REVOLUTION Ep. 2 | “New York Minute”

Summary

Podcast Summary: Legends of the Old West
Episode Title: REVOLUTION Ep. 2 | “New York Minute”
Date: July 1, 2026
Host: Chris Wimmer, Black Barrel Media
Length: ~42 min (content spans approximately 00:43–40:22)

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Episode Overview

This episode, “New York Minute,” brings listeners deep into the pivotal events of 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, focusing on the critical campaign for New York. It details the high-stakes struggle around Fort Stanwix, the multi-pronged British offensive aimed at severing the colonies, the Americans’ near-disastrous retreats, and — most importantly — the American victory at Saratoga, which became the second major turning point of the war. The episode also spotlights characters like Benedict Arnold, Horatio Gates, Daniel Morgan, and British commanders such as John Burgoyne and Barry St. Leger.

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Key Discussion Points & Timeline

The Siege of Fort Stanwix & Battle of Oriskany

00:43 – 04:18

• Benedict Arnold leads a relief force to Fort Stanwix (also known as Fort Schuyler) in August 1777, where 750 members of the 3rd New York Regiment are trapped by British forces under Barry St. Leger.
  • “In the heat and humidity of early August 1777, Major General Benedict Arnold rushed west with 700 soldiers on a rescue mission.” - Chris Wimmer (00:43)
• St. Leger’s 1,500 British, loyalist, and Mohawk warriors demand surrender; Americans refuse.
• Nicholas Herkimer attempts relief with 800 militia and 60 Oneida warriors—ambushed and defeated at the brutal Battle of Oriskany.
• Arnold’s cunning use of misinformation (claiming 3,000 men are approaching) forces the British to abandon the siege without fighting:
  • “That smart bit of disinformation saved the relief column from a bloody brawl.” (03:19)
  • “Arnold's column did an about face and rushed back to the American Northern army without firing a shot.” (03:56)
• The effect: One of three British columns fails, giving Americans a real chance to survive the campaign.

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The British New York Campaign Plan

05:49 – 12:03

• King George III approves a three-pronged British campaign:
  1. William Howe targets Philadelphia.
  2. John Burgoyne advances from Canada to capture Albany and the Hudson River.
  3. St. Leger marches through the Mohawk Valley.
  • “The goal was to gain control of the mighty Hudson river, which ran nearly the entire length of New York.” (11:44)
• Howe diverts focus to Philadelphia, embarks on a storm-laden voyage (07:07–07:38), giving Washington time to double his army but fill it with raw recruits.
• Americans lose at Brandywine (Sept 11, 1777) and Germantown (Oct 4, 1777); British occupy Philadelphia, controlling both it and New York City, plunging morale:
  • “If the Americans couldn't pull off a miracle, hope for independence was likely lost.” (08:39)

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Burgoyne’s March & American Scorched Earth Retreat

12:10 – 15:58

• Burgoyne begins his southward march from Canada, aiming for Albany.
• Early British success at Fort Ticonderoga — Americans retreat, destroying everything of use:
  • “The Americans decided to employ a scorched earth campaign. They torched Fort Ann before continuing to retreat south.” (14:33)
• Multiple skirmishes slow the British advance, culminating in the unification of retreating Americans under General Schuyler near Saratoga.

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The Critical Role of Benedict Arnold

16:12 – 18:58

• Arnold’s early war heroics: Ticonderoga and Valcour Island (America’s first naval battle).
• Chosen by Schuyler to rescue Fort Stanwix, Arnold again uses psychological warfare — a highlight of his creativity and effectiveness.
• The bloodless lifting of the siege enables American forces to hold New York’s river valleys, a “knockout” to the British three-column plan.

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The Battle of Bennington – Burgoyne’s Blunder

20:11 – 21:29

• Burgoyne sends 1,400 men to Bennington for supplies; militia and regulars ambush them (Aug 16, 1777).
  • “Accounts describe non stop firing. Even as the fight descended into hand to hand combat with bayonets, sabers, pikes and rifles...” (21:04)
• Only 500 British return; the loss decimates Burgoyne’s numbers and shatters Loyalist and Native support. Burgoyne retreats, losing a crucial month.

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Major Leadership Change: Enter Horatio Gates

22:03 – 23:39

• Congress replaces Schuyler with Gates (an able administrator and self-promoter with a British military background).
• Gates builds defensive positions at Bemis Heights, halfway between Burgoyne and Albany, supported by Polish engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko.

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Saratoga: The Battles That Changed the War

25:11 – 39:00

• First Battle: Freeman’s Farm (Sep 19, 1777) [25:11 – 29:34]

  • Initial encounter is a tactical British victory, but at high cost (600 casualties). Arnold leads but is denied reinforcements by Gates, sowing division.
    • “Arnold placed Daniel Morgan's Virginia riflemen in front, and they marched out to pick a fight.” (25:19)
    • “Benedict Arnold requested more reinforcements from Horatio Gates, but Gates refused.” (27:30)
  • Notable quote: “Benedict Arnold had led the American force as battlefield commander, but in Gates's letters to Congress after the battle, Gates refused to mention Arnold's name. Benedict Arnold was rightfully outraged.” (31:14–31:35)

• Leadership Rift: Arnold and Gates [30:41 – 31:48]

  • Gates claims all credit, escalating his feud with Arnold, even demoting him.

