The Saratoga Campaign - the beginning of the end?

Introduction 

It has been strongly suggested that the battles that formed the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 marked the turning point in the war of the north during the American War of Independence (AWI). It must also be noted that it was after this victory that France decided to lend its support to the then fledgling War of Revolution.

We should perhaps view the events of Saratoga as two different battles: The Battle of Freeman's Farm (also known as First Saratoga), and Saratoga itself. That said, given the nature of the action you could easily contest that the whole thing was nothing more than one, long running battle, beginning in mid-September and culminating on October 17, 1777.

On paper, the British plan didn’t seem a bad one. The commanders planned a pincer campaign to control the important Mohawk Valley, what was then the commerce centre of Albany, and so isolate New England from New York and Philadelphia. At the head of this force was British General John Burgoyne (affectionately called "Gentleman Johnny" by his soldiers), who led a force of 8,000 down the northern New York frontier from Canada, accompanied by some 1,000 camp followers of Indians and soldiers wives.

In support of Burgoyne's efforts was Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger who had at his disposal some 1,600 Regulars and Indians and composed the 2nd force in this plan. This force travelled east down through the Mohawk Valley and ambushed General Nicholas Herkimer at the Battle of Fort Schuyler, August 4-22. It was not to be a success for St. Leger. Here we introduce a famous name into the fray, that of Benedict Arnold, who led a relief column and joined Herkimer in the battles of Fort Stanwix, August 4-22, and Oriskany, August 6-22.

Using what can only be called ‘aggressive tactics’ his relief force routed St. Leger who was forced to retreat back to Montreal. The British plan, authored by Burgoyne, also called for a third force to travel north from New York City under General Sir William Howe, commander-in-chief of British forces in America. This three-pronged assault was designed to isolate and capture Albany. However, St. Leger's retreat had damaged the plan, not enough to force its cancellation, but the bloody nose inflicted by Arnold was not taken well by the powers that be.

On July 6th, Burgoyne had captured the Northern outpost of Fort Ticonderoga, forcing the withdrawal of 2,300 Americans. He continued south, pushing his way toward the southern tip of Lake George with little combat resistance but the progress was slow. Much of this was due to the actions of General Philip Schuyler. Despite having been being forced to retreat from overwhelming numbers, he rushed a force of 1,000 woodsmen into the forest to fell trees, burn bridges, and place other obstacles in Burgoyne's path. The British column, burdened by wagons, extra supplies, bridge building, swamps, and other natural barriers was slowed to a crawl.

Indeed it is written that the British column was limited to little more than a mile per day. The slow pace created a shortage of supplies and by August 16th Burgoyne found it necessary to dispatch a raiding party to search for food. This raiding party did not fair well.

On August 16th as it neared to Bennington, it was met by the Green Mountain militia, under John Stark and severely defeated at Hoosic Falls. Then on September 13, 1777 Burgoyne crossed the Hudson from the east bank toward Saratoga, later settling near Bemis Heights. The force had been constantly harassed and his numbers had been reduced to about 6,000, having left some 1,000 as a garrison force at Ticonderoga.

Now you need to think about Schuyler’s delaying tactics and the time this gave the American forces under Gates to form superior intelligence about the British and the countryside. The British were heading into trouble and the ample opportunities for scouting allowed the US forces to draw them in. However, Burgoyne had the support of loyalist and he was aware of the reinforcements and the overall situation. He felt that he only needed to bide his time until General Clinton arrived. Burgoyne therefore sent out three columns to "develop the situation" and on September 19 the battle of Freeman's Farm commenced.

As you can see from the map this was a complex affair and at a later stage we will present this battle to you as a full-blown scenario. For now please use it as a 'taster' to give you an idea of how large and cumbersome some of the battles of Independence could be.

The Battle Lines and Broken Rules of Engagement

As the fighting progressed, it was Gates’ belief that he should maintain his position and engage the enemy as they advanced, but the more supercharged Arnold was of the opinion that the Americans should take the battle to the British. Arnold, who had a numerically superior force, therefore took an "active defence" and elected to attack at Bemis Heights.

Now here we have an interesting situation. Daniel Morgan and his crack Virginia riflemen elected to violate the rules of war of that day and specifically targeted the British officers, which sent the advanced column reeling in full retreat. The Virginians, quick to follow up on this success, formed a disorganised charge, putting them face to face with the main body of the advanced column. The British troops with superior discipline and experience sent the Virginians back into the forest for cover. American light infantry then engaged the British, and for 3-4 hours the heaviest part of the battle took place.

General Riedesel, the Hessian commander, had taken the rear guard with a reduced force to protect Burgoyne's supplies and artillery at a position near the Hudson River. Soon he learned that a general engagement was underway at Freeman's Farm, and at around 5:00 P.M. he sent support to the farm. This force was a contributing factor to relieving the pressure on Burgoyne's centre column, with Reidesel used his German regulars to thwart the Americans, and Burgoyne slowly gained back lost ground.

