Editing George Washington (section)

====Brandywine, Germantown, and Saratoga====
{{Main|Battle of Brandywine|Battle of Germantown|Battles of Saratoga}}

In July 1777, the British general [[John Burgoyne]] led his British troops south from [[Quebec]] in the [[Saratoga campaign]]; he [[Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777)|recaptured Fort Ticonderoga]], intending to divide [[New England]]. However, General Howe took his army from New York City south to Philadelphia rather than joining Burgoyne near [[Albany, New York|Albany]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=300–301}} Washington and [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette]] rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the [[Battle of Brandywine]] on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into the American capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot [[Battle of Germantown|attack]] against the British at [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]] in October failed.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1pp=340–341|Chernow|2010|2pp=301–304}}

In [[Upstate New York]], the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates. Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals [[Benedict Arnold]] and [[Benjamin Lincoln]]. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take [[Battles of Saratoga|Bemis Heights]] but was isolated from support and forced to surrender. Gates' victory emboldened Washington's critics, who favored Gates as a military leader.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=312–313}} According to the biographer John Alden, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared."{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=163}} Admiration for Washington was waning.{{sfn|Lender|Stone|2016|pp=36&ndash;37}}