Editing John Burgoyne (section)

==American War of Independence==
===Early campaigns===
[[File:General John Burgoyne.jpg|thumb|{{center|&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;General John Burgoyne<br><small>engraving by S. Hellyer, 1860</small>}}]]
{{Main|American Revolutionary War}}
In the army, he had been promoted to major-general and made [[Governor of Fort William]] (commander of the major British Army garrison in Scotland). At the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War]], he was appointed to command British reinforcements, and arrived in Boston in May 1775, a few weeks after the first shots of the war had been fired. He participated as part of the garrison during the [[Siege of Boston]], although he did not see action at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]], in which the [[British Army during the American War of Independence|British forces]] were led by [[William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe|William Howe]] and [[Henry Clinton (1730–1795)|Henry Clinton]]. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities, he returned to England long before the rest of the garrison, which evacuated the city in March 1776.{{sfnmp|1a1=Harvey|1y=2001|1p=209|2a1=Stephens|2y=1886|2p=341|3a1=Stokesbury|3y=1979}}

In 1776, he was at the head of the British reinforcements that sailed up the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and relieved [[Quebec City]], which was [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|under siege]] by the [[Continental Army]]. He led forces under General [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Guy Carleton]] in the drive that chased the Continental Army from the [[province of Quebec (1763-1791)|province of Quebec]]. Carleton then led the British forces onto [[Lake Champlain]], but was, in Burgoyne's opinion, insufficiently bold when he failed to attempt the capture of [[Fort Ticonderoga]] after winning the naval [[Battle of Valcour Island]] in October.{{sfnp|Stokesbury|1979}}

===Saratoga campaign===
{{further|Saratoga campaign}}

The following year, having convinced King [[George III]] and his government of Carleton's faults, Burgoyne was given command of the British forces charged with gaining control of Lake Champlain and the [[Hudson River]] valley. The plan, largely of his own creation, was for Burgoyne and his force to cross Lake Champlain from Quebec and capture Ticonderoga before advancing on [[Albany, New York]], where they would rendezvous with another British army under General Howe coming north from New York City, and a smaller force that would come down the [[Mohawk River]] valley under [[Barry St. Leger]]. This would divide [[New England]] from the southern colonies, and, it was believed, make it easier to end the rebellion.{{sfnp|Stephens|1886|p=341}}

From the beginning, Burgoyne was vastly overconfident.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Leading what he believed was an overwhelming force, he saw the campaign largely as a stroll that would make him a national hero who had saved the rebel colonies for the crown.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Before leaving London, he had wagered [[Charles James Fox]] 10 pounds that he would return victorious within a year.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} He refused to heed more cautious voices, both British and American, that suggested a successful campaign using the route he proposed was impossible, as the failed attempt the previous year had shown.

Underlining the plan was the belief that Burgoyne's aggressive thrust from Quebec would be aided by the movements of two other large British forces under Generals Howe and Clinton, who would support the advance. However, [[George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville|Lord Germain]]'s orders dispatched from London were not clear on this point, with the effect that Howe took no action to support Burgoyne, and Clinton moved from New York too late and in too little strength to be any great help to Burgoyne.
[[File:Burgoyne 1777.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Burgoyne's march on Albany June–October 1777]]
As a result of this miscommunication, Burgoyne ended up conducting the campaign single-handedly. He was not yet aware that he would not be gaining additional support, and was still reasonably confident of success. Having amassed an army of over 7,000 troops in Quebec, Burgoyne was also led to believe by reports that he could rely on the support of large numbers of Native Americans and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|American Loyalists]] who would rally to the flag once the British came south. Even if the countryside was not as pro-British as expected, much of the area between Lake Champlain and Albany was underpopulated anyway, and Burgoyne was skeptical any major enemy force could gather there.{{sfnp|Stokesbury|1979}}

The campaign was initially successful. Burgoyne [[Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777)|gained possession]] of the vital outposts of Fort Ticonderoga and [[Fort Edward (village), New York|Fort Edward]], but, pushing on, decided to break his communications with Quebec. The news of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga was hailed in Britain as a great victory, which even King George III is said to have celebrated<ref name="Nickerson161">[[#Nickerson|Nickerson (1967)]], p. 161</ref> and Burgoyne was subsequently promoted to lieutenant-general. Burgoyne's force however was eventually hemmed in by a superior force led by American Major General [[Horatio Gates]]. Several attempts to break through the enemy lines were repulsed at [[Battle of Saratoga|Saratoga]] in September and October 1777. Benedict Arnold played a significant role in those battles. Burgoyne's [[aide-de-camp]] [[Sir Francis Clerke, 7th Baronet|Sir Francis Clerke]] was killed on 15 October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/articles/murphy.htm|title=Timothy Murphy: Frontier Rifleman|publisher=New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center}}</ref> On 17 October 1777, Burgoyne surrendered his entire army, numbering 5,800. This was the greatest victory the American forces had up to that point in the Revolutionary War, and it proved to be the turning point in the war, as France entered into an alliance with the American Patriots.{{sfnp|Stephens|1886|p=341}} Burgoyne's journey through the wilderness of New York was hampered by his insistence of bringing 30 carriages of fine clothes and champagne.
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===Convention Army===
[[File:Surrender of General Burgoyne.jpg|thumb|right|350px|''[[Surrender of General Burgoyne]]'' by [[John Trumbull]]]]
{{further|Convention Army}}Rather than an outright [[unconditional surrender]], Burgoyne had agreed to a convention that involved his men surrendering their weapons, and returning to Europe with a pledge not to return to North America. Burgoyne had been most insistent on this point, even suggesting he would try to fight his way back to Quebec if it was not agreed. Soon afterwards the [[Continental Congress]] repudiated the treaty and imprisoned the remnants of the army in [[Massachusetts]] and [[Virginia]], where they were sometimes maltreated. This was widely seen as revenge for the poor treatment that prisoners-of-war of the Continental Army had received while imprisoned.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Following Saratoga, the indignation in Britain against Burgoyne was great. He returned at once, with the leave of the American general, to defend his conduct and demanded but never obtained an inquiry. He was deprived of his regiment and the [[Governor of Fort William|governorship of Fort William in Scotland]], which he had held since 1769. The government demanded that Burgoyne at once return to America to re-join the [[Convention Army]] and continue negotiations for its return. When Burgoyne refused he was [[The London Gazette#"Gazetted"|gazetted]] out of the army with loss of rank;<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=12026 |page=1 |date = 30 October 1779}}; {{London Gazette |issue=12026 |page=1 |date=30 October 1779}}</ref> a rare public rebuke of a high-ranking officer for which Burgoyne received widespread ridicule in Britain. He was not formally re-instated to the army until 1782 when the Whigs returned to power. Following the defeat, France recognised the United States and formally entered the war on 6 February 1778, transforming it into a global conflict.

Although Burgoyne at the time was widely held to blame for the defeat, historians have over the years shifted responsibility for the disaster at Saratoga to [[George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville|Lord Germain]], the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]]. Germain had overseen the overall strategy for the campaign and had significantly neglected to order General Howe to support Burgoyne's invasion, instead leaving him to believe that he was free to launch his own attack on [[Philadelphia]].