John_Burgoyne

John Burgoyne

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General John Burgoyne (February 24, 1722 – August 4, 1792) was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. During the American Revolutionary War, on October 17, 1777, at Saratoga he surrendered his army of 9,000 men.

Early biography

John Burgoyne was born on February 24, 1722 in Sutton near (and now part of) London. He attended the prestigious Westminster School, as did many British army officers of the time. In 1740 he purchased a commission in the 13th Light Dragoons, a fashionable cavalry regiment, and soon acquired the nickname "Gentleman Johnny". He became well known for his stylish uniforms and general high living which saw him run up large debts. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1741.

In 1743 Burgoyne eloped with Lady Charlotte Stanley, the daughter of one of Britain's leading politicians Lord Derby, after which he lived abroad for seven years. By Lord Derby's intervention, in an act of forgiveness, Burgoyne was then reinstated at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War (known to English speakers in North America as the French and Indian War), and in 1758 he became captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Coldstream Guards.

After the death of his wife in 1776, Burgoyne had four children by his mistress Susan Caulfield; one was Field Marshal John Fox Burgoyne, father of Royal Navy Captain Hugh Talbot Burgoyne, VC.

Seven Years War

In 1758–59, he participated in several expeditions made against the French coast, and in the latter year he was instrumental in introducing light cavalry into the British Army. The two regiments then formed were commanded by George Eliott (afterwards Lord Heathfield) and Burgoyne. This was a revolutionary step, and Burgoyne was a pioneer in the early development of British light cavalry. Burgoyne admired independent thought amongst common soldiers, and encouraged his men to use their own initiative, in stark contrast to the established system employed at the time by the British army.

In 1761, he sat in parliament for Midhurst, and in the following year he served as a Brigadier-general in Portugal, winning particular distinction by his capture of Valencia de Alcántara and of Vila Velha de Ródão, playing a major part in repulsing a large Spanish force bent on invading Portugal.

In 1768, he became a member of Parliament for Preston, and for the next few years he occupied himself chiefly with his parliamentary duties, in which he was remarkable for his general outspokenness and, in particular, for his attacks on Lord Clive, who was at the time considered the nation's leading soldier.

At the same time, he devoted much attention to art and drama (his first play, The Maid of the Oaks, being produced by David Garrick in 1775).

Early Revolutionary War

In the army he had become a major-general. On the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, he was appointed to a command. He arrived in Boston in 1775 a few weeks after the first shots of the war had been fired at Lexington and Concord. He participated as part of the garrison during the Siege of Boston, although he did not see action at the Battle of Bunker Hill like many of his contemporaries. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities he returned to England, long before the rest of the garrison evacuated the city in March 1776.

In 1776, he was at the head of the British reinforcements that sailed down the Saint Lawrence River,with the intention both of relieving Quebec, which was under siege by the Continental army, and of subsequently invading the colonies from Canada. The British successfully relieved the besieged garrison, but their attempts to invade New York failed, largely, Burgoyne believed, because of a lack of boldness on the part of the British commander.

Saratoga Campaign

The following year, having convinced King George III and his government of General Carleton's faults, Burgoyne took his place. In 1777 he was given command of the British forces in Canada and charged with the implementation of a plan largely of his own creation that would see Burgoyne and his force crossing Lake Champlain before advancing on Albany, New York, where they would rendezvous with another British army coming north from New York city and thereby, it was believed, end the entire war virtually at a stroke.

From the beginning Burgoyne was vastly overconfident. Leading what he believed was an overwhelming force, he saw the campaign largely as a stroll that would make him a national hero who had saved the rebel colonies for the crown. Before leaving London he had wagered a friend ten pounds that he would return victorious within a year. He refused to heed more cautious voices, both British and American, that suggested a successful campaign using the route he proposed was impossible, as the failed attempt the previous year had shown.

Underlining the plan was the belief that Burgoyne's aggressive thrust from Canada would be aided by the movements of two other large British forces under General Howe and Sir Henry Clinton who would support the advance. However the orders dispatched from London were not clear on this point, meaning that Howe took no action to support Burgoyne, while Clinton moved from New York too late and in too little strength to be any great help to Burgoyne.

This left Burgoyne to conduct the campaign largely single-handedly. Even though he was not aware of this yet, he could still be reasonably confident of success. Having amassed an army of over 7,000 troops in Canada - Burgoyne was also led to believe by reports that he could rely on the support of large numbers of Native Americans and American Loyalists who would rally to the flag once the British came South. Even if the countryside was not as pro-British as expected, much of the area between Lake Champlain and Albany was underpopulated anyway, and Burgoyne was skeptical any major enemy force could gather there.

The campaign was initially successful. Burgoyne gained possession of the vital outposts of Fort Ticonderoga (for which he was made a lieutenant-general) and Fort Edward, but, pushing on, was detached from his communications with Canada, and hemmed in by a superior force, led by Horatio Gates, at Saratoga. Several attempts to break through the enemy lines were repulsed. On October 17, 1777, his troops, 5,800 in number, laid down their arms. The success was the greatest the colonists had yet gained, and it proved the turning-point in the war in the Northern Theatre.

Convention Army

Rather than an outright unconditional surrender, Burgoyne had agreed to a Convention that would involve his men surrendering their weapons, and returning to Europe with a pledge not to return to North America. Burgoyne had been most insistent on this point, even suggesting he would try to fight his way back to Canada if it was not agreed. Soon afterwards the Continental Congress, urged by George Washington, repudiated the treaty and imprisoned the remnants of the army in Massachusetts and Virginia, where they were sometimes maltreated . This was widely seen as revenge for the poor British treatment of Continental prisoners.

Following Saratoga, the indignation in Britain against Burgoyne was great. He returned at once, with the leave of the American general, to defend his conduct and demanded but never obtained a trial. He was deprived of his regiment and a governorship which he held. Following the defeat, France recognized the United States and entered the war on February 6 1778, transforming it into a global conflict.

While Burgoyne at the time was widely held to blame for the defeat, over the years responsibility for the disaster at Saratoga shifted to Lord George Germain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Germain had overseen the overall strategy for the campaign and had significantly neglected to order General William Howe, commander of another, larger army in North America, to move and support Burgoyne's invasion, instead leaving him to believe that he was free to launch his own attack on the rebel capital at Philadelphia. As a result Burgoyne was left stranded and outnumbered at Saratoga.

Later life

In 1782, however, when his political friends came into office, he was restored to his rank, given a colonelcy and made commander-in-chief in Ireland and a privy councillor. After the fall of the Rockingham government in 1783, Burgoyne withdrew more and more into private life, his last public service being his participation in the impeachment of Warren Hastings. Burgoyne is buried in Westminster Abbey, in the North Walk of the Cloisters, where he was a student as a child and where he spent the remaining years of his life.

Dramatist

In his time Burgoyne was a notable playwright. He wrote a number of hit plays - the most notable of which were The Maid of the Oaks and The Heiress. Had it not been for his role at Saratoga, Burgoyne would most likely be foremost remembered today as a dramatist.

Popular culture

Burgoyne appears in the historical novel Jack Absolute by Chris Humphreys set during the Saratoga campaign, and in its prequel The Blooding of Jack Absolute and sequel Absolute Honour.

Burgoyne appeared in George Bernard Shaw's play The Devil's Disciple, and was portrayed by Sir Laurence Olivier in the 1959 film of that play. Ironically, Olivier, like Burgoyne, is also buried in Westminster Abbey, albeit Poets' Corner.