-93, 102

and Battle ofFreeman’s Farm, 75,77, 78-80, 84-85

and Battle of ValcourIsland, 21-23

and Burgoyne’s retreat,96

and Carleton’s retreat,24-25

and Fort Stanwix, 67,70

and Fort Ticonderoga,17

and Gates, 75, 77, 78-80,84-85

and Quebec, 19, 71

Balcarres, Earl of, 85Baum, Friedrich, 46-47,

48, 49, 50, 52, 85Bemis Heights

Battle of, 83-93and Gates, 71, 74, 75,

78, 83Bennington, Battle of,

43-53, 67, 70, 85Brandywine Creek, Battle

of, 103Brant, Joseph, 58, 59, 62,

64Breymann, Heinrich, 50,

52, 90

Burgoyne, John, 25and Albany, 7-8, 40, 85,

93, 96army of, 7-8and Battle of Bemis

Heights, 83, 85, 89,90, 91-92, 93

and Battle of Benning-ton, 44, 45-47, 50,52-53

and Battle ofFreeman’s Farm,72-75, 77-78, 80-81

and Battle of ValcourIsland, 21, 31

and Carleton’s retreat,25

and Clinton, 80-81, 97and desertions, 83-84and Fort Ticonderoga,

33, 36, 39as “Gentleman Johnny,”

25, 27, 96and Germain, 25, 27, 104and Howe, 27, 40-41and Jane McCrea, 9-10,

12-13, 70and Mohawk Valley,

55, 65, 67and Montreal, 19and New York, 7-10,

12-13, 25-27and retreat, 95-97and Skenesboro, 36,

37-39and supply route from

Canada, 23-25, 27,39, 41, 53, 70, 81

and surrender atSaratoga, 99-105,107

Butler, John, 59, 62, 64

Carillon, Fortand British, 17, 30-31

and French, 16, 29-31and Rangers, 43See also Ticonderoga,

FortCarleton, Guy, 19, 20, 21,

22, 23-25, 26Cayuga Indians, 55, 59Champlain, Lake, 7, 8,

16, 17, 21-23, 27, 29,31, 33, 36

Clinton, Fort, 81, 97Clinton, Henry, 80-81,

97, 99Continentals, 31, 39, 77, 86Cornwallis, Charles,

106-107Crown Point

and Americans, 17, 19and British, 17, 20, 24, 25

Dearborn, Henry, 75Defiance, Mount, 33, 34-35,

81, 84

Edward, Fort, 39, 40, 74, 97

Franceand alliance with

Americans, 104-107and Britain, 106. See

also French andIndian War

and Fort Carillon, 16,17, 29-31

and fur trade, 15-16,56

and Native Americans,15-16, 56, 58

Franklin, Benjamin, 104-106

Fraser, Simon, 33-35, 36-37, 74-75, 85, 89,90, 91

Freeman’s Farm, Battleof, 71-80, 84-85

INDEX112


INDEX 113

French and Indian War(Seven Years War), 15-17, 19, 30-31, 33, 43-44, 56, 58, 59, 70, 71,104, 105

Fur trade, 15-16, 56-57

Gansevoort, Peter, 59, 61Gates, Horatio, 70

and Arnold, 75, 77, 78-80, 84-85

and Battle of BemisHeights, 83, 86-88,90-92, 101-102

and Battle ofFreeman’s Farm,71-72, 73, 74, 75, 77,78-80, 84-85

Bemis Heights, 71, 74,75, 78, 83

and British retreat, 96and Burgoyne’s surren-

der at Saratoga, 99,101, 104

and Jane MCrea, 12and planned attack at

Saratoga, 97-98George III, King of

England, 25, 27George, Lake, 8, 16, 17,

30, 33, 58Germain, George, 25, 27,

104German mercenaries.