• Second Battle: Bemis Heights (Oct 7, 1777) [32:33 – 37:39]

  • Burgoyne, low on supplies, gambles on another attack. American forces, now better positioned, execute a coordinated assault.
  • Benedict Arnold, initially sidelined, bursts onto the battlefield:
    • “In a scene that was described as something out of a movie, Arnold leapt onto his horse and charged down toward the battle. The soldiers on Bemis Heights cheered as Arnold galloped toward the action.” (35:19–35:31)
  • Daniel Morgan’s riflemen mortally wound British General Simon Fraser:
    • “One of Morgan's riflemen, often cited as Timothy Murphy, fired a ball that hit General Fraser in the stomach.” (36:00)
  • The Americans overrun a critical redoubt; Arnold is wounded but the American assault succeeds.

• Burgoyne’s Surrender [37:53 – 39:00]

  • Burgoyne, encircled near Saratoga, surrenders his army of 5,000.
    • “It was the first decisive victory in a full scale battle for the Americans and it had a profound impact on the war.” (38:24)
  • The victory persuades France to officially ally with the US:
    • “The success of the American Northern army had convinced the French that the Americans had a legitimate chance to win the war.” (39:10)
    • “Four months after Saratoga, the US And France became allies.” (39:15)

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Lasting Impact & What’s Next

39:20 – 40:22

• Saratoga marks the second major turning point in the war but momentum remains uncertain; Washington is still bogged down in Pennsylvania, and disaster looms in the South.
• The episode tees up the coming third act — the Southern campaign and the unlikely heroics of Daniel Morgan and the “original Western frontiersmen.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Benedict Arnold’s Disinformation Campaign:
  “Arnold's column did an about face and rushed back to the American Northern army without firing a shot. But the bloodless success was more important than anyone knew at the time.”
  — Chris Wimmer (03:51–03:57)

• On Gates’ Ambition:
  “He essentially convinced Congress that he was a better choice than Skyler.”
  — Narrator (23:45)

• Arnold’s Gallop to Glory:
  “In a scene that was described as something out of a movie, Arnold leapt onto his horse and charged down toward the battle. The soldiers on Bemis Heights cheered as Arnold galloped toward the action.”
  — Narrator & Chris Wimmer (35:19–35:31)

• Saratoga’s Consequence:
  “It was the first decisive victory in a full scale battle for the Americans and it had a profound impact on the war.”
  — Chris Wimmer (38:24)

• Turning the Tide:
  “The American victory was crucial, but that didn't mean the Americans had the momentum.”
  — Narrator (39:25)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:43 – 04:18: Siege of Fort Stanwix and Arnold’s bluff
• 05:49 – 08:50: British three-pronged strategy, battle losses around Philadelphia
• 11:11 – 16:12: Burgoyne’s campaign — captures, American retreats, and Arnold’s career to date
• 18:05 – 19:36: End of Fort Stanwix siege; British and Loyalist setbacks
• 20:11 – 21:38: Battle of Bennington’s loss for Burgoyne
• 22:03 – 24:23: Schuyler replaced by Gates; fortification at Bemis Heights
• 25:11 – 29:34: Freeman’s Farm – first Saratoga battle
• 32:33 – 37:39: Bemis Heights – second Saratoga battle and Arnold’s heroics
• 38:05 – 39:20: Burgoyne’s surrender and French alliance
• 39:20 – 40:22: The aftermath and preview for the Southern campaign

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Episode Takeaways

• The campaign for New York in 1777 was pivotal—its outcome shifted the war’s trajectory.
• American use of misinformation (Arnold) and scorched earth tactics delayed the British, while the missteps and delays of Burgoyne and St. Leger fatally undermined the British plan.
• The American victory at Saratoga was not only militarily significant but also transformed the global political landscape by bringing France into the war.

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Next Episode Preview:
The story shifts to the southern theater—the epic disasters and unexpected American resurgence led by Daniel Morgan and the frontier fighters in 1780-81.

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This summary captures the episode’s rich historical storytelling, major events, tactical details, and character-driven drama, providing listeners a vivid journey through the American Revolution’s northern campaign.

Transcript

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[Chris Wimmer]

In the heat and humidity of early August 1777, Major General Benedict Arnold rushed west with 700 soldiers on a rescue mission. Arnold and his detachment had been retreating

[Narrator]

south along the Hudson river in upstate New York with the American Northern army when they learned that Fort Stanwix, also

[Chris Wimmer]

known as Fort Schuyler, was in trouble.

[Narrator]

Roughly 750 men of the 3rd New York Regiment were trapped at the fort,

[Chris Wimmer]

which sat along the Mohawk river outside

[Narrator]

the present day town of Rome, New York.

[Chris Wimmer]

The British column surrounding the fort had left its base at Oswego, New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario on July 26.

[Narrator]

The column of 1500 men was led by Lt. Col. Barry St. Leger, who was promoted to brevet brigadier general in

[Chris Wimmer]

order to lead the mission.

[Narrator]

His job was to march east from Lake Ontario and clear out all American resistance in the Mohawk River Valley, which cuts across the center of New York. Saint Leger's mission was one third of the British campaign to try to take control of the entire state of New York in the summer of 1777. After eight days of marching along the Oswego river and then the Oneida River, Saint Leger's column reached Fort Stanwix at the junction of the Oneida and Mohawk rivers. On August 2nd.

