"Siege 1777: The British Allied Forces" Topic

"The "British" Army that laid siege to Fort Stanwix in August of 1777 was the brainchild of British General John Burgoyne, who wished for an independent command when his superior, Canadian Governor and General Guy Carleton renewed his offensive against the Americans on Lake Champlain in the summer of 1777. Burgoyne proposed leading a large force of British regulars in a diversionary attack down the Mohawk Valley. When his political maneuvering in the winter of 1776-1777 led to him supplanting Carleton as the commander of the main army of invasion however, Burgoyne's views of the Mohawk Valley expedition changed radically. Wanting to now maximize the main army, Burgoyne justified in his own mind that the Americans could not possibly still have the larger forces that had been on the Mohawk in 1776. In addition, Burgoyne had met with Guy Johnson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, who was also in London that winter. Johnson assured Burgoyne that the Six Nations Indians and Mohawk Valley Loyalists were only awaiting the arrival of British troops to then turn out in large numbers for the king. All this would lead Burgoyne to reduce the Mohawk Valley force to an army light in British troops and artillery, that would be counting on large numbers of Indians and Loyalists to swell its numbers…"

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Armand

If you are ever in the vicinity of Rome, NY, I highly recommend a visit to the fort/park. It makes for an interesting diversion.

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Armand