Key Figures
Lieutenant General John Burgoyne
Burgoyne wanted his own forces. Previous to the Saratoga campaign he had been in America
for two tours, in both of which he played subordinate roles. He was
"a popular soldier and playwright with a reputation of bonhomie, bravery,
and risk-taking in combat" (Ketchum, 66). Despite these attributes
he had "a taste for gambling, convivial drinking, a skill at card
playing" (Ketchum, 73). However, since "Ambition was a driving
force in Burgoyne's life," he was willing to take on the Saratoga
campaign to win true fame and glory. Burgoyne was also noted as
"Gentleman Johnny" for his treatment of his soldiers. He taught
his junior officers to treat enlisted men as '''thinking beings' rather than
spaniels 'trained...by the stick'" (Ketchum, 75).
Benedict Arnold
He
was essential to the victories of Freeman's Farm and Bemis
Heights. Although
he was upset at being passed over for higher commission, he still came to the
aid of the Americans at Saratoga
Major General Philip Schuyler
Schuyler was in charge of the Northern Department, which had the "primary
responsibility to block a British invasion from Canada"
(Ketchum, 52). However, "despite his considerable abilities and
experience and what seemed unflagging devotion to the patriot cause" he
was, "intensely disliked by New Englanders" (Ketchum, 22). It
could have been his Dutch ethnicity, his "haughty, aristocratic, or
downright snobbish" attitude, the fact that he sided with New York
in a land dispute, or the fact that New Englanders like Horatio Gates better
(Ketchum, 22). That stated, Schuyler did his utmost to stop the British
Army under Burgoyne but would be relieved of command due to a continuing
dispute with Horatio Gates. Also, since he was in command of the Northern
Department, the loss of Fort Ticonderoga
fell upon his soldiers.
Major General Horatio Gates
Gates was fifty years old when he took command, but "because of a
pronounced stoop, wispy gray hair, thin spectacles worn at the end of his nose,
a double chin, and a habit of quoting time-worn adages to make a point, all of
which prompted one soldier to describe him as 'an old, granny-looking fellow,'
whereupon he acquired the nickname Granny Gates," he looked older
(Ketchum, 52). Since Gates "was the darling of the New England legislators" he was
eventually going to be given command of the Northern Department (Ketchum,
53). |