[Chris Wimmer]

The column surrounded the fort and trapped the 3rd New York Regiment inside. St. Leger demanded surrender.

[Narrator]

The Americans refused and the siege of Fort Stanwix began four days later. On August 2, a relief column commanded by Nicholas Herkimer tried to break the siege. Foreigner, with about 800 militiamen and 60 Oneida warriors, were intercepted by a British detachment about seven miles outside the fort.

[Chris Wimmer]

The British detachment of about 100 loyalist

[Narrator]

militiamen and 400 Mohawk warriors slammed into the relief column in a vicious hand to hand fight. The British force was outnumbered, but they killed Herkimer and forced the American relief column to retreat in a brutal fight called the Battle of Oriskany. At Fort Stanwix, General St. Leger once again told the American garrison to surrender. Once again, the Americans refused. A few days later, Major General Philip Schuyler, commander of the American Northern army, authorized Benedict Arnold to march 90 miles

[Chris Wimmer]

west to help Fort Stanwix.

[Narrator]

As Arnold and 700 men hurried west

[Chris Wimmer]

along the Mohawk River, Arnold spread the

[Narrator]

word that there would be 3,000 soldiers

[Chris Wimmer]

on the way to relieve Fort Stanwix.

[Narrator]

That smart bit of disinformation saved the relief column from a bloody brawl. General St. Leger heard the rumor that an army of 3,000 soldiers was marching

[Chris Wimmer]

to Fort Stanwix to battle his 1,500 fighters. As Arnold's force drew within striking distance, General St. Leger fell for the bluff. He abandoned the siege of Fort Stanwix

[Narrator]

and retreated back to his base in

[Chris Wimmer]

Oswego on the shore of Lake Ontario.

[Narrator]

Arnold's column did an about face and rushed back to the American Northern army

[Chris Wimmer]

without firing a shot.

[Narrator]

But the bloodless success was more important than anyone knew at the time. By driving away one of the three British columns, which were supposed to unite to wipe out the American Northern army, the Americans had unknowingly dealt the British a deadly blow. When the first of two major battles happened one month later, the Americans actually

[Chris Wimmer]

had a fighting chance to save the

[Narrator]

war effort for the second time in less than a year.

[Chris Wimmer]

From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends

[Narrator]

of the Old West.

[Chris Wimmer]

I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this

[Narrator]

season we're telling an American frontier story in honor of America's 250th birthday. It's the story of the six battles which defined the Revolutionary War and saved American hopes for independence. This is episode two, New York.

[Chris Wimmer]

Minute. After the pair of American victories at Trenton and Princeton at the end of December 1776 and the beginning of January 1770, the war paused for the rest of winter and all of spring. The victories had saved the American war effort. As the weather warmed, ice on the rivers thawed, muddy rivers dried to become passable, and new volunteers streamed into the camp of the American army at Morristown, New Jersey. Meanwhile, in March, King George III approved two plans for the British campaign of 1777. He authorized commander in Chief William Howe to capture the American capital of Philadelphia. And he authorized Lieutenant General John Burgoyne to coordinate and lead a mission to capture Albany, New York, and with it, the Hudson River.

[Narrator]

Howe would need to send a column

[Chris Wimmer]

north to help the three prong strategy against Albany. But most of his men would concentrate on taking Philadelphia. American Commander in Chief George Washington and the American main army broke camp at Morristown, Washington. On May 28, 1777, General Howe led 16,000 British and Hessian soldiers out of New York City in an effort to lure Washington's army into a fight. Howe hoped to Crush the American army and then waltz into the capital. At the start of the summer of 1777, Washington had between 6,000 and 9,000 soldiers in his army, and he had no intention of getting drawn into an open field battle with the British. For all of June and most of July, the American army and the British army circled each other without engaging. After about six weeks, General Howe was thoroughly sick of the tedious dance and he decided to go straight at Philadelphia. At the end of July, Howe loaded his 16,000 soldiers onto 265 ships in New York and sailed down to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It should have been a relatively short trip, but the stomach churning voyage took more than a month due to relentless summer storms. The British finally touched dry land at the end of August and began the slow march up to Philadelphia. The delay gave Washington time to march his army south to intercept the British. And just as important, the time allowed more volunteers to join the army. By the time the British finally landed in Maryland and started their march up to Philadelphia, Washington's army had doubled in size from 9,000 men to 18,000. His army was now larger than the

[Narrator]

British force, but critically, it was full

[Chris Wimmer]

of raw, untrained volunteers.

[Narrator]

Regardless, Washington could not avoid battle any longer. He arranged his army in defensive positions

[Chris Wimmer]

along Brandywine Creek, about 20 miles outside Philadelphia. On September 11, the British army attacked.

[Narrator]

The Americans held strong for a while, but the British were able to cross the creek at a spot which was mistakenly left unguarded. The British flanked the American army and turned a possible American victory into a devastating American defeat.

[Chris Wimmer]

Fifteen days later, the British marched into Philadelphia and captured the American capital. On October 4, at the Battle of Germantown on the north side of the

[Narrator]

city, the American army attempted to dislodge the British, but failed.

[Chris Wimmer]

With that, the British controlled New York

[Narrator]

City and Philadelphia and all the area in between. The American main army had been soundly beaten for the second straight year.

