SARATOGA: A Military History of the Decisive Campaign of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

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The months-long 1777 Saratoga campaign was one of the most decisive of the entire Revolutionary War. The crushing British defeat prompted France to recognize the American colonies as an independent nation, declare war on England, and commit money, ships, arms, and men to the rebellion. John Luzader's impressive Saratoga: A Military History of the Decisive Campaign of the American Revolution is the first all-encompassing objective account of these pivotal months in American history.

British General John Burgoyne assembled his command at St. Johns in June 1777. His force consisted of numerous warships, more than 130 pieces of artillery, and 7,800 men including two large divisions of rested veteran British Regulars. Burgoyne intended to capture Albany, New York, wrest control of the vital Hudson River Valley from the colonists, and divide the Northern American colonies in half. Initial colonial opposition included widely separated fixed positions, small garrisons and commands, and feuding American commanders. Burgoyne's primary opponent was General Horatio Gates, a haughty and divisive leader whose 8,000 men included several capable field commanders, including Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan. The series of battles large and small these men would engineer stunned the world and spun the colonial rebellion in an entirely different direction.

The British offensive kicked off with a stunning victory at Fort Ticonderoga, followed by a sharp successful engagement at Hubbardton. Other actions erupted at Fort Stanwix, Oriskany, and Bennington. However, serious supply problems dogged Burgoyne's column and, assistance from General William Howe failed to materialize. Faced with hungry troops and a powerful gathering of American troops, Burgoyne decided to take the offensive by crossing the Hudson River and moving against Gates. The complicated maneuvers and command frictions that followed sparked two major battles, one at Freeman's Farm (September 19) and the second at Bemis Heights (October 7). Seared into the public consciousness as "the battle of Saratoga," the engagements resulted in the humiliating defeat and ultimately the surrender of Burgoyne's entire army.

Decades in the making, former National Park Service staff historian John Luzader's Saratoga combines strategic, political, and tactical history into a compelling portrait of this decisive campaign. His sweeping prose relies heavily upon original archival research and the author's personal expertise with the challenging terrain. Complete with stunning original maps and photos, Saratoga will take its place as one of the important and illuminating campaign studies ever written.

About the Author: A veteran of World War II and graduate of West Virginia University and the University of Texas, John Luzader worked for the U.S. Department of Defense as a research historian. Transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service, he conducted research for the preservation and interpretation of the Saratoga National Historic Park. Luzader planned and researched museum and outdoor exhibits for twelve national historical parks and served as the NPS's central history office staff historian for the colonial and revolutionary periods. He lives with his wife Jean in a West Virginia retirement community.

FINALIST / RUNNER-UP: The Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Operational / Battle History, 2008

REVIEWS

"...provides a very balanced account of the campaign...includes excellent maps to follow along with the battles...an excellent account and analysis of the Saratoga campaign of 1777."Collected Miscellany, 6/2009

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Savas Beatie (October 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932714448
• ISBN-13: 978-1932714449
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #350,219 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best campaign studies I have ever read!, January 5, 2009

