General Burgoyne's Defeat In The Battle At Saratoga

moved more slowly and cautiously for lack reconnaissance and credible intelligence (Nickerson, 1967). When he originally held up at Bemis Heights, although his leading edge had skirmished with the American troops, he was likely unaware of the how close or how large the enemy really was. In August and October, as he sat waiting for reinforcements prior to the battles at Saratoga, General Burgoyne was unaware that the Continental Army was growing by the hundreds, and he would eventually have to fight a force over three times his size. Taking these things into consideration, it can be postulated that the British could have avoided the loss at Bennington. The assumption will be that instead of blindly sending Colonel Baum to Vermont, General Burgoyne sends a small scouting party to reconnoiter the area first. An Indian scouting expedition could have covered the less than 30 mile distance in a day. As Brigadier Stark’s militia was held up in Bennington, their scout elements probably wouldn’t go much farther than a few miles …show more content…
In this case, he could have maneuvered a much larger part of his army towards Bennington, taking the militia by surprise and forcing them to retreat. It is known that there were not any other formidable American forces near enough to affect the battle, excepting Colonel Warner’s “Green Mountain Boys”, who likely would not have been able to impact the fight even if they were aware. In this case, General Burgoyne’s army would have access to necessary supplies and provisions, and potentially could have built a local logistical support chain further into the Connecticut River valley, instead of relying on his extended supply train north to Canada. This would have put him in excellent condition to successfully press on towards Albany, as well as keeping his vital Indian