British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army on October 17, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga. The surrender took place at Saratoga, in present-day Schuylerville, New York, during the American Revolutionary War.
Burgoyne had led a British campaign south from Quebec along the Hudson River Valley. The plan was to divide the American colonies by separating New England from the other colonies. American forces, commanded by General Horatio Gates, stopped the British advance in two major engagements on September 19 and October 7.
The surrender was a major American victory because it helped persuade France to enter the war openly as an American ally in 1778. Saratoga is sometimes described as one battle, but it was actually a campaign involving two principal battles. The October surrender date is different from October 7, the date of the second battle.