What important event happened after the Battle of Saratoga?
Two battles in the fall of 1777 that marked the turning point for the Continental Army in the American Revolution were the Battles of Saratoga. British troops under the command of Gen. John Burgoyne assembled along the St. Lawrence River after successfully defending Canada from an American invasion in 1775–76. The British strategy was to have Burgoyne march south to Albany to join forces with Gen. William Howe, whose army would march north from New York City. The combined British forces would isolate the New England colonies from the other colonies. Leading nearly 8,000 British troops southward into New York, Burgoyne forced the surrender of Fort Ticonderoga on July 6, 1777, and left 1,000 soldiers to garrison the fort (see Ticonderoga). He proceeded south and captured Fort Edward on the upper Hudson River on July 31. He then crossed the Hudson and set up camp near Saratoga, N.Y. At the time Gen. Horatio Gates had approximately 12,000 Continental troops positioned four miles away from
