Northern Theater of The American Revolutionary War After Saratoga - British Strategy After Saratoga

British Strategy After Saratoga

After General John Burgoyne surrendered his army after the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777 France entered the war, recognizing the United States and entering into a military alliance. France dispatched a fleet and army across the Atlantic to aid the Americans fighting for independence, in addition to pursuing military operations in the Caribbean and the East Indies. France also applied pressure on Spain to enter the war; although this did not happen until 1779, Spanish actions in other theaters further stretched British military resources.

These strategic changes forced the British to shift their attention away from North America, moving troops, ships and resources to defend the West Indies, India and other colonial possessions, as well as guarding against the threat of a French invasion of Great Britain itself. In North America, the British withdrew from Philadelphia in 1778, and made New York City the headquarters for the North American theater of war. They then embarked on a southern strategy, in which they sought to gain control over the colonies of Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Virginia, where they believed Loyalist sentiment to be strong. This activity formed the bulk of military activity in North America for the remainder of the war, but actions and forays occurred from British strongholds in Quebec, New York, Rhode Island, and Nova Scotia.

Following their consolidation after the Saratoga disaster, the British began recruiting American Loyalists and Natives allies in great numbers to make up for their lack of army troops, and dispatched them on what were essentially raiding expeditions against Patriot settlements on the frontiers. Using their naval supremacy the British also launched raids and amphibious actions against the New England coastline.