[Chris Wimmer]

It hadn't been wiped out.

[Narrator]

But the end of 1777 felt like the end of 1776. If the Americans couldn't pull off a miracle, hope for independence was likely lost.

[Chris Wimmer]

Two weeks after the Battle of Germantown, the second turning point of the Revolutionary

[Narrator]

War happened in central New York. British General John Burgoyne had been leading his army south from Canada all summer. But right outside of his goal of

[Chris Wimmer]

Albany, he ran into a roadblock and

[Narrator]

the American northern army achieved the first real success. Success of the war

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[Chris Wimmer]

Back in June of 1777, while British commander in Chief William Howe was trying to draw the American main Army into battle, Lieutenant General John Burgoyne was mobilizing the British Northern army outside Montreal, Canada.

[Narrator]

The plan called for columns of soldiers

[Chris Wimmer]

to converge on the town of Albany from the north, south and west.

[Narrator]

Albany was almost perfectly centralized for the three columns. It was about 150 miles from the bases of all three.

[Chris Wimmer]

But Albany itself was not the real target.

[Narrator]

The goal was to gain control of

[Chris Wimmer]

the mighty Hudson river, which ran nearly the entire length of New York. The waterway was absolutely vital to the Americans, and the town of Albany sat along the Hudson at about the halfway point of the river.

[Narrator]

If the British captured Albany, they could gain control of the Hudson and open

[Chris Wimmer]

a highway on the water from Canada

[Narrator]

to New York City. In mid June, the British Northern army

[Chris Wimmer]

began the mission to capture Albany.

[Narrator]

Brevet Brigadier General Barry St. Leger's column sailed down the St. Lawrence river from Montreal and down through Lake Ontario to Oswego, New York. From there, Saint Legere would hopefully march

[Chris Wimmer]

through the Mohawk Valley and and clear out all American resistance.

[Narrator]

At the same time, General John Burgoyne and about 7,500 soldiers sailed down through Lake Champlain on their first step toward Albany. In order to reach the city, they would have to wipe out a series

[Chris Wimmer]

of forts along the way.

[Narrator]

The first stop was Fort Ticonderoga, which had been captured by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen two years earlier. In the summer of 1777, Ticonderoga and its twin, Fort Independence, on the other side of the lake were garrisoned by

[Chris Wimmer]

about 4,000American soldiers, but more than 500

[Narrator]

of them were sick and unfit for duty. On July 2, Burgoyne's army started landing in the area of the forts. Before the Americans knew it, the British moved cannon into position on top of nearby Mount Defiance. From the gun placements, the British could

[Chris Wimmer]

rain down cannon fire on Fort Ticonderoga. The American Northern army was stationed 40 miles south at Fort Edward. But by the time they learned of

[Narrator]

the siege, mobilized troops for a long

[Chris Wimmer]

march and covered the 40 miles of rugged terrain, the British could pummel Fort Ticonderoga into oblivion. If American commanders at the fort tried to hold the installation and became trapped

[Narrator]

in a siege, there was every possibility

[Chris Wimmer]

that they would all be killed or captured.

[Narrator]

On July 6, before the British completely surrounded the forts, the Americans slipped out

[Chris Wimmer]

and went on the run.

[Narrator]

It was an inauspicious way to celebrate

[Chris Wimmer]

the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

[Narrator]

But the American soldiers hoped to retreat

[Chris Wimmer]

southward to unite with General Philip Schuyler

[Narrator]

and the American Northern army at Fort Edward. On the second day of the retreat, July 7, about 15 miles away at Hubbardton, Vermont, a detachment of British and Hessian soldiers caught up to some of the Americans and battered them while they stopped to rest. Those who were still able continued to move south. The two sides clashed again before the

[Chris Wimmer]

retreating Americans reached Fort Ann, the last stop before they reached Fort Edward. And the Northern army.

[Narrator]

With a huge British army on their heels, the Americans decided to employ a scorched earth campaign. They torched Fort Ann before continuing to retreat south.

[Chris Wimmer]

Over the next 10 miles before they

[Narrator]

reached Fort Edward, the Americans laid waste to everything that could help the British. They cut down trees and shoved them into creeks and across roads. They destroyed bridges and mills. They stripped farms of everything usable. The Americans fought a Minor engagement against British Native American allies near the village of Kingsbury on July 22, and then a larger battle near Fort Edward on July 26. At that point, with the refugees from other forts united with the American Northern army, it was General Philip Schuyler's turn to choose to flee or fight. The British were marching south with the

[Chris Wimmer]

force of a slow moving tidal wave and Schuyler decided his smaller army would

[Narrator]

not hold up if it made a

[Chris Wimmer]

stand at Fort Edward.

[Narrator]

The American Northern army plus the retreating

[Chris Wimmer]

soldiers from Ticonderoga fell back from Fort

[Narrator]

Edward to the village of Saratoga, which is the present day city of Schuylerville

[Chris Wimmer]

on the Hudson River.

[Narrator]

They kept skirmishing with the British, but they always stayed one step ahead of a full scale battle. The Americans kept retreating little by little through the first two weeks of August. On August 18, they stopped to rest and regroup at a ferry crossing eight

[Chris Wimmer]

miles north of Albany. But a few days before they arrived, General Schuyler dispatched Major General Benedict Arnold on a rescue mission.

