The site of the Battle of Saratoga,
I walk a small portion of the battlefield with my son, Adam. He and I love visiting historic sites and talking about the important events and the people who impacted America's history across our country.
The Visitor Center & Park Roads
are closed because of Covid 19
Restrictions.
What led to the
Battle at Saratoga, the
Turning Point of the American Revolution?
The British created a plan to isolate the
New England Colonies from the rest of the insurgent American Colonies and use
New York as a base to attack the
Mid Atlantic Colonies.
General John Burgoyne and
General Sir William Howe were ordered to move their Armies to
Albany, New York. General Burgoyne's Army moved south from
Canada and General Howe was to move north from
New Jersey, up the
Hudson Valley. Both Armies were to damage and destroy American property in an effort to demoralize the population as they moved toward each other.
General Howe and his Army were attacking American troops near
New York City and in
Pennsylvania in
1777. The planned "Southern Army" did not march north to Albany. Howe's troops attacked
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and occupied the City in September 1777, making him. and his Army unavailable for the Upstate New York Campaign.
Two battles here fought here.
The first battle was fought on September 19, 1777, at the Freeman Farm near Saratoga. Momentum moved back and forth between the American and British Armies with no clear winner until General Burgoyne sent in German soldiers to support the faltering English lines. That was enough to push back
General Horatio Gate's troops.
General Burgoyne's next move sparked the second Battle of Saratoga at
Bemis Heights, south of Saratoga. (The portion of the battlefield that Adam & I walk today.)
This Cannon, at the American lines,
overlooks the British advance on
October 7, 1777.
In Memory of Unkown
Soldiers Reinterrred Here.
Dedicated September 19, 1987
This marker is near the Cannon,
behind the American lines.
assault on the American lines
on October 7, 1777.
It is a gracious act to acknowledge the courage of the enemy's fallen commander.
Adam & I imagine the British
preparing to attack uphill.
perches on a dry twig.
Adam & I follow a paved
path.
On October 7, 1777, British troops were sent to the left flank of the American lines, which was repulsed. Burgoyne ordered his troops to retreat. The attackers were surrounded by American troops.
The British hastily erected fortifications behind their forward position.
Breymann's Redoubt was
overrun by Americans
commanded by
Major Benedict Arnold.
These cannons are placed at Breymann's Redoubt and aimed at...
...the Americans at the top of the
rise, & the Visitor Center
beyond.
General Burgoyne restarted his retreat in the cold October rains, only to be harassed by Americans shooting at his troops as they withdrew north. He surrendered to General Gates on October 17, 1777.
Following this decisive battle,
France and America signed two treaties, The Treaty of Amity and Commerce that recognized America as an independent country and encouraged trade between the two nations. The Treaty of Alliance aligned the two countries against Britain, allowing France to provide material support to the Americans.
