trysail
Catch Me Who Can
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2005
- Posts
- 25,593
This year marks the 240th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga and John Burgoyne's subsequent surrender.
The anniversary should not go unobserved as the victory by the separatists was a very clear turning point in America's First Civil War.
I suspect that most people think of Saratoga as a single day event and are unaware that it actually took place over a protracted period of time.
In 2016, Nathaniel Philbrick wrote an interesting book, Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold and the Fate of the American Revolution, in which he attempts to restore some of Benedict Arnold's justifiably tarnished reputation. In fact, Philbrick gets very close to making the claim that, due to Saratoga's pivotal place in America's First Civil War and Arnold's central role in that victory, Arnold was as much responsible for American independence as almost anyone else (excluding Washington).
The battlefield itself is well-preserved (largely due to its location which is well removed from urban development pressures). Like any other battle, you cannot fully comprehend the battles of Saratoga without knowledge of the topography. For anyone with an interest, it is well worth a visit.
I also recommend Dean Snow's 2016 book 1777: Tipping Point At Saratoga. It's an hour-by-hour account of the thirty-two day period between 15 September and 17 October taken from original sources (in many cases, in their own words).
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