Battles of Saratoga - Aftermath

Aftermath

For more details on Burgoyne's movements and eventual surrender after these battles, see Saratoga Campaign: Surrender.

Burgoyne lost 1,000 men in the two battles, leaving him outnumbered by roughly 3 to 1; American losses came to about 500 killed and wounded. Burgoyne had lost several of his most effective leaders, his attempts to capture the American position had failed, and his forward line was now breached. That night he lit fires at his remaining forward positions and withdrew under the cover of darkness. On the morning of October 8, he was back in the fortified positions he had held on September 16. By October 13 he was surrounded at Saratoga, and on October 17 he surrendered his army. The remnants of his expedition retreated from Ticonderoga back to Quebec.

Once news of Burgoyne's surrender reached France, King Louis XVI decided to enter into negotiations with the Americans that resulted in a formal Franco-American alliance and French entry into the war. This moved the conflict onto a global stage. As a consequence, Britain was forced to divert resources used to fight the war in North America to theaters in the West Indies and Europe, and rely on what turned out to be the chimera of Loyalist support in its North American operations. Burgoyne's failed campaign, as may be seen by the titles of some of the books that cover it in detail, marked a major turning point in the war.

In recognition of his contribution to the battles at Saratoga, General Arnold had his seniority restored (he had lost it after being passed over for promotion earlier in 1777). His leg wound left Arnold bedridden for five months. Later, while still unfit for field service but serving as military governor of Philadelphia, Arnold entered into treasonous correspondence with the British. He received command of the fort at West Point and plotted to hand it over to the British, only to flee into the British lines when the capture of his contact John Andre led to exposure of the plot. Arnold went on to serve under William Phillips, the commander of Burgoyne's right wing, in a 1781 expedition into Virginia.

General Gates received a great deal of credit as the commanding general for the greatest American victory of the war to date. He may have conspired with others to replace George Washington as the commander-in-chief. Instead he received the command of the main American army in the South. He led it to a disastrous defeat at the 1780 Battle of Camden, where he was at the forefront of a panicked retreat. Gates never commanded troops in the field again.

In response to Burgoyne's surrender, Congress declared December 18, 1777, as a national day "for solemn Thanksgiving and praise"; it was the nation's first official observance of a holiday with that name.