The 1777 March of the Saratoga Convention Army

What might be called "Burgoyne's Army" is different from what has become know as the "Convention Army".  When British Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne left Canada in June of 1777 bound for Albany, New York, his army of over ten-thousand included Native warriors, Canadians, and “Provincials" (also known as Loyalists or Tories), in addition to thousands of British and German soldiers.  Four months later, roughly half that number would march out of their final camp at Saratoga, New York, when they were forced to surrender to American Major-General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777 .  Burgoyne's British and German troops who left Saratoga were bound for the port of Boston under the second of the Articles of Convention , with the expectation that they would sail to England.  It was this group that would become what is now known as the Convention Army.  Others, "All Canadians, and persons belonging to the Canadian establishment, consisting of sailors, ba...

Reenactors, scholars and historians will remember the Revolutionary War with a variety of events in September and October of 2024.  Several will commemorate Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne's failed 1777 campaign, including his surrender on October 17th, as shown in this photo taken last year at a recreation of the event in Schuylerville, New York. September and October are great months to visit historic sites in New York and New England.  First up on my list is "Soldiers on the Mount", on Labor Day weekend at Mount Independence, a Vermont State Historic Site in Orwell, Vermont .  Several reenactor groups will camp out there to portray the American occupation of the site from July 1776 through July of 1777.  Site staff are organizing what they call their "Walkabout" on Saturday, August 31st.  This will feature a number of reenactors and historians at several points along the site's Baldwin Trail, who will interact with visitors on a variety of topics. ...