The Saratoga campaign is widely described as a turning point because it helped secure French military support for the American cause.
The campaign unfolded in 1777 as British forces tried to control the Hudson River Valley and divide New England from the other colonies. General John Burgoyne led the main British army south from Canada, while other British movements were intended to support the operation.
American victories at Bennington and the Battles of Saratoga weakened Burgoyne’s army. He surrendered to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. The defeat demonstrated that the Continental forces could defeat a major British army in the field.
The victory encouraged France to sign the Franco-American Alliance in 1778 and enter the war against Britain. Yorktown was the decisive final campaign, but Saratoga is generally called the war’s turning point because of its diplomatic consequences.