British general John Burgoyne surrendered to American forces after the 1777 Battle of Saratoga.
The Battles of Saratoga were fought in northern New York during the American Revolutionary War. Burgoyne led a British army south from Canada, intending to seize the Hudson River corridor and separate New England from the other colonies.
American forces under Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold stopped Burgoyne's advance. The first major clash occurred at Freeman's Farm on September 19, 1777, and the second at Bemis Heights on October 7. Surrounded and short of supplies, Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga on October 17.
The victory was a major turning point because it persuaded France to enter a formal alliance with the United States. French military, naval, and financial support later became crucial to the American war effort. Saratoga is sometimes confused with Yorktown, where Charles Cornwallis surrendered in 1781; Burgoyne was the British commander at Saratoga.