By	James Durney (Tampa Bay area) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Park historians form a special resource with knowledge gained from long intimate association with the subject. After years of study, discussion, answering questions and walking the ground, they have unique qualifications that very few posses. All of them can talk about their subject, giving intelligent presentations tailored to the level of the audience with no visible effort. Those that can write produce some of the best military history available. These books are like their talks, intelligent, comprehensive and detailed. They are treasures that transport us into the thick of things, allowing us to understand the why and how of the action without boring us. After such a book, the reader knows that the experience has been educational and enjoyable. These books are money well spent for the experienced armature historian or the novice entering the subject. John F. Luzader is one of the select few, a historian with in-depth knowledge, love of the subject and the ability to communicate. This is his first book and if a fitting monument to the time, he "indulged my hobbies" with the National Park Service.
He has written one of the best campaign studies I have read. It has the right amount of detail but not so much that the story is lost. Are you unsure about 18th Century military terms and tactics? No problem, the author anticipates this problem and handles things. At the proper place, we take a slight detour to cover the problems that Morgan's riflemen face because they have rifles not smoothbore muskets. At another point, the author explains the difference between and the use of light and line infantry. Not sure what makes a Dragoon, Grenadiers, Jagers or Chasseurs, check Appendix J or relax and let John tell you when we really need to know. The author displays a sure hand in bring us along and providing the information and level of detail as we need it.
The book is a complete history of the events leading up to the campaign both political and military. How these events control and modify the planning is completely covered. The military campaign, the movement and battles is the heart of the book. Wonderful maps bolster an excellent narration. Whenever you need a map, one appears as if by magic. While 16 maps may seem few, placement and detail make them so useful that there is no "missing map" problem.
In the 1700s, politics controlled everything. Nepotism, favoritism, class and area play into every decision. Rank was a means of personal wealth and favor of the King or Congress was all-important. The author manages this and how it influences the campaign well. The interplay between Schuyler, Gates & Arnold is detailed. The role of the Continental Congress and General George Washington in all of this is not ignored. On the English side, General Burgoyne has his own set of problems in Canada, New York, Philadelphia and London. The author provides us with just enough detail to convey the problems and reasons for this without bogging down in this morass.
The Appendix is a joy! In addition to the expected chronology of events, orders of battle and army organizations are a modern driving tour with photographs. For those wishing more detailed coverage, an appendix covers the debate on Mount Defiance non-fortification, Gates & Arnold at freeman's Farm and Burgoyne's "reconnaissance in force" objections. The appendix covers over 70 pages of detailed text, charts, maps and pictures.
The writing is crisp, direct and intelligent. The story moves along while instructing the reader. The participants speak at appropriate times. The study is complete with an excellent introduction and conclusion. This is one of the best campaign studies I have ever read. My area is not the American Revolution and I hesitated for sometime before getting this book. I am very glad that I did get the book.
One last thing, books are a physical object. As such, their appeal to our senses is part of the enjoyment. This is a beautiful book! Starting with the full cover dust jacket, to the deep black hard cover with gold letters, continuing with quality paper, excellent maps and illustrations, this is a beautiful book! I am a book person and all books look good to me but very few books are as beautiful as this one. Saratoga is the combination of beauty and brains that few books can boast about.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saratoga - A Military History of the Decisive Campaign of the American Revolution, by John F. Luzader, April 16, 2009

By	Peter Ford - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Saratoga
A Military History of the Decisive Campaign of the American Revolution
John F. Luzader

As Eric H. Schnitzer, Park Ranger and Historian at Saratoga National Park (and former Royal Welch Fusilier in America under the command of the renowned Lt Col Peter L. Ford), states so well in the foreword - "According to many historians, history is replete with `turning points.' Each is a catalyst upon which a social movement, a government, a technology, or a war made a decisive turn and forever changed the destiny of overall history." But, "unlike previous authors, however, John Luzader writes with a thorough understanding of the subject, made possible by decades of writing and research. As a former park historian of Saratoga National Historical Park, he is able to bring to bear his years of methodical and experienced study and deep access to the park's unparalleled collection of source material related to the northern campaign... (he) has walked the battlefield countless times, is intimately familiar with the landscape he writes about, and understands the critical role it played in both the strategic and tactical situations faced by the armies."

Mr. Luzader provides a well written and easy to follow guide to this historically significant battle, starting with a brief back ground of "The Long Road to Saratoga" and the "Dramatis Personae" that made up the key players in this drama (including pictures of them). He then proceeds to take the reader in hand down the long winding trail (that is the way of all history), with insightful and interesting side paths to all the major events that orbited the main affair, as well as a clear, step-by-step guidance through the Battle of Saratoga itself (including Freeman's Farm, Bemis Heights, and all the secret nooks and crannies that make history so wonderfully interesting). Some of the most interesting, and enlightening sidebars, offered throughout by the writer are the what-ifs and possible alternatives to many of the decisions made - for example: Burgoyne's options after Ticonderoga were (a) the overland route through Skenesborough that he actually took, or (b) to pull back and follow the original plan by going down Lake George, or (c) he could have sent a "flying column" after St Clair while the rest of the army went back to the Lake George route. So why didn't he chose one of the alternatives? Read the book and find out!

