John Burgoyne commanded the British army that surrendered at the end of the Saratoga campaign in 1777. Burgoyne was a British general who led an expedition south from Quebec toward the Hudson River Valley.
The British strategy aimed to divide New England from the other colonies by controlling the Hudson corridor. Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga in July 1777, but his army became increasingly isolated as American forces resisted and supply problems worsened. The American victory at Bennington in August further weakened his position.
After the Battles of Saratoga in September and October, Burgoyne surrendered to General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777. The surrender was a major turning point because it persuaded France to enter the war openly on the American side. Burgoyne returned to Britain after being exchanged. The campaign is sometimes confused with the later British surrender at Yorktown, which was commanded by Charles Cornwallis in 1781.