Editing Battles of Saratoga (section)

==Aftermath==
[[File:Arnold-boot.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Boot Monument]], depicting Arnold's injured leg]]

Burgoyne's failed campaign marked a major turning point in the war.<ref>See [[#Ketchum|Ketchum]], [[#Morrissey|Morrissey]], and [[#Nickerson|Nickerson]].</ref> General Burgoyne returned to England and was never given another commanding position in the [[British Army during the American War of Independence|British Army]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Battle of Saratoga – A Major Turning Point of The Revolutionary War|url=http://www.saratoga.com/aboutsaratoga/battle-of-saratoga/|publisher=Saratoga.com|access-date=29 June 2013|archive-date=18 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518185417/http://www.saratoga.com/aboutsaratoga/battle-of-saratoga/|url-status=live}}</ref> The British learned that the Americans would fight bravely and effectively. One British officer said:

{{blockquote|The courage and obstinacy with which the Americans fought were the astonishment of everyone, and we now became fully convinced that they are not that contemptible enemy we had hitherto imagined them, incapable of standing a regular engagement and that they would only fight behind strong and powerful works.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Victor Brooks|author2=Robert Hohwald|title=How America Fought Its Wars: Military Strategy from the American Revolution to the Civil War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVQ_fQmmB6oC&pg=PA78|year=1999|publisher=Da Capo Press|page=78|isbn=978-1580970020}}</ref>}}

In recognition of his contribution to the battles at Saratoga, General Arnold had his seniority restored (he had lost it after being passed over for promotion earlier in 1777).<ref name="Randall372">[[#Randall|Randall (1990)]], p. 372</ref> However, Arnold's leg wound kept him in bed five months.<ref name="Murphy168">[[#Murphy|Murphy (2007)]], p. 168</ref> Later, while still unfit for field service but serving as military governor of Philadelphia, Arnold entered into treasonous correspondence with the British. He received command of the [[Fort Clinton (West Point)|fort]] at [[West Point, New York|West Point]] and plotted to hand it over to the British, only to flee into the British lines when the capture of his contact [[John Andre|John André]] led to the exposure of the plot. Arnold went on to serve under William Phillips, the commander of Burgoyne's right wing, in a 1781 expedition into Virginia.<ref name="Pancake147_151">[[#Pancake|Pancake (1985)]], pp. 147–151</ref>

Although he left the direction of the battle to subordinates, General Gates received a great deal of credit as the commanding general for the greatest American victory of the war to date. He may have [[Conway Cabal|conspired with others]] to replace [[George Washington]] as the commander-in-chief.<ref name="PA1896_90">[[#PA1896|Historic Society of Pennsylvania (1896)]], p. 90</ref> Instead, he received the command of the main American army in the South. He led it to a disastrous defeat at the 1780 [[Battle of Camden]], where he was at the forefront of a panicked retreat.<ref name="LXXIII">[[#Luzader|Luzader (2008)]], p. xxiii</ref><ref name="Pancake106_7">[[#Pancake|Pancake (1985)]], pp. 106–107</ref> Gates never commanded troops in the field thereafter.

In response to Burgoyne's surrender, Congress declared December 18, 1777, as a national day "for solemn [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] and praise"; it was the nation's first official observance of a holiday with that name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/states-give-thanks|title=States give thanks|website=History.com|access-date=October 20, 2017|archive-date=October 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021060309/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/states-give-thanks|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-12-02-0566|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021163650/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-12-02-0566|url-status=live|archive-date=2017-10-21|title=General Orders, 17 December 1777|last=Washington|first=George|work=The Original Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series|publisher=Univ Press of Virginia|year=2002|editor-last=Grizzard|editor-first=Frank E. Jr.|volume=12|location=Charlottesville, Va.|pages=620–621|author-link=George Washington|editor-last2=Hoth|editor-first2=David R.}}</ref>

===French aid===
Once news of Burgoyne's surrender reached [[Kingdom of France|France]],  King [[Louis XVI]] decided to enter into negotiations with the Americans that resulted in a formal [[Franco-American alliance]] and French entry into the war.<ref name="Hubbard, Robert Ernest p. 62">Hubbard, Robert Ernest.  ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' p. 62, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.  {{ISBN|978-1476678627}}.</ref> This moved the conflict onto a global stage.<ref name="K405_48">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], pp. 405–448</ref> As a consequence, Britain was forced to divert resources used to fight the war in North America to theaters in the [[West Indies]] and [[Europe]], and rely on what turned out to be the chimera of Loyalist support in its North American operations.<ref name="K447">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 447</ref>  Having been defeated by the British in the [[French and Indian War]] more than a decade earlier, France found an opportunity to undercut British power and ultimately of revenge by aiding the colonists throughout the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. Prior to the Battle of Saratoga, France did not fully aid the colonists. However, after the Battles of Saratoga were conclusively won by the colonists, France realized that the Americans had the hope of winning the war, and began fully aiding the colonists by sending soldiers, donations, loans, military arms, and supplies.<ref>{{cite web|last=Perkins|first=James|title=France in the Revolution|url=http://www.americanrevolution.org/frcon.html|access-date=2013-06-29|archive-date=2011-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227125013/http://www.americanrevolution.org/frcon.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hubbard, Robert Ernest p. 62"/>