Interestingly, this gave Gates the opportunity to have destroyed Burgoyne's supply depot near the river and thus ended the conflict, but he failed to act upon it. Meanwhile, Arnold had not prevailed at Bemis Heights and returned to obtain reinforcements. Gates relieved him of command. With Arnold removed from battle, Burgoyne effectively held the ground. The cost was high though with some 350 dead or wounded out of 800 who had engaged in the initial fighting.

Consolidation at Saratoga

The day, September 20th, Burgoyne wanted to follow up his ‘hard fought’ victory, but his actions were tempered by General Simon Fraser who had fought with the Light Infantry and Grenadiers who convinced him that a day's rest would be best. Furthermore Burgoyne was informed that Clinton was on his way up the Hudson from New York City.

This information left Burgoyne with a belief that he would soon be able to have the Americans surrounded, and so he decided to construct defensive field fortifications. He called for the Balcarres Redoubt to be constructed at Freeman's Farm, the forward most position, as well as the Breymann Redoubt. His Canadian troops began constructing stockaded cabins, a floating bridge across the Hudson River, along with many other defensive earthworks.

During this time American militia under General Benjamin Lincoln were disrupting the lines of communication behind Burgoyne from Saratoga to Lake Champlain. Also, militia from the surrounding areas arrived to reinforce Gates position on Bemis Heights, along with increased military supplies under the direction of General Schuyler. The American side of the conflict was growing in strength on an almost daily basis, whilst the British were labouring under a false belief that their victory was at hand.

Loads of Problems at the British HQ

As the days passed Burgoyne was beset with numerous problems. The hot sweltering summer heat, rampant illness and desertion were taking their toll on his beleaguered force, and on top of this his horses were starving. By October 3rd things were so bad that troops were reduced to 1/3 rations – which is not what you want when faced with an upcoming major conflict. The Americans harassed British foraging parties and a state of constant readiness was necessary in the British camps, morale was low and there was no sign of respite.

Reidesel had suggested that a withdrawal would be prudent, allowing the British force to re-establish communications with Canada, and to await Clinton's arrival, but Burgoyne being as he was would have no part of it. He was determined to march on Albany. The force was clearly unable to collect any solid form of intelligence, so on October 7th Burgoyne sent out another reconnaissance party, with the hope of mounting an attack on Bemis Heights. The grim nature of his position was to soon strike Burgoyne as he did not know that Clinton had decided against marching up the Hudson River.

Hessians Fighting From Redoubt

Gates had also used this time to construct his own series of defensive earthworks. With these built Gates ordered Daniel Morgan's troops to "begin the game". Morgans' troops attacked one flank of the British lines while Gen. Enoch Poors' troops attacked the other.

Burgoyne then used a company of 600 Rangers to screen the right flank, while the main column of 1,500 regulars marched southwest to a high ground they had noted during the previous battle. Poors' Brigade managed to hold their position against the well trained Grenadiers of Maj. John Acland, despite a valiant bayonet charge mounted by the Grenadiers. Then the New Hampshire troops overran the British position and captured it.

Morgan's Riflemen in the meantime had been attacking the opposite flank and the rear. Henry Dearborns's Light Infantry met the charging British line, and the threat to the right flank was ended. The German centre line, unaware of the withdrawal order that had been made, fought on. Now Benedict Arnold, although relieved of his own command, entered himself into the battle and mounted a charge. Arnold forced the British to withdraw and pressed the battle to prevent retreat into the fortifications. As the withdrawal became even more widespread, the British bypassed their redoubts, thus giving up the field.

Arnold then led an unsuccessful attack against the troops still in the Balcarres redoubt. He fell back, gathered fresh troops and cleared a line between Balcarres and the Breymann redoubts. He then led an attack against the Breymann Redoubt but it was a costly assault for him personally. He was wounded in the leg and crippled for life. This injury later led George Washington to assign Arnold to less vigorous duty, and it was following this that Arnold made contact with the British and began selling information. A traitor was born!

During the battle Arnold had noticed a British officer in the centre of the British line, braving rallying the troops in the face of the American advance. He relayed this information to Daniel Morgan, who in turn had one of his riflemen despatch the man. It turned out that he had shot British General Simon Fraser.

Burgoyne, with very few options, made a forced withdrawal to the Great Redoubt, and then withdrew to Schuylerville. Gates was in no position to immediately follow up, but by October 12th he had the British surrounded and Burgoyne was forced to surrender to the US forces.

Gates gave generous terms of surrender because he still feared an attack by Clinton from the south. The Convention of Saratoga was consummated on October 17th and Burgoyne's troops were paroled, "upon the condition of not serving again in North America during the present contest."