The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 1, Issue 1, April 2015 | Page 13

field throughout the day. By nightfall the Americans fell back, but the British had
clearly lost the battle. They lost over six hundred irreplaceable men while the
Americans had only sixty-five known dead. 11
The balance of forces had drastically swung in the Americans’ favor.
Militiamen poured into the American camp while Burgoyne’s unreliable Indian
allies deserted him. The situation had grown grim for the British. The British
troops in New York City, over seven thousand of them, made one raid up the
Hudson River, but their timid commander, General Sir Henry Clinton, was too
fearful of a possible flank attack by American troops and refused to drive further
north, thus leaving Burgoyne’s army to their fate. 12
On October 7, Burgoyne moved to attack. Outnumbered, the British
fought valiantly under one of their best generals, Simon Fraser, until Arnold and
Morgan ordered him deliberately shot. Once Fraser fell, the British line began to
crumble. Arnold, who Gates had been relieved of command earlier in the day,
disobeyed orders and dashed about furiously on the battlefield committing and
exhorting the American regiments to victory. Wounded in the leg, Arnold’s
bravery carried the day for the Americans who completely routed the British. 13
With this loss, the British had lost over half of their invasion force.
Burgoyne also had supply difficulties which had been ignored in his
erstwhile gamble on
victory. He simply did
not have enough cartage
to carry a large amount of
critical supplies. That left
him dependent on a
consistent supply route
which the Americans cut
off following the second
Saratoga battle; the Battle
of Bemis Heights. His
army was still capable of Figure 1 Surrender of General Burgoyne. Oil on canvas by
John Trumbull, 1821. Rotunda, US Capital.
fighting its way back to
Fort Ticonderoga, and General Riedesel and the other British generals prepared
to do so. Instead, Burgoyne inexplicably halted the retreat to entertain himself at
the mansion of the former American commander, General Philip Schuyler. 15
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