Quebec reinforcments
Battle of Saratoga
At Saratoga, in upstate New York, Burgoyne faced a Continental Army led by General Horatio Gates, with General Arnold and General Daniel Morgan commanding the field. The first battle on 19 September was long and brutal with the 20th taking significant casualties: accounts record about 350 killed or wounded, from a force of 800. The Regiment fought alongside 9th, 21st 24th, 27th and 62nd Regiments, as well as German auxiliaries. An unusually high number of British officers were killed or wounded, picked off by Morgan’s company of sharpshooters. The snipers easily identified the officers by their shiny silver or brass gorgets.
“For four hours a constant blaze of fire was kept up… Men, and particularly officers dropped every moment”
Sergeant Lamb of the 9th Foot.
Initially Burgoyne gained a tactical victory initially but as skirmishes continued over the next few days, the British were deserted by their native American forces, further reducing their numbers. The British were outnumbered by at least two to one, partly down to the growing number of militia forces that continued to arrive and swell the ranks of the Continental Army. Burgoyne waited two weeks for reinforcements that would never arrive. British General Clinton had been unable to reach Burgoyne, partly because some of his forces had been diverted to Philadelphia. Burgoyne attacked again on 7 October - known as the Battle of Bemis Heights - but lost. Finally acknowledging his forces were encircled and vastly outnumbered, Burgoyne surrendered on 17 October. The defeat buoyed the morale of the Continental Army, and helped to persuade the French of British fallibility, prompting them to enter the war on the American side in 1778.
British and German troops, agreed to lay down their arms after Saratoga on condition they would return home and no longer serve in the American war. Gates agreed to the terms of this gentlemanly “convention”, but the agreement was later revoked by Congress, in what was seen by the British as a dishonourable betrayal. While most officers were eventually exchanged, many men were interned as prisoners of war. Known as the Convention Army, about 5,000 British and German troops were first held in Massachusetts, and then marched south to Virginia, a journey of 700 miles.
Prisoners of war
It was not uncommon for wives to travel with their husbands on campaigns – about 2,000 women and just over 7,000 soldiers made up the force led by Burgoyne from Canada. One woman who was celebrated for her devotion to her husband is Lady Harriet Acland who was married to Major Acland of the 20th. The major was shot through both legs during the second battle of Saratoga and taken prisoner. Lady Harriet, six months pregnant at the time, appealed to Burgoyne to let her across enemy lines to nurse her husband. When she reached the Continental forces, she also charmed the American General Gates.
The treatment of captured officers was often different to that of ordinary soldiers. While officers might be billeted with local families and invited to social events when prisoners of war, rank and file soldiers - some accompanied by wives and children -often endured poor accommodation and little food. While some of the Convention Army escaped or deserted during their five years in captivity, it is likely a significant number perished from forced marches and diseases like dysentery. Many of the 20th remained prisoners until the end of the war, returning home in 1783.
Lady Harriet Acland, Crossing the Hudson River to the American Lines. Engraved and published by Robert Pollard Engraver Aquatint by Francis Jukes November 15, 1784. Metropolitan Museum of Art