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John Burgoyne, army officer, politician, playwright (born in 1722 in England; died 3 August 1792 in London, England). Burgoyne is best known as the general who lost the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolution.
John Burgoyne was a distinguished British army officer and public figure. Burgoyne arrived in Quebec in 1776 with large reinforcements for the garrison under Guy Carleton, which was besieged by American forces under Benedict Arnold. Burgoyne served as Carleton’s second in command during the successful campaign of that year.
In summer 1777, Burgoyne led a force of approximately 8,000 soldiers southward along the Lake Champlain-Hudson River route with the objective of severing New England from the other colonies. After a series of costly battles, he was forced to surrender at Saratoga, New York, on 17 October 1777. The defeat is widely considered the turning point of the American Revolution.
