Burgoyne lays down his sword; an entire British army surrenders at Saratoga

For nearly four months, British General John Burgoyne had pushed south from Canada toward Albany, counting on reinforcements that never came. On October 17, 1777, with his army surrounded near Saratoga, New York, Burgoyne surrendered to American General Horatio Gates, handing over 5,800 troops. It was the largest capitulation of the war so far, and word of it reached Paris within weeks…