Editing Battles of Saratoga (section)

==First Saratoga: Battle of Freeman's Farm (September 19)==

===Prelude===
Moving very cautiously, since the departure of his Native American support had deprived him of reliable reports on the American position, Burgoyne advanced to the south after crossing the Hudson.<ref name="N299">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], p. 299</ref> On September 18, the vanguard of his army had finally reached a position just north of Saratoga, about {{convert|4|mi|km}} from the American defensive line, and skirmishes occurred between American scouting parties and the leading elements of his army.<ref name="N300">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], p. 300</ref>

The American camp had become a bed of rising intrigue ever since Arnold's return from Fort Stanwix. While he and Gates had previously been on reasonably good terms in spite of their prickly egos, Arnold managed to turn Gates against him by taking on officers friendly to Schuyler as staff, dragging him into the ongoing feud between the two.<ref name="K351_2">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], pp. 351–352</ref> These conditions had not yet reached a boil on September 19, but the day's events contributed to the situation. Gates had assigned the left wing of the defenses to Arnold, and assumed command himself of the right, which was nominally assigned to General Lincoln, whom Gates had detached in August with some troops to harass the British positions behind Burgoyne's army.<ref name="K352_55">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], pp. 352, 355</ref>

[[File:First Battle of Saratoga.USMA.edu.history.gif|thumb|right|Initial dispositions and movements at the Battle of Freeman's Farm, 19 September 1777]]

Both Burgoyne and Arnold understood the importance of the American left, and the need to control the heights there. After the morning fog lifted around 10 am, Burgoyne ordered the army to advance in three columns. Baron Riedesel led the left column, consisting of the German troops and the [[47th Regiment of Foot|47th Foot]], on the river road, bringing the main artillery and guarding supplies and the boats on the river. General [[James Inglis Hamilton]] commanded the center column, consisting of the [[9th Regiment of Foot|9th]], [[20th Regiment of Foot|20th]], [[21st Regiment of Foot|21st]], and [[62nd Regiment of Foot|62nd regiments]], which would attack the heights, and General [[General Simon Fraser of Balnian|Simon Fraser]] led the right wing with the [[24th Regiment of Foot|24th Regiment]] and the [[light infantry]] and [[grenadier]] companies, to turn the American left [[flanking maneuver|flank]] by negotiating the heavily wooded high ground north and west of Bemis Heights.<ref name="K357">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 357</ref>

Arnold also realized such a flanking maneuver was likely, and petitioned Gates for permission to move his forces from the heights to meet potential movements, where the American skill at woodlands combat would be at an advantage.<ref name="K356">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 356</ref> Gates, whose preferred strategy was to sit and wait for the expected frontal assault, grudgingly permitted a [[reconnaissance in force]] consisting of Daniel Morgan's men and [[Henry Dearborn]]'s light infantry.<ref name="N307_8">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], pp. 307–308</ref> When Morgan's men reached an open field northwest of Bemis Heights belonging to Loyalist John Freeman, they spotted British advance troops in the field. Fraser's column was slightly delayed and had not yet reached the field, while Hamilton's column had also made its way across a ravine and was approaching the field from the east through dense forest and difficult terrain. Riedesel's force, while it was on the road, was delayed by obstacles thrown down by the Americans. The sound of gunfire to the west prompted Riedesel to send some of his artillery down a track in that direction. The troops Morgan's men saw were an advance company from Hamilton's column.<ref name="K358_0">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], pp. 358–360</ref>

===Battle===
[[File:First Battle of Saratoga 1300 Hours.USMA.edu.history.gif|thumb|left|upright=1.2 |Map depicting the positions at 1:00 pm]]

Morgan placed [[marksmen]] at strategic positions, who then picked off virtually every officer in the advance company. Morgan and his men then charged, unaware that they were headed directly for Burgoyne's main army. While they succeeded in driving back the advance company, Fraser's leading edge arrived just in time to attack Morgan's left, scattering his men back into the woods.<ref name="K360">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 360</ref> [[James Wilkinson]], who had ridden forward to observe the fire, returned to the American camp for reinforcements. As the British company fell back toward the main column, the leading edge of that column opened fire, killing a number of their own men.<ref name="N309">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], p. 309</ref>

[[File:First Battle of Saratoga 1500 Hours.USMA.edu.history.gif |thumb|right |upright=1.2 |Map depicting the positions at 3:00 pm]]

