The 1777 March of the Saratoga Convention Army

Some British soldiers from the Convention Army, Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne's troops who had surrendered at Saratoga  on October 17, 1777, reached the town on Sudbury, Massachusetts, a bit sooner than they were expected to.  Massachusetts Militia Lieutenant Israel Bartlett noted in his diary:  “[Nov.] 4 Tuesday - Marched from Northborough to Marlborough , 8 miles and halted - we are mustered and obliged to march, occasioned by the Artillery’s advancing beyond the lines set - we marched 5 miles and halted at Sudbury.”   Private David How was also among those who arrived on the 4th. “This Day we march’d Through Marlborough .  At Night we Staid at Sutton [sic].  I have ben on Guard this Night.”   How's entry reminds us that the march was a military operation that tasked tired soldiers to be on duty at all hours; and that historical research using primary sources requires thoughtful analysis, as it was clearly the town of Sudbury where he stopped o...

Article IV of the Articles of Convention required "The army under Lieutenant-general Burgoyne, to march to Massachusetts Bay, by the easiest, most expeditious, and convenient route; and be quartered in, near, or as convenient as possible to Boston..." Understanding the routes taken is a study of history and geography.  There is no direct natural route from Saratoga to Boston, but a well established network of roads provided a way across rivers and streams, over mountains, through woods, and past countless farms and villages.  American militia units had taken many of these roads in the summer and early fall of 1777 to join the Northern Army under Major-General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, and would use them to escort Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne's British and German troops to quarters in Cambridge and present-day Somerville (then part of Charlestown) Massachusetts to await their fate.  I'm interested in following their footsteps as closely as possible. Two accounts ...