[Narrator]

Benedict Arnold was a respected general during the first two years of the war. In 1775, right after the battles of Lexington and Concord, he recruited a small

[Chris Wimmer]

group of volunteers to rush north from New England to capture Fort Ticonderoga. It had been built by the French

[Narrator]

at the beginning of the French and Indian War and it guarded a key point at the southern end of Lake

[Chris Wimmer]

Champlain, where the lake narrowed to the

[Narrator]

width of a river. Four years after construction, the British captured the fort. But in the 15 years since the

[Chris Wimmer]

end of major fighting in the French

[Narrator]

and Indian War, the fort had been mostly abandoned and had fallen into disrepair.

[Chris Wimmer]

Benedict Arnold ended up joining forces with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys

[Narrator]

from Vermont who had had the same idea to easily capture the fort. Arnold's initiative, creativity and determination earned him a commission as a Major general in the Continental Army. A year later, in October 1776, Arnold

[Chris Wimmer]

led America's first naval battle. The British Northern army had been trying

[Narrator]

to sail down through Lake Champlain to invade New York from the north.

[Chris Wimmer]

Arnold led a makeshift American flotilla in what became known as the Battle of Valcour Island. Arnold didn't win the battle, but he

[Narrator]

did stop the invasion a month later. In November 1776, he was the co

[Chris Wimmer]

leader of a failed mission to liberate Montreal and Quebec.

[Narrator]

His superior officer, Major General Philip Schuyler,

[Chris Wimmer]

was supposed to lead the campaign, but he was knocked down with one of his frequent bouts of sickness. Now, about seven months after the Canadian campaign, Skylar and Arnold were retreating south from Fort Edward. With the American Northern army. When they learned that a British force

[Narrator]

was besieging Fort Stanton Stanwix, Schuyler sent Arnold and 700 soldiers to help.

[Chris Wimmer]

The British column, led by Brevet Brigadier

[Narrator]

General Barry St. Leger had been conducting a siege of Fort Stanwix on the

[Chris Wimmer]

Mohawk river for about three weeks. The British had already beaten back one American relief column, but then they heard a rumor that a much larger force

[Narrator]

was moving toward them. During Benedict Arnold's march, he employed a disinformation campaign which made Saint Leger believe

[Chris Wimmer]

that Arnold rode at the head of an army of 3,000 soldiers.

[Narrator]

That number would be double the size of St. Lejeur's force. Saint Lejeure was already experiencing impatience and

[Chris Wimmer]

tension from his Native American allies.

[Narrator]

If they left his column and arnold arrived with 3,000 soldiers, St. Leger would be in serious trouble. After about three weeks outside Fort Stanwix, he abandoned the siege and retreated to Oswego. And Benedict. Arnold quickly turned around and led his

[Chris Wimmer]

column back to the American army camp at the ferry crossing north of Albany. It wouldn't go down as a dramatic American achievement, but retaining control of the Mohawk river valley was extremely important.

[Narrator]

The Americans kept control of a vital

[Chris Wimmer]

waterway, and they knocked out one of the three British armies in the plan to conquer New York. Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's army, the largest of the three, was still marching south.

[Narrator]

But Burgoyne was about to get a

[Chris Wimmer]

double dose of bad news.

[Narrator]

St. Leger's column had failed to take

[Chris Wimmer]

control of the Mohawk Valley and would not be joining him in an attack on Albany. And there was no third column coming

[Narrator]

up from New York City, at least

[Chris Wimmer]

not in time to help.

[Narrator]

British commander in chief William Howe was

[Chris Wimmer]

completely focused on the American main army and the capture of Philadelphia, and he did not send troops to help Burgoyne

[Narrator]

with the Albany campaign. Burgoyne knew that Howe had been authorized to take Philadelphia, but Burgoyne still thought Howe would send a column north to help capture Albany. That didn't happen. To make matters worse, Burgoyne made his first big mistake of the campaign. After taking Fort Edward and then Fort

[Chris Wimmer]

Miller, the next fort south along the

[Narrator]

Hudson, Burgoyne paused his steady southward progress

[Chris Wimmer]

to send a detachment east to Bennington, Vermont, on a supply raid. It was a full 30 miles through rough terrain from Burgoyne's position to Bennington, and while the detachment marched, an American regular army regiment joined forces with local militiamen who streamed into the area. They heard about the British movement. On August 16, 1777, about 10 miles outside Bennington near the tiny hamlet of Willumsack, New York, the two armies met in a bloody clash in the mud. The Americans had about 2,400 fighters and the British had about 1,400. Accounts describe non stop firing. Even as the fight descended into hand to hand combat with bayonets, sabers, pikes and rifles, the Americans won the battle

[Narrator]

and dealt Burgoyne a heavy blow in the process.

[Chris Wimmer]

Of the 1,400 men in the British detachment, only about 500 returned to Burgoyne's army.

[Narrator]

200 were killed or seriously wounded and

[Chris Wimmer]

700 were captured or missing.

[Narrator]

Plus, the loss caused Loyalists to stop volunteering for Burgoyne's army and most of Burgoyne's Native American allies headed home to

[Chris Wimmer]

start preparing for winter. Of the roughly 7,500 fighters Burgoyne had

[Narrator]

started with, he was down to about 6,000.

