Why Was The Battle Of Saratoga A Turning Point

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Vicente Mendoza
Mr. Montgomery
US History
9 October, 2014
Battle of Saratoga and Yorktown

The Battle of Saratoga was a battle fought between the British and the Continental Army just nine miles off of Saratoga, New York. This battle took place on September 19, 1777 all the way to October 7 of 1777. Eighteen days to be exact. The leader for the Continental Army was Horatio Gates and the leader for the British was John Burgoyne. The battle was a turning point for the Americans. The British’s plan was to try and take over Upstate New York and move New England from the south to put an end to the Revolutionary War to the revolution that the Americans were causing. The battle had two engagements: the Battle of Freeman’s and the Battle of Bemis Heights. John Burgoyne needed help so he advanced south of Canada to Albany where his …show more content…

The French joined because of the loss they had to England on the Seven Years War and wanted to get payback so they joined after noticing that the Americans had beaten the British at Saratoga. The battle took place at Yorktown, Virginia. The French are on the American side and helped the Americans win the war. The French helped by donating guns, food, and ammunition. The war started on September 28 of the year 1781. General George Washington was the commanding officer of the Continental Army with seventeen thousand French and Continental troops. For the British, the commanding officer was General Charles Cornwallis with nine thousand British troops. With luck, the commanding officer for the French named Francois left St. Domingue on what is now known as Haiti and went for Chesapeake Bay. Washington quickly realized this and acted quickly. He ordered another officer named Marquis de Lafayette from the Continental Army with only five thousand troops to block Cornwallis’ escape by land from