The Battles of Saratoga On October 17, 1777, General Horatio Gates along with Colonel Daniel Morgan and Benedict Arnold won a great victory against the Great Britain forces led by General John Burgoyne. The Battles of Saratoga took place in two separate battles and in two distinct locations. The first Battle of Saratoga took place on September 19, 1777, at the farm of John Freeman, a Loyalist supporter; known as the Battle of Freeman’s Farm. The second battle occurred nine miles south of Saratoga on October 7, 1777, in Bemis Heights; known as the Battle of Bemis Heights. The Battles of Saratoga took place near Albany in Saratoga County, New York. Due to General Horatio Gates, Colonel Daniel Morgan and Benedict Arnold’s leadership, commitment, …show more content…
He had a strength of 7,200 Soldiers at his Command. The plan included to cross Lake Champlain and capture Fort Ticonderoga before continuing on to Albany, New York. If the British forces were successful, they would be able to have communications to the City of New York. The British wanted to control the entire river because they believed having control of the “Hudson could sever New England-the hot bed of the rebellion-from the rest of the colonies” ("The Battle of Saratoga"). General Burgoyne’s forces were able to easily take over Fort Ticonderoga without any complications and force the evacuation of Crown point and Fort …show more content…
Regrettably, General Clinton could only reach Clermont, 70 miles from Bemis Heights. Time passed and it was already October, while Burgoyne was still waiting for his reinforcement his provisions were running extremely low and he was running out of options. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne came to the realization that General Clinton would not reach them on time and he had to take action. He launched an attack on Bemis Heights through the American’s left