[Chris Wimmer]

Lastly, by the time the survivors returned to the army and Burgoyne started to

[Narrator]

move again, he had lost a month of time.

[Chris Wimmer]

The American Northern army had used the delay wisely and it was finally ready to make a stand. In the American camp. After the Battle of Bennington, there was a change in leadership.

[Narrator]

Major General Philip Schuyler, commander of the Northern army, was out and Major General Horatio Gates was in. Schuyler was one of the most wealthy and prominent citizens in New York, and he owned tons of land in the region where the two Northern armies would do battle, which is why so many things in the area are named after him.

[Chris Wimmer]

Schuyler had been one of the first four major generals appointed by Congress to fill out Washington's staff in June of 1775, along with Charles Lee, Artemus Ward and Israel Putnam. But Schuyler had been plagued by sickness throughout his two years in command of the Northern army and Congress replaced him with Horatio Gates. Like several officers in the American army, Gates was British.

[Narrator]

He had been an officer in the British army and had served in the colonies during the French and Indian War, where he met George Washington. Gates moved to the colonies in 1773 and he was an outspoken supporter of colonial independence. When Congress named George Washington commander in chief of the new Continental army, it appointed Horatio Gates as Washington's Adjutant general. Gates two primary responsibilities were enormous. He had to build an administrative framework for the new army and he had to train the new army. He excelled at both, which earned him a promotion to Major General. He left Washington's staff to command armies in the field, and on August 18, 1777, he took over for Schuyler as commander of the American Northern Army.

[Chris Wimmer]

Gates might have been the better choice on merit. But he was also a relentless campaigner for his own interests.

[Narrator]

He essentially convinced Congress that he was

[Chris Wimmer]

a better choice than Skyler.

[Narrator]

Three weeks later, the Northern army advanced

[Chris Wimmer]

for the first time that year. In early September, while Burgoyne regrouped about 30 miles north of Albany after the disastrous Battle of Bennington, the American Northern army marched from its camp at a ferry crossing above Albany to a bluff along the Hudson river called Bemis Heights. The position was about halfway between Burgoyne's army and Albany, and it was the best place to make a stand.

[Narrator]

The American Northern army, which had grown significantly during Burgoyne's delay, fortified the heights with wooden palisade walls and earthworks under the supervision of Polish engineer Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko. The front, so to speak, of the

[Chris Wimmer]

fortified position, faced north in the direction of Burgoyne's army. The right flank was protected by steep hills which led down to the Hudson River. The left flank, the most vulnerable side,

[Narrator]

was where Gates placed his second in command, Major General Benedict Arnold, with about 2,000 soldiers.

[Chris Wimmer]

Arguably the best fighters of the 2,000 were the Virginia Riflemen under the command of Colonel Daniel Morgan.

[Narrator]

A week after the Americans set up

[Chris Wimmer]

their position, the British marched south and camped four miles from Bemis Heights.

[Narrator]

On the morning of September 19, Burgoyne decided to scout the American lines with the bulk of his army. He divided his men into three columns

[Chris Wimmer]

and sent them left, right and center. They moved forward cautiously through the early morning fog. In the American camp, Benedict Arnold begged to lead his 2,000 men out to attack the British. General Gates was naturally defensive minded, but he relented. Arnold placed Daniel Morgan's Virginia riflemen in front, and they marched out to pick a fight. Below the bluff between the Americans and the British was the farm of John Fried Freeman. At about one o' clock in the afternoon, as the fog lifted, Daniel Morgan's riflemen found the advance scouts of the British center column in the woods near Freeman's farm. Morgan's men opened fire and charged. The riflemen drove the scouts back, but the scouts quickly united with the core of the British column. The British opened fire with artillery, but the shells did little damage as Morgan's expert marksmen killed or injured the gun crews. A British bayonet charge finally forced Morgan's troops to retreat. American troops were learning to stand up to volleys of musket fire and cannon fire, but they rarely held their ground in the face of a British bayonet charge. The sight of hundreds or thousands of

[Narrator]

soldiers screaming forward with steel spikes 17

[Chris Wimmer]

inches long affixed to their muskets was often too much for American volunteers. As Morgan's men retreated, Brigadier General Enoch

[Narrator]

Poor's New Hampshire troops moved up to support them. While Poore's men took up positions on

[Chris Wimmer]

Morgan's right, a second British column engaged

[Narrator]

the Americans from the left.

[Chris Wimmer]

Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned led his New York brigade into the fight to help

[Narrator]

protect the left flank. The two British columns pushed against the

[Chris Wimmer]

American lines as fighting became ferocious and close range, infantrymen in the British center made four more bayonet charges. Each time the Americans fell back, but then regrouped and surged forward again. For two hours, the battle flowed back and forth over the same ground in one of the most violent clashes to date. At about 5 o' clock in the

[Narrator]

evening, with the sun beginning to set, Benedict Arnold requested more reinforcements from Horatio Gates, but Gates refused. The two armies had mauled each other

[Chris Wimmer]

for four hours on John Freeman's farm,

[Narrator]

and there was still a third British

[Chris Wimmer]

column which was on its way to join the battle. Arnold's troops retreated to the fortifications on Bemis Heights to regroup and await an attack on the installation.