See HessiansGreen Mountain Boys, 17Gregg, William, 47

Hamilton, James, 75Herkimer, Nicholas,

61-62, 64Hessians, 8, 27, 39

and Battle of BemisHeights, 85, 86, 89,90, 93

and Battle ofBennington, 45-46,47, 48, 49-50, 51, 52

and Battle ofFreeman’s Farm, 75,78, 79

and Battle ofHubbardton, 37

and Battle of ValcourIsland, 21

and desertions, 84and Fort Ticonderoga,

33, 35Hiawatha, 56Hill, John, 37Hope, Mount, 33-34Howe, William

as most famous com-mander, 103-104

and New York City,25, 27

and Philadelphia, 27,40-41, 103

Hubbardton, Battle of, 35,36-37, 45

Hudson River Valley, 15, 19

Iroquois nations, 8, 16, 55-59, 62, 64

Johnson, Guy, 58Johnson, John, 58, 59Johnson, William, 56-58Jones, David, 9, 10

Kingston, Robert, 99Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 71

Langdon, John, 44-45Learned, Ebenezer, 86, 89,

91, 93Long, Pierce, 37, 39Lotbiniere, Michel

Chartier, 29, 31

Louis XVI, King ofFrance, 104, 106

Loyalists, 8, 27

McCrea, Jane, 9-10, 12-13,70

Militia, 33, 36, 39, 48, 52,62, 63, 64, 69, 70, 71, 83,86

Mohawk Indians, 55, 57, 59Mohawk River Valley, 27,

55-67, 70, 74Money, John, 38Montcalm, Marquis de,

16, 17, 30Montgomery, Fort, 81, 97Montgomery, Richard, 19Montreal

and Americans, 17-19,19

and British, 19and French, 15-16, 56

Morgan, Daniel, 71, 75,76-77, 86, 89, 90-91, 92,93, 97-98

Native Americansand British, 8-10, 12-13,

16, 27, 34, 47, 55-59,60-61, 62, 64, 67, 74

and French, 15-16, 56,58

and fur trade, 15-16,56-57

and Iroquois nations, 8,16, 55-59, 62, 64

New York, and Britishinvasion, 7-10, 12-13,17, 20, 25-27

New York City, 25, 27, 81,97, 99

Ojibwa Indians, 8Onandaga (Indian capital),

56


Onandaga Indians, 55, 59Oneida Indians, 55Oriskany, Battle of, 62-64,

67Oswego (fortified post), 16Ottawa Indians, 8

Panther, 10, 12Philadelphia, 27, 40-41,

103, 105, 106Poor, Enoch, 86, 88, 91, 93

Quebecand Americans, 17, 19,

71and British, 17, 19, 31and French, 15, 17, 31

Rangers, 43-44Rogers, Robert, 43-44Royal Greens, 59, 62, 64

St. Clair, Arthur, 31, 33,35-36, 39

St. Frederic, Fort, 16, 17, 43See also Crown Point

St. Johns, 19, 21, 22St. Lawrence River, 19, 27

St. Leger, Barry, 59, 61,62, 64, 67, 70

SaratogaAmericans at, 39, 97-103and Battle of Valcour

Island, 22-23British retreat to, 95-99Burgoyne’s surrender

at, 99-105, 107and Jane McCrae, 9-10,

12-13and number of

American troops,12-13, 97

Schuyler, Hon Yost, 67Schuyler, Philip, 21, 39,

45, 59, 64-66, 69-70Seneca Indians, 55Skenesboro, 35, 36, 37-39Stanwix, Fort, 59-62, 64-

67, 70Stark, John, 43-45, 47-48,

49-51, 52, 98

Ticonderoga, Fortand Americans, 17, 19,

20-21, 23, 31, 33-36,69

and British, 17, 20, 23-24, 25, 27, 31, 33-36,44, 74, 96, 97, 102

See also Carillon, FortTories, 47, 48, 52, 53, 59,

67, 106Twiss, William, 35

Valcour Island, Battle of,21-23, 31

Von Riedesel, Baron, 21,22, 35, 37, 45-46, 75, 78,79, 83-84, 85, 98-99

Warner, Seth, 36, 45, 48,50-51, 52

Washington, George, 25, 27, 40, 70-71, 103,104-105

Wilkinson, James, 85-86Willet, Marinus, 60, 61, 64William Henry, Fort, 16Wolfe, James, 17Wyandot Indians, 8

Yorktown, 106-107

INDEX114


PICTURE CREDITS 115

2: The New York Public Library6: © Bettmann/Corbis11: © Francis G. Mayer/Corbis14: © Bettmann/Corbis18: Hulton Archive by Getty Images20: © Francis G. Mayer/Corbis23: The New York Public Library24: Hulton Archive by Getty Images26: © Bettmann/Corbis28: © Lee Snider/Corbis34: New York Historical Society38: © Robert Holmes/Corbis40: © Bettmann/Corbis42: Hulton Archive by Getty Images46: Scala/Art Resource, NY49: Hulton Archive by Getty Images51: © Lee Snider/Corbis54: Hulton Archive by Getty Images57: Hulton Archive by Getty Images

60: © Lee Snider/Corbis63: Hulton Archive by Getty Images65: Hulton Archive by Getty Images68: National Portrait Gallery,

Smithsonian72: © Bettmann/Corbis76: Hulton Archive by Getty Images79: Scala/Art Resource, NY80: © Bettmann/Corbis82: Hulton Archive by Getty Images87: Hulton Archive by Getty Images91: Hulton Archive by Getty Images92: New York Historical Society94: © David Muench/Corbis100: The New York Public Library103: Architect of the Capitol105: Hulton Archive by Getty Images107: Hulton Archive by Getty Images

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cover: Granger Collection


116

RICHARD WORTH has thirty years experience as awriter, trainer, and video producer. He has written morethan 25 books, including The Four Levers of Corporate

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