Which 1777 American victory helped bring France into the Revolutionary War, a key America250 event?

The Battles of Saratoga were the 1777 American victory that helped bring France into the Revolutionary War, a key America250 event.

The fighting took place near Saratoga, New York, in two major engagements on September 19 and October 7, 1777. American forces eventually forced British General John Burgoyne to surrender his army on October 17.

The victory demonstrated that the American rebellion could defeat a major British field force. France had already been secretly supplying the revolutionaries, but news of Burgoyne’s surrender encouraged King Louis XVI’s government to enter a formal alliance with the United States.

The resulting Franco-American Alliance was signed in 1778. French troops, ships, money, weapons, and supplies then played an important role in the war, including the campaign that culminated at Yorktown. Saratoga is therefore often described as a turning point, although it did not by itself end the conflict.