John Burgoyne surrendered his British army at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.
Burgoyne commanded the British force advancing south from Canada during the Saratoga campaign. The British plan sought to control the Hudson River corridor and divide New England from the other American colonies. American resistance, difficult terrain, and the failure of supporting operations left Burgoyne increasingly isolated.
After the Battles of Saratoga in September and October, Burgoyne's army was surrounded near Saratoga, New York. He negotiated terms with General Horatio Gates and surrendered approximately 5,800 troops. The capitulation became the greatest American victory of the war up to that point.
The surrender had consequences far beyond the battlefield. It helped convince France that the American cause had a realistic chance of success, contributing to the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and French entry into the war. Burgoyne is sometimes confused with Charles Cornwallis, who surrendered the British army at Yorktown in 1781; those were separate victories at different stages of the Revolution.