This is an author that really knows his stuff - and it shows: from simple maps showing unit movements, outlines of army organizations, and detailed lists of unit strengths and casualties. Why he even has a "Glossary of Military Terms" in the back for the novice (about time someone did that), as well as "A Modern photographic Tour of Saratoga National Historic Park".

This is a well-written, deeply researched and very knowledgeable book with great insight on the subject that I found both easy to read and quite interesting (dare I say, at times even fascinating). I highly recommend this inclusive study of the military and political history of the multifaceted story of one of the great "turning points of the American Revolution".

Actually, if it weren't for the justifiable fear of the usual butcher-job that Hollywood does to history, I would say that this book would make an excellent basis for a grand epic - but let's hope that Mel never reads it.


Lt Col Peter L. Ford, RWFA (ret'd)
Member of The America Revolutionary War Roundtable of NY

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendent military analysis of the turning point in the American Revolution, March 6, 2009

By	Richard Joffe (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a superlative work of historical scholarship and a riveting read, in a class with David Hackett Fischer's "Washington's Crossing," which won the Pulitzer Prize.

It focuses first and foremost on the tactical decisions made by the relevant British, German and American officers--primarily generals and colonels--throughout the course of the Saratoga campaign, discussing each of the decisions sequentially and with unprecedented detail, from the preparations made by Burgoyne to invade the rebellious American colonies from Canada with an apparent military juggernaut, to the surprising surrender four months later, at Saratoga, New York, of Burgoyne's entire army.

One by one, the author considers every point during the campaign that required a decision on either side, whether long before or during a battle, and whether from the commanding heights or in the middle of the battlefield, carefully analyzing the options presented to the relevant officer, the psychological factors that impacted his decision making process, the effects of the decison, and whether a different decision would have been better or worse.

The author is by no means oblivious to such other concerns as the adversaries' over-arching strategies, the relations between each army and its government, and the experience of the rank and file soldiers; but these concerns are peripheral to the author's main narrative. Thus, the author's methodology has something in common with that of the institutional military historian, whose primary purpose is to record and evaluate the performance of the members of a particular military organization. Indeed, on a few occasions the imperatives of this methodology momentarily interfere with the forward motion of the narrative. For the most part, however, the author applies his methodology with such superlative timing, insight, objectivity and empathy that the ultimate result transcends any parochial methodological origin, gradually and cumulatively producing the experience of a profound historical process that was shaped by nature, time and chance, collective action and individual personality.

Meanwhile, along the way, the author addresses more convincingly than anyone has ever done before the famous questions and debates to which the story of Saratoga inevitably gives rise, including: Why did General Howe fail, as originally planned, to bring or send a second British army from New York City to join with General Burgoyne at Albany, and instead leave Burgoyne stranded on the edge of the Adirondack wilderness, surrounded by a combined force of Continental soldiers and Patriot militia that gradually had grown to a size four times as large as the army of Burgoyne? What role in the American victory was played by Benedict Arnold, one of America's ablest generals, who subsequent to Saratoga became America's most infamous traitor? Why did the surrender terms permit the British army to return to Britain? And, of course, how did an American army of relatively untrained soldiers and militia, organized by an ad hoc national government, so completely defeat a British and German army of veteran professionals, organized by the world's greatest empire?

Arguably, of all the battles ever fought on American soil, only the battle of Gettysburg was as historically significant as Saratoga. This book is an accomplishment worthy of its momentous subject.