British General John Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga during the American Revolutionary War.
Burgoyne capitulated to American General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga in New York. His force had been attempting to move south from Canada and gain control of the Hudson River valley, separating New England from the other colonies.
The campaign involved two major battles, at Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and Bemis Heights on October 7. After the second battle, Burgoyne’s army was surrounded, outnumbered, and short of supplies. The surrender involved roughly 6,000 British and German troops.
Saratoga became a major turning point because the American victory persuaded France to enter the war openly as an American ally. Burgoyne is sometimes confused with Cornwallis, who surrendered later at Yorktown in 1781.