Battles of Saratoga
1777 major turning point of the American Revolutionary War
The Battles of Saratoga were fought September 19 and October 7, 1777 over the same ground by the American Continental Army and the British Army near Saratoga, New York during the American Revolutionary War. The second battle ended with a decisive American victory, and the surrender of the British army there. The outcome greatly affected the course of the war, persuading France to enter the war as an American ally. In both battles, General John Burgoyne commanded the British forces, while Generals Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold oversaw the American forces. Historian Edmund Morgan described Saratoga as "a great turning point of the war", because it won for Americans the foreign assistance from France, which was the last element needed for victory."
The British Army's campaign in New York was aimed at dividing New England from the middle and southern colonies. Burgoyne led an invasion army southward from Quebec, Canada with the goal to take Albany, New York. The strategy began promisingly, but stalled due to logistical issues. British General William Howe never moved his forces north, and Brigadier General Barry St. Leger turned back his forces meant to arrive from the west, leaving Burgoyne surrounded by the Americans in upstate New York, 15 miles (24 km) short of his goal. Burgoyne fought two battles, 18 days apart, on the same ground 9 miles (14 km) south of Saratoga, New York.
The public source identifies “Battles of Saratoga” as 1777 major turning point of the American Revolutionary War. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Battles, Saratoga and major.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q846674. Authority coordinates are 42.999, -73.638. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1777.
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This entry incorporates text from “Battles of Saratoga” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.