The British army emerged from winter camp in spring 1777. Its regular army units, American loyalists, Indian allies, Hessians, and naval men-of-war were concentrated largely in New York City and Canada. The Continental forces, numbering fewer than 5,000 men, were then entrenched near Morristown, New Jersey. With his troops ravaged by smallpox over the winter, Washington feared that an aggressive British assault might succeed.

Meanwhile, the Continental Congress had returned to Philadelphia, but members feared that the British would seek to capture the city and split the United States in two. General Howe did indeed plan on capturing Philadelphia, hoping to force a patriot surrender. Although Washington’s force was too small to defeat Howe’s army, it delayed his advance by guerrilla attacks and skirmishes. En route, Howe learned that he was expected to reinforce General John Burgoyne’s soldiers, who were advancing south from Canada. Instead he continued to Philadelphia and captured it in September 1777. Meanwhile Burgoyne and his 7,200 troops regained control of Fort Ticonderoga on July 7. He continued south, but by late July his forces had to stop until supplies from Canada and reinforcements from Howe and General Barry St. Leger reached them.

St. Leger was marching his troops east through New York State, and Joseph Brant and his sister Molly Brant were gathering a force of Mohawk, Seneca, and Cayuga warriors to support them. But on August 6, they suffered a stunning defeat. In the Battle of Oriskany in New York, a band of German American farmers led by General Nicholas Herkimer held off the British advance, allowing General Arnold to reach nearby Fort Stanwix with reinforcements. On August 23, the British and Indian troops retreated to Canada (Map 6.1).

When General Howe’s reinforcements also did not materialize, Burgoyne faced a brutal onslaught from patriot forces. In September patriots defeated the British at Freeman’s Farm, with the British suffering twice the casualties of the Continentals. Fighting intensified in early October, when Burgoyne lost a second battle at Freeman’s Farm. Ten days later, he surrendered his remaining army of 5,800 men to General Gates at nearby Saratoga, New York.

The Continental Army’s victory in the Battle of Saratoga stunned the British. It undercut the significance of Howe’s victory at Philadelphia and indicated the general’s misunderstanding of the nature of the war he was fighting. Meanwhile, the patriot victory energized Washington and his troops as they dug in at Valley Forge for another long winter. It also gave Benjamin Franklin, the Continental Congress envoy to Paris, greater leverage for convincing French officials to support American independence.