The Saratoga campaign was the 1777 American Revolutionary War campaign that included the Battles of Saratoga, a major turning point.
The campaign centered on a British plan to divide New England from the rest of the colonies by controlling the Hudson River corridor. British forces under John Burgoyne moved south from Canada, while other planned advances failed to converge as intended.
American forces defeated Burgoyne’s army at the Battles of Saratoga in September and October 1777. Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga on October 17, making the campaign a major American victory.
The outcome persuaded France to enter the war openly as an American ally. The campaign is sometimes reduced to a single battle, but Saratoga refers to two principal engagements: Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and Bemis Heights on October 7.