The Saratoga campaign is widely described as a turning point because it helped secure French aid for the American cause.
The campaign took place in 1777 as British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne attempted to control the Hudson River Valley and separate New England from the other colonies. American forces eventually surrounded Burgoyne’s army, leading to his surrender on October 17, 1777.
The campaign included the Battles of Saratoga, fought at Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and Bemis Heights on October 7. The American victory demonstrated that the Continental forces could defeat a major British army in the field.
News of the surrender encouraged France to formalize its alliance with the United States. The Treaty of Alliance was signed in February 1778, bringing French money, troops, supplies, and naval power into the war. Saratoga was important, but it did not end the conflict; British forces continued fighting until the surrender at Yorktown in 1781.