“The consequences were undeniable: France entered the war on the American side. When Washington and his ragtag army, wintering in Valley Forge, Pa., received news of the alliance in the spring of 1778, their spirits were lifted; the road was open to ultimate victory in October 1781. The millennium would see other great battles, like Gettysburg and the Marne and D-Day. But in the last 1,000 years, I think, only the defeat of the Turks by Jan Sobieski near Vienna in 1683 rivaled Saratoga. It turned back the tide of Islam. Saratoga did more. It launched two centuries of revolution elsewhere. It marked the beginning of the end of the British Empire. And it breathed life into the United States of America. ” R.W. Apple Jr. the chief correspondent of The New York Times, based in Washington. New York Times Magazine, 9 May 1999 In 1999, the Times Magazine published six special issues which provided reflections on a thousand years. “The idea of reviewing 1,000 years is daunting, but its closing offers a promontory from which it is possible to scan the past for insight into the future. It would be presumptuous to approach such a long span of history from merely one perspective, no matter how symmetrically it is, like an orange, split apart….” “Today’s organizing theme is the Best of the Millennium. It grows out of the belief that choosing the best has long served society as a valid way of measuring progress, of crystallizing values, of deciding what is worth remembering. To do that, we have reached out to eminent writers from around the world to choose various Bests, in categories as serious as Idea, Story and Invention, and as whimsical as Tool, Magic Trick and Punctuation Mark.” The actions in the Town of Saratoga have contributed to the shared American identity and an evolving sense of patriotism. The Saratoga Monument is just one example of a long tradition to honor the sacrifices of our forefathers and commemorate the American victory at Saratoga. The Saratoga Campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of a complete British army. In 1877, Governor Horatio Seymour said, “At the break of day one hundred years ago, in the judgment of the world, our fathers were rebels against established authority. When the echoes of the evening gun died away along this valley, they were patriots who had rescued their country from wrong and outrage. Until the surrender of the British army in this valley, no nation would recognize the agents of the Continental Congress. All intercourse with them was in stealthy ways. But they were met with open congratulations when the monarchs of Europe learned that the royal standards of Britain had been lowered to our flag. We had passed through the baptism of blood, and had gained a name among the nations of the earth.”Saratoga is known for being the turning point of the American Revolution. The Americans’ determined resistance at Saratoga, coupled with British strategic blunders, resulted in a stunning defeat and surrender for a British army. This timely victory reversed American military fortunes, boosted patriot morale, and gained them international recognition and support, including military assistance. That is why studying the Battles of Saratoga is integral to a good understanding of the American freedoms.
Historian at Saratoga - Town of Saratoga 