A Crucial Year—1777

The year 1777 brought important developments. A British army under General Burgoyne moved south from Canada in June expecting to join General Howe's forces near Albany, New York. The British plan was to hold the Hudson River and thus separate New England from the rest of the colonies. But Howe was already committed to a move against Philadelphia before orders reached him to cooperate with Burgoyne. Washington placed an army across Howe's route at Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, on Brandywine Creek. Howe outmaneuvered the Americans at the Battle of Brandywine, forcing them to retreat, and entered Philadelphia on September 26.

Hoping to force Howe out of Philadelphia, Washington ordered an attack on October 4 against 9,000 British troops at nearby Germantown. This attack seemed successful at first, but ended in another defeat. In December, Washington established winter quarters at Valley Forge, north of Philadelphia. Here his army suffered from cold and lack of sufficient food and clothes—a terrible ordeal that became a symbol of American determination to refuse to accept defeat.

Washington's troubles were offset by events to the north. Burgoyne recaptured Ticonderoga in June, but a force under General Barry St. Leger was delayed by a savage fight with American militia led by Nicholas Herkimer at Oriskany. After failing to take Fort Stanwix (also called Ft. Schuyler) in August, St. Leger, being pursued by Benedict Arnold's forces, retreated. A group of German and Tory raiders were defeated near Bennington, Vermont, on August 16, by troops under John Stark. At the battles of Freeman's Farm (September 19) and Bemis Heights (October 7), Burgoyne's forces failed to dislodge troops under the command of General Horatio Gates. They then retreated to Saratoga. There, on Octo-ber 17, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered his army of 5,000 to Gates.

For more than a year, France had been secretly helping the American cause with supplies and money. Having lost its American colonies to Great Britain, France was eager to aid any weakening of its rival, but resisted an open alliance until King Louis XVI was convinced that the Americans had a chance to win. News of Burgoyne's surrender tipped the scales. On February 6, 1778, France entered into a military alliance with the United States. Spain and the Netherlands also declared war against Great Britain, although not as allies of the United States.

France gave direct assistance to the Americans. France also joined Spain and the Netherlands in keeping British land and sea forces occupied in other parts of the world, including India, Gibraltar, the English Channel, and the West Indies.