Historians have generally agreed that the American victory at Saratoga in the fall of 1777, was the turning point. Leading up to this, the Continental Army had seen repeated defeats that made any potential allies, like France or Spain, believe that an American victory would not be possible. The repeated defeats had started with the massive defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn/Long Island in August 1776, which led to defeats at Kip's Bay, Harlem Heights, Fort Washington, White Plains, all within a 3 month period. Washington saved his reputation and convinced enough men to enlist after their victory at the Battle of Trenton, on Christmas 1776, and then a little over a week later, at the Battle of Princeton. But these victories didn't last long, nor were they "major victories" in anyway. The summer of 1777 was terbulent, with British fighting and taking back Fort Ticonderoga in June and the Battle of Brandywine Creek, both of which were huge victories for the British, which saw the Continental Army flee Philadelphia since the British now occupied the American capital. From the outside, the American Army appeared to be constantly in retreat. That's when the battle of Saratoga came in and why it was so important. The battle is considered the first major victory for the Continental Army. As the researchers and historians at George Washington's Mount Vernon perhaps said it best when they said:
The two-staged Battle of Saratoga, fought on September 19 and October 7, 1777, served as a turning moment in the American Revolution. Without the victory at Saratoga, American forces could not have obtained crucial French support, and the French might not have had as much faith in the war effort.
The battle happened just outside of Saratoga, New York. The British were led by General John Burgoyne with 7,200 men under his command. Gen. Heratio Gates led 9,000 Americans but was joined by 2,000 soldiers later on. The battle was actually divided into two parts, with the first taking place on September 19 and the second a few weeks later, on October 7. The British lost the first encounter, with Burgoyne choosing to pull back and wait for reinforcements, which never came. After he realized this, he entrenched his soldiers near Saratoga, but Gates then came in, surrounded them, and soon after, the British surrendered. This was the first and arguably most important victory, except for Yorktown. Troop morale rose among Americans, leading to re-enlistments from seasoned troops. More important, America's ambassadors to countries like France, leveraged this major victory as evidence that the United States could win this war. Without their support, America's victory in the war would have been unlikely, at least in the eyes of 1777 American leadership.