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[Chris Wimmer]

As darkness fell on September 19, 1777, General John Burgoyne's army had lost 600

[Narrator]

soldiers killed or badly Wounded at the

[Chris Wimmer]

Battle of Freeman's Farm. The British technically won the battle, but they had gained nothing. Burgoyne had lost another 600 men he couldn't replace. And the campaign, which began with so much momentum three months earlier, was now in a scary place. Burgoyne's army was dwindling. He couldn't replace his losses, and his supplies were dangerously low. He was stuck in the wilderness of central New York with no help from the column which was supposed to have joined him from the Mohawk Valley or

[Narrator]

the column which was supposed to have joined him from the city of New York. But two days after the battle, he

[Chris Wimmer]

felt a glimmer of hope.

[Narrator]

He received A note from Lt. Gen. Henry Clinton in New York. Clinton had been protecting the city while

[Chris Wimmer]

General Howe tried to take Philadelphia. Clinton offered to lead 2,000 troops north,

[Narrator]

but to attack American positions between New York City and Albany. He didn't offer to reinforce Burgoyne's army, but Clinton hoped he could force the American Northern army to weaken its strength by sending troops south. Burgoyne dug in and waited for updates

[Chris Wimmer]

from Clinton on Bemis Heights. Anger flared between leaders in the American camp. Major General Horatio Gates may have been a solid officer 20 years earlier in the French and Indian War, but. But by the time of the American Revolution, he was more of a politician than a military commander.

[Narrator]

He seemed to have a genuine talent for administration, but his greatest skill appeared to be his power of persuasion. He had convinced Congress to give him

[Chris Wimmer]

command of the American Northern army without any real battlefield qualifications. And then he took sole credit for

[Narrator]

the actions of the American units at

[Chris Wimmer]

the Battle of Freeman's Farm. Benedict Arnold had led the American force as battlefield commander, but in Gates's letters

[Narrator]

to Congress after the battle, Gates refused

[Chris Wimmer]

to mention Arnold's name. Benedict Arnold was rightfully outraged.

[Narrator]

And that was the beginning of the

[Chris Wimmer]

rift between Arnold, the army and Congress.

[Narrator]

Gates and Arnold argued continuously in the

[Chris Wimmer]

American camp during the two and a half weeks of waiting. After the Battle of Freeman's fall, the

[Narrator]

relationship grew so bad that Gates replaced Arnold as second in command with newly arrived Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

[Chris Wimmer]

And while the American leaders squabbled on Bemis Heights, the British built four fortifications called redoubts around their camp. The days passed slowly during the two and a half weeks that the soldiers worked and waited for news. The British army subsisted on half rations as their supply supply situation grew dire. By early October, with no further communication from General Clinton or anyone else, Burgoyne decided he couldn't wait any longer. He didn't want to retreat from the position his men had fought so hard to win.

[Narrator]

And his officers convinced him that an

[Chris Wimmer]

all out assault on the American position

[Narrator]

would be a bad idea.

[Chris Wimmer]

Since they didn't know the full strength of the American army or any details about the American fortifications. Burgoyne eventually settled for another reconnaissance patrol which would be the army's last. On the morning of October 7, 1777, Scottish General Simon Fraser led a column forward to try to scout the left side of the American position.

[Narrator]

The British deployed in a wheat field

[Chris Wimmer]

next to a creek below Bemis Heights above on the bluff. General Gates saw the British advance and sent Colonel Daniel Morgan's riflemen out to meet them. During the Battle of Freeman's Farm, Morgan's riflemen had formed a good partnership with Major Henry Dearborn's light infantrymen. So now Dearborn's unit moved out as well. The two units had learned to work together to capitalize on their strengths and protect against their weaknesses.

[Narrator]

The rifled muskets carried by Morgan's men

[Chris Wimmer]

were more accurate than the traditional style

[Narrator]

smoothbore muskets carried by Dearborn's men.

[Chris Wimmer]

But the rifles could not hold bayonets. When Morgan's men fired a volley as

[Narrator]

a unit, it meant they had to reload as a unit.

[Chris Wimmer]

If the British charged with fixed bayonets,

[Narrator]

they could devastate the riflemen. So Morgan and Dearborn developed a system.

[Chris Wimmer]

Morgan's men fired a volley and then fell back behind Dearborn's men.

[Narrator]

The infantrymen formed a protective wall wall with bayonets on their muskets which made

[Chris Wimmer]

them look like old fashioned pikemen. Morgan's men reloaded, stepped forward and blasted away again.

[Narrator]

At about two o' clock in the

[Chris Wimmer]

afternoon on October 7th, the British column formed lines of battle along a creek on the left side of the American position.

[Narrator]

Morgan's and Dearborn's units moved down from the British heights, took up an angle

[Chris Wimmer]

at the end of the British line and started the battle. As the riflemen and light infantrymen worked their system, the other two regiments which had fought at Freeman's Farm moved out again. Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned led his brigade

[Narrator]

in an assault on the center of

[Chris Wimmer]

the British line along the creek.

[Narrator]

And Brigadier General Enoch Poor took his

[Chris Wimmer]

brigade around to the right with Morgan on the left, Learned in the center and Poor on the right.

[Narrator]

The American's stronger force pushed the British

[Chris Wimmer]

reconnaissance patrol away from the Creek. After about 30 minutes of fighting, the Americans were inflicting heavy casualties on the British flanks. The British left and right were in

[Narrator]

danger of collapsing at any moment, and the Americans received another boost.

