Battle of Saratoga
By Jeffrey Xiao
26480 Maple Ave., Loma Linda, CA 92354
909-492-3908
[email protected]
Grade 11
Redlands Senior High School
840 E. Citrus Ave. Redlands, CA 92374
909-307-5500
Title Page
Battle of Saratoga
The Revolutionary War began in 1775, when the first shots of the war were fired between
the Americans and British. In an attempt to obtain their independence, the Americans fought out
a brutal war that took the lives of many. Acts such as the Proclamation of 1763 and the Stamp
Act as well as events such as the Boston Massacre had infuriated the colonists and fueled their
desire to obtain independence. However, the colonists stood at a disadvantage at the start of the
war because the British had accrued the world’s mightiest army and navy that the colonists
simply could not match (Faragher et al. 165). As a result, the colonists would have their backs
against the wall until the Battle of Saratoga which would be crucial in modifying the war in favor
of the colonists, and eventually result in American independence on July 4th.
The Battle of Saratoga was a significant turning point in the war (Burgan 4). As a
consequence, it would drastically alter how the war was proceeding and it would enable the
colonists to begin to have the upper hand with their victory at the Battle of Saratoga. It was a
necessary victory for the Americans as it boosted morale tremendously, obtained the support of
foreign powers such as France, and altered the world’s history forever (United States National
Park Service). The battle was commenced in eighteen days in 1777 in the season of fall
(History.com Staff).
In order to seize the resourceful and strategically important Hudson River valley, the
British devised a plan to cut off New England from the rest of the American colonies, led by
General John Burgoyne (Kennedy and Cohen 144). To carry out the plan, Burgoyne formed an
army containing 10,000 troops that would sail south Lake Champlain and then march south
beside the valuable Hudson River to the city of Albany in New York (Burgan 8). A second
officer, General Howe, and his soldiers were intended to be reinforcements for Burgoyne’s army
through the meeting of the two divisions near Albany (Kennedy and Cohen 144). A final group
of soldiers led by British commander, Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger would execute the plan
by deploying from Fort Oswego to the southeast where they would serve as a decoy by luring the
scarce American troops which would enable the British to gain a crushing victory if carried out
successfully (Burgan 8). However, General Howe believed there were flaws in the scheme
because if Howe moved into New York, Washington and his soldiers were stationed nearby;
therefore, the colonists could simply recapture New York and cause the plan to break into
shambles (United States National Park Service). Instead, Howe decided to attack Philadelphia
where they could clash with Washington’s army in open fields (United States National Park
Service). Although Howe captured Philadelphia, the central government, Congress, was not
present in the city since they had already fled from Philadelphia, and so the city provided little to
no strategic value to the British (Faragher et al. 169). Washington and his troops suffered a
couple of defeats and were forced to fall back to Valley Forge where Baron von Steuben, a
renowned Prussian drillmaster, disciplined the colonist army at Valley Forge and transformed it
into a professional army (Kennedy and Cohen 145).
Meanwhile, in the move south from Lake Champlain, John Burgoyne effortlessly
captured Fort Ticonderoga which spiked up the confidence levels of the officer, but the British
marched at a slow pace which would enable the Americans to prepare and recuperate from the
loss at Fort Ticonderoga (History.com Staff). In the crucial time for regrouping, George
Washington was able to send Benedict Arnold, the greatest commander of infantry on the
American side, as well as Colonel Daniel Morgan and additional soldiers to aid Horatio Grant to
defend the colonies from the invasion by the British (History.com Staff). At Bemis Heights, a
daunting defense was being created by Grant that would be difficult to penetrate because of its
position near a river and stationing of twenty-two cannons that would hinder British advance
tremendously (United States National Park Service). Consequently, Burgoyne’s army would
suffer several defeats, and he was forced to retreat to Saratoga (Faragher et al. 169). It was
Arnold who led the American soldiers on the offensive and convinced Gates to leave his
defensive stance so that they could pursue Burgoyne after they erased Burgoyne’s hopes of a
victorious invasion (History.com Staff).
At Saratoga, Burgone’s forces were cornered and surrounded by American forces which
boasted a substantially larger number of men (Faragher et al. 169). Thus, on October 17, 1777,
Burgoyne and his nearly 6,000 men waved the white flag at Saratoga and surrendered, ending the
Battle of Saratoga, a decisive turning point in the infantile American history (Faragher et al.
169). Also, the Americans forced St. Leger’s forces to retreat from Oriskany which effectively
ended the British plan for the invasion of New York (Kennedy and Cohen 145).
After two years of combat, the British plan for being victorious resulted in a massive
failure and would cause the Americans to begin to win the war (Faragher et al. 169). With the
American victory at the Battle of Saratoga, the Americans never looked back as the victory
reinstituted the fading colonial cause and caused France to send vital aid to the colonists which
would guarantee the Americans obtaining their independence from the British (Kennedy and
Cohen 145). Thus, the Battle of Saratoga is the most important battle in American history.
Bibliography (MLA Format)
Burgan, Michael. The Untold Story of the Battle of Saratoga: A Turning Point in the
Revolutionary War. North Mankato, MN: Compass Point, a Capstone Imprint, 2015.
Print.
Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, and Armitage. "The Creation of the United States." Out of Many. 4th
ed. Vol. Combined. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2006. 164-87. Print.
History.com Staff. “Battle of Saratoga.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 01
Dec. 2016.
Kennedy, David M., and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant: A History of the American
People. 15th ed. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
United States National Park Service. “History & Culture.” National Parks Service. U.S.
Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.
Biography
I am Jeffrey Xiao. In school, I am currently participating in Academic Decathlon, an
academic competition designed for high school students, and Hiking Club, a club dedicated to
hiking in the wilderness. Last year, in Academic Decathlon, I received a third-place award in the
San Bernadino county for the Honors category. Also, I was involved in Pathfinders, a youth
organization that involved helping the community through activities such as caroling to the
elderly or setting up a drive for donations to the poor. Furthermore, I served as a peer tutor in
middle school to help those in need of help with their classes as well as a volunteer at my local
library. I plan to become a lawyer and plan to major in law or in STEM. In my leisure time, I
enjoy watching sports such as the NBA. I am a Los Angeles Lakers fan.