The Battle of Saratoga

     The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War in the rebels favor. The Revolutionary War was the war that gave freedom to Britain’s colonies. The war was caused because the colonists of England were being taxed by the King of England. They were being taxed because they had just fought the French and Indian War, and England was in a lot of debt. Some of the taxes they had were the tea act, which taxed tea, the stamp act, which taxed printed paper, and the sugar act, which taxed sugar. This caused the colonists outrage, especially that they were taxed without being represented to the king. This outrage became so strong that they people wanted to break away from England, and rebel against the king, so they made the wrote the Declaration of Independence, and started the Revolutionary War.

     In the beginning of the war, the rebels were losing badly. The British were destroying them. Then came the Battle of Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga is also known as the turning point of the war. This was a battle the rebels one, and showed that they could win. The two leaders of the rebels that helped win this battle for them are Major General Horatio Gates, General Benedict Arnold, and General Benjamin Lincoln. Major General Gates set up fortifications to stop the British, but the British just went around them, and General Arnold came up with the plan to fight the British before they could attack them. The battle went that the British wanted to get to the rebel’s side and fight them, but couldn’t, and were always pushed back. In the end, the British’s losses were too large and they retreated. It finally happened: the rebels won a battle!

     Since the rebels won the battle, they caught the attention of some foreign powers to help the rebels. One of the more important powers was France. The Continental Congress, a diplomatic group that helped govern the people during the time of aggression before the war and during the war, made an alliance with France, and France would then help them win the battle. France was willing to help them not only because they weren’t a lost cause, but also because they had just been defeated in the French and Indian War. The French gave them a naval body. This was very important for the rebels because they had no navy, so they British were able to box the rebels in and not let them communicate easily with other countries. The French naval fleet helped the rebels fight the British on the water. They also gave ground troops to the rebels. The ground troops gave them more numbers, and more experienced fighters, for many of their fighters weren’t very well trained. The last thing they gave the rebels were supplies. The rebels didn’t have many supplies, for they had to make them themselves and had never made them before. The supplies given to them made them stronger, and helped them fight. All of these supplies given from the French helped the rebels defeat the British in 1783. This was all made possible because o the Battle of Saratoga, which made the French help the rebels, and help the rebels win the war.