In the late summer and fall of 1777, after two years of indecisive
fighting on both sides, the outcome of the American War of
Independence hung in the balance. Having successfully expelled the
Americans from Canada in 1776, the British were determined to end
the rebellion the following year and devised what they believed a
war-winning strategy, sending General John Burgoyne south to rout
the Americans and take Albany. When British forces captured Fort
Ticonderoga with unexpected ease in July of 1777, it looked as if
it was a matter of time before they would break the rebellion in
the North. Less than three and a half months later, however, a
combination of the Continental Army and Militia forces, commanded
by Major General Horatio Gates and inspired by the heroics of
Benedict Arnold, forced Burgoyne to surrender his entire army. The
American victory stunned the world and changed the course of the
war. Kevin J. Weddle offers the most authoritative history of the
Battle of Saratoga to date, explaining with verve and clarity why
events unfolded the way they did. In the end, British plans were
undone by a combination of distance, geography, logistics, and an
underestimation of American leadership and fighting ability. Taking
Ticonderoga had misled Burgoyne and his army into thinking victory
was assured. Saratoga, which began as a British foraging
expedition, turned into a rout. The outcome forced the British to
rethink their strategy, inflamed public opinion in England against
the war, boosted Patriot morale, and, perhaps most critical of all,
led directly to the Franco-American alliance. Weddle unravels the
web of contingencies and the play of personalities that ultimately
led to what one American general called "the Compleat Victory."
General
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