Second Battle of Saratoga

Background. Burgoyne had moved south from Quebec in June 1777 to seize the upper Hudson valley, fighting a first battle at Freeman's Farm on September 19 on the same ground nine miles south of Saratoga. Though he won that engagement tactically, heavy casualties and desertions left him with roughly 5,000 effective troops by October 7. The Continental Army, encamped south of Stillwater, had fortified Bemis Heights with works designed by Tadeusz Kościuszko.

Course of the Battle. The battle opened with Burgoyne's attempt to flank the entrenched American position on Bemis Heights. The fighting was heavy, and Benedict Arnold spiritedly rallied the American troops. Burgoyne's forces were thrown back to their positions of before September 19, and the Americans captured a portion of the entrenched British defenses. French-supplied de Vallière cannon strengthened the American field artillery in the victory.

Aftermath. With aid from Sir Henry Clinton's diversionary moves in the Hudson highlands arriving too late, Burgoyne found himself surrounded by a much larger force and surrendered his entire army to Gates on October 17. Gates received broad credit for the greatest American victory of the war to date, Arnold had his seniority restored, and Congress proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for December 18. The outcome persuaded France to enter the war as an American ally.