The Battle of Saratoga:
And its effects of the United States

Carina Alvarez
HIST101
American history to 1877
Daniel Hicks
25 November 2012

The American Revolution was the war fighting for American independence in 1775. Within this war there were many smaller events that lead to the actual American independence in July 1776. Once the United States declared itself independent there was still a long way to go before other countries truly considered the United States to be its own Country. At this point in history, the Battle of Saratoga came into play. There were many things that the U.S needed to gain a victory in the Battle of Saratoga against the British. The Battle of Saratoga was actually made up of two battles, The Battle of Freeman’s Farm and The Battle of Bemis Heights. The effects of these battles were crucial aspects in the history of the United States.
The Battle of Freeman’s Farm was the first battle of Saratoga. The battle took place in the clearing around the farm of Loyalist John Freeman on September 19th, 1777.[1] This battle had a lot less detail and was fairly shorter than the second battle. Neither the Americans nor the British seemed to have won The Battle of Freeman's Farm.
The ensuing battle raged back and forth until nightfall, when the American forces were finally forced to break contact. At the close of the battle, Lieutenant General John Burgoyne, commander of the British forces at the battle, held the field.[2]

The Second battle involved in The Battle of Saratoga was called the Battle of Bemis Heights. This battle was directed by British Commander Lieutenant General John Burgoyne. This battle took place on October 7th, 1777.[3]
The three British columns moved out from their Freeman's Farm fortifications in order to gain more information about the rebel positions at Bemis Heights. American General Horatio Gates, assumed to be acting upon the suggestion of Colonel Daniel Morgan, decided to assault the British forces in a three winged attack. With Morgan's Rifle Corps attacking from the west and Poor's Brigade from the east, Learned's Continental Brigade moved towards the center of the British line.[4]
This battle began around 3pm that afternoon at Freeman's Farm as the Americans repeatedly pushed through the enemy lines and forced the British to push back. While the British attempted to recover the British Brigadier General Simon Frasier was severely wounded while he tried to cover his soldier’s withdrawal.[5] After Benedict Arnold led his men through the weakened British line to the center of the British forces to get them separated. At that time, it sent the forces into the fortified positions at Freeman’s farm.[6] After countless attempts of the British attempting to get the Americans back they were forced to withdraw the gave the U.S another victory.
There seems to be very many positive effects of the Battle of Saratoga in all of its extent. As said in paragraph one of this paper, The United States was only looking for other countries to treat them as if they were their own country. “The American victory at Saratoga was a major turning point in the war for Independence, heartening the supporters of independence and convincing France to enter in the war as an ally of the fledgling United States.” [7]
The Battle of Saratoga is considered to be the major turning point of the American Revolution. This battle proved to the world that the fledgling American army was an effective fighting force capable of defeating the highly trained British forces in a major confrontation. As a result of this successful battle, the European powers took interest in the cause of the Americans and began to support them.[8]
The United States is an amazing country and sometimes looking at the small aspects of what makes it a strong country changes your feelings. The battle of Saratoga was a huge change in American history. The battle of freeman’s farm, the battle of Bemis Heights, and the Battle of Saratoga’s significance to the Unites states history are all key points that led to the independece of the United States.

Bibliography
Saratoga National Historic Park, "The Battle of Saratoga." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://battle1777.saratoga.org/.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The Battle of Saratoga: A Brief History." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssara.html.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The first battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Freeman's Farm." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssar1.html.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The Second Battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Bemis Heights." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssar2.html.

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[ 1 ]. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The first battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Freeman's Farm." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssar1.html. par. 1
[ 2 ]. Ibid., par. 2.
[ 3 ]. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The Second Battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Bemis Heights." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssar2.html. Par.1
[ 4 ]. Ibid., par.2.
[ 5 ]. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The Second Battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Bemis Heights." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssar2.html. Par.3.
[ 6 ]. Ibid., par. 4.
[ 7 ]. Saratoga National Historic Park, "The Battle of Saratoga." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://battle1777.saratoga.org/. Par. 10.
[ 8 ]. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The Battle of Saratoga: A Brief History." Last modified 2012. Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/abssara.html. Par. 4.