General John Burgoyne

John Burgoyne was a very important man in England. He was born in London in 1722. After attending Westminster School, he joined the army when he was only eighteen years old. Three years later, he caused a bit of a scandal by eloping with the daughter of an English earl. They lived in France until the scandal died down, and they could pay off their debts.

In 1756, he rejoined the army and made quite a name for himself as an officer. Burgoyne was sent to the colonies in 1772. While stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, he was present for the Battle of Bunker Hill. Soon after this battle, he returned to England. In 1776, he was sent back to America. This time he was assigned to Canada. He was to be second in command under Sir Guy Carleton. Their mission was to invade New York and stop the rebel forces in the New England area. It didn't take long before Burgoyne got fed up with the leadership of Carleton. Burgoyne sailed back to England and personally persuaded King George III to let him take command of the British troops. The king agreed. He put Burgoyne in charge of 7,000 troops. The invasion of New York was now his job.

Burgoyne and his men took over Crown Point. They then moved on to Fort Ticonderoga and captured it. The battles were going the British way. As Burgoyne moved slowly to the south, things started to go badly. He had divided his troops into three groups. His plan was to have each of these groups swoop into New York from a different direction. They were to eventually all meet in Albany. He felt that by attacking in this way, he would successfully place all of the area under British control.