There was then a lull in the fighting around 1:00 pm as Hamilton's men began to form up on the north side of the field, and American reinforcements began to arrive from the south. Learning that Morgan was in trouble, Gates ordered out two more regiments ([[1st New Hampshire Regiment|1st]] and [[3rd New Hampshire Regiment|3rd New Hampshire]]) to support him,<ref name="K362">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 362</ref> with additional regiments ([[2nd New York Regiment|2nd New York]], [[4th New York Regiment|4th New York]], the [[1st Canadian Regiment|1st Canadian]], and [[Cook's Regiment of Militia|Connecticut militia]]) from the brigade of [[Enoch Poor]] to follow.<ref name="L240">[[#Luzader|Luzader (2008)]], p. 240</ref>  Burgoyne arrayed Hamilton's men with the 21st on the right, the 20th on the left, and the 62nd in the center, with the 9th held in reserve.<ref name="N310">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], p. 310</ref>

[[File:Saratoga-freeman.jpg|thumb|right |upright=1.2 |Modern view of the battleground of Freeman's Farm]]

The battle then went through phases alternating between intense fighting and breaks in the action. Morgan's men had regrouped in the woods, and picked off officers and artillerymen. They were so effective at reducing the latter that the Americans several times gained brief control of British [[field piece]]s, only to lose them in the next British charge. At one point it was believed that Burgoyne himself had been taken down by a sharpshooter; it was instead one of Burgoyne's aides, riding a richly dressed horse, who was the victim. The center of the British line was very nearly broken at one point, and only the intervention of General Phillips, leading the 20th, made it possible for the 62nd to reform.<ref name="N310_2">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], pp. 310–312</ref> In the memoir of Roger Lamb, a British soldier present at the battle, he wrote {{blockquote| ''In this battle an unusual number of officers fell, as our army abounded with young men of respectability at this time, who after several years of general peace anterior to the American revolution, were attracted to the profession of arms. Three subalterns of the 20th regiment on this occasion, the oldest of whom did not exceed the age of seventeen years, were buried together''<ref>{{Cite book|title=A British Soldier's Story: Roger Lamb's narrative of the American Revolution|last=Hagist|first=Don|year=2004|page=48}}</ref>}}

[[File:First Battle of Saratoga 1700 Hours.USMA.edu.history.gif|thumb|left|300px|Map depicting the positions at 5:00 pm]]

The final stroke of the battle belonged to the British. Around 3 pm, Riedesel sent a messenger to Burgoyne for instructions. He returned two hours later with orders to guard the baggage train, but also to send as many men as he could spare toward the American right flank. In a calculated risk, Riedesel left 500 men to guard the vital supply train and marched off toward the action with the rest of his column. Two of his companies advanced on the double and opened vicious fire on the American right,<ref name="K367">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 367</ref> and Fraser's force threatened to turn the American left flank. In response to the latter threat, Arnold requested more forces, and Gates allowed him to dispatch [[Ebenezer Learned]]'s brigade ([[2nd Massachusetts Regiment|2nd]], [[8th Massachusetts Regiment|8th]] and [[9th Massachusetts Regiment|9th]] [[Massachusetts]]). (If Arnold had been on the field, these forces might have instead faced the larger danger posed by Riedesel's force.)<ref name="L391_2">[[#Luzader|Luzader (2008)]], pp. 391–392</ref> Fortunately for the American right, darkness set in, bringing an end to the battle. The Americans retreated back to their defenses, leaving the British on the field.<ref name="K368">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 368</ref>

Burgoyne had gained the field of battle, but suffered nearly 600 casualties. Most of these were to Hamilton's center column, where the 62nd was reduced to the size of a single company, and three quarters of the artillerymen were killed or wounded.<ref name="K368_9">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], pp. 368–369</ref> American losses were nearly 300 killed and seriously wounded.<ref name="N319">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], p. 319</ref>

It has been widely recounted in histories of this battle that General Arnold was on the field, directing some of the action. However, John Luzader, a former park historian at the [[Saratoga National Historical Park]], carefully documents the evolution of this story and believes it is without foundation in contemporary materials, and that Arnold remained at Gates' headquarters, receiving news and dispatching orders through messengers.<ref name="K515">[[#Ketchum|Ketchum (1997)]], p. 515</ref><ref name="L_Freeman">[[#Luzader|Luzader (2008)]], pp. 388–390, describes the relevant primary sources, and shows how early historians, including [[Benson John Lossing|Lossing]] and [[William Leete Stone, Sr.|Stone]], gave rise to the story, and its propagation by later historians, including [[#Nickerson|Nickerson]].</ref> Arnold biographer James Kirby Martin, however, disagrees with Luzader, arguing that Arnold played a more active role at Freeman's Farm by directing patriot troops into position and possibly leading some charges before being ordered back to headquarters by Gates.<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=James Kirby |date=1997 |title=Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered |publisher=New York University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/benedictarnoldre0000mart/page/378 378–381, 514] |isbn=0814755607 |url=https://archive.org/details/benedictarnoldre0000mart/page/378 }}</ref>