Location of British General John Burgoyne’s headquarters after the First Battle of Saratoga, Saratoga National Historical Park

SARATOGA BATTLEFIELD TOUR

STOP 8: BEHIND BRITISH LINES / BURGOYNE’S HEADQUARTERS

 Allow 5 minutes for a visit

Stop 8 on the Saratoga Battlefield Tour is the location of British General John Burgoyne’s headquarters. This was also the location of the camp for the British army after the First Battle of Saratoga (aka Battle of Freeman’s Farm) on September 19, 1777. In addition to the soldiers, roughly 400 women and children who followed their husbands and fathers camped here as well.

Burgoyne also returned here after being defeated in the Second Battle of Saratoga (aka Battle of Bemus Heights) on October 7th to decide his next move. With promised reinforcements from New York City still not having arrived, he saw no way to continue his march south to capture Albany, New York. The next evening he and his men slipped out of the area under the cover of darkness and headed north to the village of Saratoga (now Schuylerville).

Other than seeing the large field where the British camp was established, there are wayside exhibits about General Burgoyne, camp life during the American Revolution, and the soldiers who made up the British professional army.