The Battle of Saratoga

[rangerrebew]

The Battle of Saratoga
 


The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War.

The scope of the victory is made clear by a few key facts: On October 17, 1777, 5,895 British and Hessian troops surrendered their arms. General John Burgoyne had lost 86 percent of his expeditionary force that had triumphantly marched into New York from Canada in the early summer of 1777.
Divide and Conquer

The divide-and-conquer strategy that Burgoyne presented to British ministers in London was to invade America from Canada by advancing down the Hudson Valley to Albany. There, he would be joined by other British troops under the command of Sir William Howe. Howe would be bringing his troops north from New Jersey and New York City.

http://www.ushistory.org/us/11g.asp

[Absalom]

A strong demurral as reality is direct and simple.
We fought an 8 year Guerilla War against the British Empire
who were pre-occupied in Europe w/France and Austria.
This lasted from Bunker Hill to the exile of Napoleon.
Consequently, Britain's foremost commanders were never
sent to the Colonies.
In my judgement, our great Heroes of the Revolution were
Frances Marion, Daniel Morgan, Nathaniel Greene;among many,
hardly our conventional war leaders.

[the_doc]

In my judgement, our great Heroes of the Revolution were
Frances Marion, Daniel Morgan, Nathaniel Greene; among many,
hardly our conventional war leaders.

Amen.  Ethan Allen was pretty unconventional, too, I believe.  I would also list John Stark as a more conventional soldier-hero (and probably less well-known), but I mainly respect him for his famous exhortation "Live free or die."

I think we also have to admit that it was the French who sealed the Brits' defeat (Lafayette, Rochambeau, and De Grasse).