Why was the Battle of Saratoga so important in the War of Independence? The British won the battle. It made the Americans think that they could win the war without any help. It made the French decide to help the Americans. It was Washington’s first victory of the war.
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Answer:
The Battle of Saratoga was considered to be a turning point in the American Revolution which took place in the autumn of 1777.
In 1777, British strategy called for a three-pronged attack on New York, with three separate armies lead by the British general John Burgoyne, moving south from Canada with 7,500 men, the Hudson River Valley was the critical route for the invasion. By August, Burgoyne had captured Fort Ticonderoga, defeated fleeing American troops at Vermont, and occupied Fort Edward on the edge of the Hudson River. After a contingent of Burgoyne’s troops was defeated in the Battle of Bennington, his reduced forces marched south toward Saratoga in early September.
General Horatio Gates and his American soldiers had built formidable defenses on Bemis Heights just south of Saratoga overlooking the Hudson. The two armies engaged in combat at Freeman’s Farm on September 19, which was called the First battle of Saratoga. Even though the British held off the Americans in that battle, their losses were great. Burgoyne’s battered forces dug trenches and waited for reinforcements, but none came. Burgoyne launched a second, unsuccessful attack on the Americans at Bemis Heights on October 7 called the Second battle of Saratoga. With no means of escape, Burgoyne eventually surrendered to Gates on October 17.
The aftermath of the Battle of Saratoga were:
- The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The American defeat of the superior British army lifted patriot morale, furthered the hope for independence and helped to secure the foreign support needed to win the war.
- Impressed by the Patriots’ resistance to Britain, France signed a formal Treaty of Alliance with the Americans and the balance of the war tips in their favor. The Spanish and Dutch later provided support to the Americans as well, hoping to weaken British domination in Europe.
- After the British humiliation at Saratoga, Horatio Gates earned widespread public support and ran a brief clandestine campaign to replace George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. But Washington maintained his post.
- General Burgoyne marched his defeated army back north and returns to England. He was severely criticized for his actions at Saratoga and received no future commands in the British Army.