[Chris Wimmer]

On the bluff above the battle, Benedict Arnold implored Horatio Gates to allow him to command the battle in the field.

[Narrator]

Despite their quarrels over the past two

[Chris Wimmer]

and a half weeks, Gates agreed. In a scene that was described as something out of a movie, Arnold leapt onto his horse and charged down toward the battle.

[Narrator]

The soldiers on Bemis Heights cheered as

[Chris Wimmer]

Arnold galloped toward the action. In the wheat field next to the creek, the American units opened up with a deadly barrage which crumbled the flanks of the British column.

[Narrator]

The British began to retreat to the

[Chris Wimmer]

redoubt, where they had started their march as a rear guard maneuver. General Simon Fraser reformed his lines and fired at the Americans. With the combatants so close to each other, the general, high up on his

[Narrator]

horse, made a good target.

[Chris Wimmer]

One of Morgan's riflemen, often cited as

[Narrator]

Timothy Murphy, fired a ball that hit

[Chris Wimmer]

General Fraser in the stomach. The shot knocked Fraser off his horse

[Narrator]

with a fatal wound.

[Chris Wimmer]

When Fraser hit the ground, the British lost all semblance of order and ran back to their redoubt. Benedict Arnold shouted at the commanders of the three American columns to follow the British and keep up the fight. Brigadier General John Patterson's brigade of Massachusetts

[Narrator]

men joined the American lines and now

[Chris Wimmer]

four columns advance toward British redoubts in the center and on the left. Morgan and Learned attacked the redoubt on the left, while Enoch Poor and John Patterson attacked the redoubt in the center. The redoubt in the center was now the home of the survivors of the

[Narrator]

recon patrol, and they put up stiff resistance.

[Chris Wimmer]

But the redoubt on the left was in bad shape. That one was manned by about half of the German force in Burgoyne's army. As Morgan and Learned poured fire into the redoubt, the defense broke.

[Narrator]

When the German soldiers started to fall

[Chris Wimmer]

back, the commander killed four of his own men who were trying to retreat.

[Narrator]

After his cold blooded reaction, his own men shot and killed him before continuing to retreat. The Americans stormed the fort and chased the Germans. Benedict Arnold was part of the assault and he suffered a gunshot wound to the leg as he rode past the redoubt.

[Chris Wimmer]

Arnold fell to the ground with a

[Narrator]

wound which was serious but not fatal.

[Chris Wimmer]

By that time, it was late in the evening and darkness crept across the battlefield.

[Narrator]

The Americans controlled one of the four British redoubts and were putting serious pressure on a second.

[Chris Wimmer]

When night fell and the fighting stopped,

[Narrator]

the British had lost another 600 men, which included a General Simon Fraser, a colonel, and a major Burgoyne was down to about 5,000 men and he faced

[Chris Wimmer]

an American army which was nearly triple

[Narrator]

his size at about 13,000 soldiers. That night, Burgoyne moved his whole army off of the immediate battlefield and back to the biggest redoubt of the four,

[Chris Wimmer]

called the Great Redoubt.

[Narrator]

The next day, October 8, the British

[Chris Wimmer]

army retreated up to the village of

[Narrator]

Saratoga, modern day Schuylerville. The American army followed and surrounded the British. Nine days later, General John Burgoyne surrendered the British Northern army to General Horatio Gates.

[Chris Wimmer]

It was the first decisive victory in a full scale battle for the Americans and it had a profound impact on the war. The engagements on September 19 and October 7 would be collectively known as the Battle of Saratoga.

[Narrator]

With the American victory, the US had saved its war effort for the second

[Chris Wimmer]

time in 10 months.

[Narrator]

As of October 17, 1777, the British controlled the cities of New York and

[Chris Wimmer]

Philadelphia, but the Americans controlled all of the territory and rivers outside the cities. And most importantly, the success of the American Northern army had convinced the French

[Narrator]

that the Americans had a legitimate chance

[Chris Wimmer]

to win the war.

[Narrator]

Four months after Saratoga, the US And France became allies.

[Chris Wimmer]

The battles at Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights were the second major turning point of the war.

[Narrator]

The American victory was crucial, but that

[Chris Wimmer]

didn't mean the Americans had the momentum.

[Narrator]

Commander in Chief George Washington was stalled in Pennsylvania with seemingly no way to defeat the British main army. And when the war shifted to the southern colonies, the Americans suffered a pair of epic disasters before a cast of rugged frontiersmen became unlikely saviors and new

[Chris Wimmer]

leaders finally figured out how to turn the tide of the war. Next time on Legends of the Old West. In the summer of 1780, the war explodes in the South.

[Narrator]

The American Southern army suffers shocking losses.

[Chris Wimmer]

But a pair of battles in late

[Narrator]

1780 and early 1781 change everything. Daniel Morgan and the original Western frontiersman become heroes in the final episode of

[Chris Wimmer]

this three part miniseries. That's next time on Legends of the Old West.

[Narrator]

Foreign.

[Chris Wimmer]

To binge all the episodes of a new season and to listen to every episode of the podcast with no commercials. Subscribe in Apple Podcasts or sign up through the link in the Show Notes or on our website, Black Barrel Media.

[Narrator]

This series was researched, written and produced

[Chris Wimmer]

by me, Chris Wimmer. Original music by Rob Valiere. Thanks for listening.

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