The Battle of Saratoga is widely called the turning point of the American Revolutionary War, central to America250 history.
The Battles of Saratoga were fought in New York in September and October 1777. American forces under Major General Horatio Gates defeated a British army commanded by General John Burgoyne.
Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. The victory persuaded France to enter a formal alliance with the United States, providing military assistance that significantly strengthened the American cause.
Saratoga is often described as the war’s turning point because the French alliance changed the conflict from a rebellion fought mainly between Britain and the colonies into an international war. The later American victory at Yorktown in 1781 led to the peace negotiations that produced the Treaty of Paris.