George Washington is Defeated by Major General John Burgoyne: September 11, 1777
- Catholic Textbook Project
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This text comes from our book, The American Venture.
Even if they were partial to it, King Louis and his advisers knew the American Revolution might not succeed. It wouldn’t do to waste money and men on a lost cause.
The Americans had been having some success. Though the British general, Sir William Howe, had beaten Washington (with the loss of 1,000 men) on Long Island in August 1776, Washington had on December 26 that year forced Hessian mercenary soldiers to surrender at Trenton, New Jersey. (The British used soldiers from the German state of Hesse as part of their force to end the Revolution.) In early January, Washington and his ragtag Continentals made the British retreat at Princeton, New Jersey. By the end of January, Washington had captured the New Jersey towns of Hackensack, Elizabethtown, and Newark.
Despite such victories, however, the British were far from defeated. In fact, British Major General John Burgoyne was forming a campaign for the spring of 1777 that, if successful, could cut New England off from the other states. According to this plan, Burgoyne, with the support of the Iroquois and loyalists from upper New York, was to move down Lake Champlain to the Hudson River, where he would join with British forces under General Howe, who would move north along the Hudson from New York City.
It was not until June 1, 1777 that Burgoyne with his 4,000 British regular troops, 3,000 Hessian auxiliaries, and 1,000 Canadian and Indian allies began his advance to the Hudson. For his part, Howe, with 27,000 men in New York City, delayed. Finally, in July, when Howe began to move, he sent only part of his force up the Hudson. The larger portion of his force he sent south toward the American capital, Philadelphia. At Brandywine Creek, south of Philadelphia, Washington with 12,000 men met Howe’s force of 18,000 in battle on September 11, 1777 and was defeated. On September 26, Howe captured Philadelphia.
Such a defeat as Washington’s would have confirmed the French in their reluctance to ally themselves with America; and, if they had known of Congress’ decision to appoint the incompetent Horatio Gates to command the army that would face Burgoyne, they might have closed the books on America for good. But fortunately for the Americans, Gates had a very competent officer under his command—Benedict Arnold of Connecticut. When on September 1777 the American army met Burgoyne’s Redcoats in battle at Freeman’s Farm, near Saratoga, New York, it was Arnold who led the assault that ended in a British defeat. On October 7, Burgoyne attacked the American position at Freeman’s Farm; but Arnold, taking command of the New England regiments, routed him. Unable to advance or retreat, Burgoyne surrendered to Gates ten days later.
News of Burgoyne’s defeat worried the French government; it might, they thought, move the British to seek peace with America. Benjamin Franklin used this fear to convince King Louis XVI of the necessity of a military alliance with the United States. At last, on February 6, 1778, France signed two treaties of friendship and commerce with Congress. King Louis now recognized the independence of the United States of America and pledged his support in their war against France’s old enemy, Great Britain.
