The Battle of Saratoga was the 1777 American Revolutionary War victory that persuaded France to enter a formal alliance with the United States.
The Battles of Saratoga took place in northern New York during September and October 1777. American forces first stopped British General John Burgoyne's advance at Freeman's Farm and then won a decisive victory at Bemis Heights. Burgoyne surrendered his army on October 17.
The victory demonstrated that the American rebellion could defeat a major British force. News of Saratoga strengthened Benjamin Franklin's diplomatic efforts in France and helped produce the Franco-American treaties signed on February 6, 1778.
Saratoga is often called a turning point because French military, naval, financial, and diplomatic assistance greatly expanded the conflict. It was not the final American victory; Yorktown in 1781 led to the decisive British surrender that ended major fighting.