John Burgoyne surrendered his British army at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.
The Saratoga campaign was designed to split New England from the middle and southern colonies by controlling the Hudson River corridor. Burgoyne led the main British force south from Quebec, but his army became increasingly isolated as American resistance strengthened and expected support from other British forces failed to arrive.
The campaign included two major battles, fought on September 19 and October 7, 1777. After the second battle, Burgoyne withdrew to fortified positions near present-day Schuylerville, New York. Surrounded and outnumbered, he negotiated terms with American commander Horatio Gates.
The surrender had consequences far beyond the battlefield. It demonstrated that the American forces could defeat a major British army and helped persuade France that the American cause was viable. French military and financial support soon became formal through the Treaty of Alliance, signed in February 1778. Saratoga is therefore widely described as a turning point in the Revolutionary War.