7.5 The Battle of Saratoga - The Tide Begins to Turn (Part 1)

After barely escaping from his loss in New York, Washington revised his strategy. In the future, he wrote Congress, he would avoid large battles that might put his army at risk. Instead, the war would be “defensive,” meaning that rather than defeating the British, Washington hoped to tire them out.

Germain revised the British strategy as well by plotting to divide the rebels by taking control of New York's Hudson River Valley. Since New England provided many men and supplies to the war effort, control of this river valley would allow the British to cut off these vital resources from the rest of the states, causing the Continental army to collapse.

To carry out this plan, General John Burgoyne (ber-GOIN) left Canada in June 1777 with about 8,000 British soldiers and American Indian warriors. He planned to move this army south to Albany, New York. There he would meet up with General Howe, who was supposed to march his army north from New York City.

There were two big problems with Burgoyne's plan. 

Problem #1: The first was that what looked like an easy invasion route on a map was anything but easy. The route Burgoyne chose from Canada to Albany took his army through more than 20 miles of tangled wilderness, which forced his army to build bridges, chop down countless trees, and lay out miles of log roads through swamps as it crept toward Albany.

To make matters worse, Burgoyne didn't travel light, and the army was slowed by more than 600 wagons, 30 of which were filled with his personal baggage. Even in the wilderness, “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne sipped champagne with his supper.

Problem #2:

The second problem with Burgoyne's plan was that General Howe had his own ideas about how to win the war.  Instead of marching to Albany, Howe headed for the rebels' capital at Philadelphia, where he hoped to lure Washington into another major battle.  Howe also hoped it would be the last one.

Washington, however, refused to risk his army in another big battle and would not fight for Philadelphia.  Instead, he played hide-and-seek with Howe, attacking here and there and then disappearing into the countryside.

By the time the slow-moving Burgoyne finally reached Saratoga Springs on the Hudson River, the area was swarming with militia. Although the rebels outnumbered his army, Burgoyne ordered an attack. The rebels beat back Burgoyne's troops again and again, and on October 17, 1777, Burgoyne accepted defeat.

Before the victory at Saratoga, most of the world believed that the American cause was hopeless, but  Burgoyne's surrender marked a turning point in the war.  Now the Americans had shown they could stand up to a British army and win.

Not long after this victory, France came into the war as an  ally  of the United States by sending money, weapons, troops, and warships to the Americans.  With Spain also entering the war against Great Britain, the American cause no longer looked quite so hopeless.