British general John Burgoyne surrendered at the Battles of Saratoga during the American Revolution.
The Saratoga campaign was Britain’s attempt in 1777 to control the Hudson River Valley and separate New England from the other rebellious colonies. Burgoyne led the main British force south from Quebec, while other British forces were expected to advance from the west and south.
The two principal battles near Saratoga, New York, took place at Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and Bemis Heights on October 7. American forces under General Horatio Gates, with important battlefield contributions from Benedict Arnold and others, stopped Burgoyne’s advance.
Burgoyne formally surrendered his army on October 17, 1777. The American victory was strategically important because it persuaded France to enter the war openly as an American ally in 1778. Cornwallis is a common mix-up: he surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, a different campaign and event.