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John Burgoyne

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For other people named John Burgoyne, see John Burgoyne (disambiguation).

{{Infobox military person |name= John Burgoyne |birth_date = (1722-02-24)24 February 1722 |death_date = 4 August 1792(1792-08-04) (aged 70) |birth_place= Sutton, Bedfordshire |death_place= |placeofburial=Westminster Abbey |image= BurgoyneByReynolds.jpg |caption=Portrait by Joshua Reynolds, c. 1766 |nickname=Gentleman Johnny |allegiance=  Great Britain |serviceyears= 1743–1777, 1782–1784 |rank= General |branch= British Army |commands= Commander-in-Chief, Ireland |unit= |battles= Seven Years' War
American War of Independence |awards= Privy Council of Great Britain |laterwork=Member of the House of Commons of Parliament }'s march on Albany June–October 1777]]

Saratoga campaign

Further information: Saratoga campaign

The following year, having convinced King George III and his government of Carleton's faults, Burgoyne was given command of the British forces charged with gaining control of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River valley. The plan, largely of his own creation, was for Burgoyne and his force to cross Lake Champlain from Quebec and capture Ticonderoga before advancing on Albany, New York, where they would rendezvous with another British army under General Howe coming north from New York City, and a smaller force that would come down the Mohawk River valley under Barry St. Leger. This would divide New England from the southern colonies, and, it was believed, make it easier to end the rebellion.

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 Charles James Fox 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 Quebec would be aided by the movements of two other large British forces under Generals Howe and Clinton who would support the advance. However, Lord Germain's orders dispatched from London were not clear on this point, with the effect that Howe took no action to support Burgoyne, and Clinton moved from New York too late and in too little strength to be any great help to Burgoyne.

As a result of this miscommunication, Burgoyne ended up conducting the campaign largely single-handedly. Even though he was not aware of this yet, he was still reasonably confident of success. Having amassed an army of over 7,000 troops in Quebec, 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 sceptical 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, decided to break his communications with Quebec, and was eventually hemmed in by a superior force led by American Major General Horatio Gates. Several attempts to break through hulks big mighty claws and stufff ahhhh the enemy lines were repulsed at Saratoga in September and October 1777. On 17 October 1777, Burgoyne surrendered his entire army, numbering 5,800. This was the greatest victory the colonists had yet gained, and it proved to be the turning point in the war.

Surrender of General Burgoyne by John Trumbull

Convention Army

Further information: Convention Army

Rather than an outright unconditional surrender, Burgoyne had agreed to a Convention that involved 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 Quebec 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 the governorship of Fort William in Scotland, which he had held since 1769. Following the defeat, France recognised the United States and entered the war on 6 February 1778, transforming it into a global conflict.

Although Burgoyne at the time was widely held to blame for the defeat, historians have over the years shifted responsibility for the disaster at Saratoga to Lord Germain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Germain had overseen the overall strategy for the campaign and had significantly neglected to order General Howe to support Burgoyne's invasion, instead leaving him to believe that he was free to launch his own attack on Philadelphia.

Burgoyne's London home in later life

Later life

Previously Burgoyne had been a Tory-leaning supporter of the North government but following his return from Saratoga he began to associate with the Rockingham Whigs. In 1782 when his political friends came into office, Burgoyne 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 was his participation in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings. He died quite unexpectedly on 4 August 1792 at his home in Mayfair, after having been seen the previous night at the theatre in apparent good health. Burgoyne is buried in Westminster Abbey, in the North Walk of the Cloisters.

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 Hugh Talbot Burgoyne, VC.

Dramatist

In his time Burgoyne was a notable playwright, writing a number of popular plays. The most notable were The Maid of the Oaks and The Heiress (1786). He assisted Richard Brinsley Sheridan in his production of The Camp, which he may have co-authored.[1] He also wrote the libretti for William Jackson's only successful opera The Lord of the Manor (1780). He also wrote a translated semi-opera version of Michel-Jean Sedaine's work Richard Coeur de lion with music by Thomas Linley the elder for the Drury Lane Theatre where it was very successful in 1788.[2] Had it not been for his role in the American War of Independence, Burgoyne would most likely be foremost remembered today as a dramatist.

Works

Legacy

John Burgoyne has often been portrayed by historians and commentators as a classic example of the marginally-competent aristocratic British general who acquired his rank through political connections rather than ability.[3] Accounts of the lavish lifestyle he maintained on the Saratoga campaign, combined with a gentlemanly bearing and his career as a playwright led less-than-friendly contemporaries to caricature him, as historian George Billias writes, "a buffoon in uniform who bungled his assignments badly".[4] Much of the historical record, Billias notes, is based upon these characterisations.[3] Billias opines that Burgoyne was a ruthless and risk-taking general with a keen perception of his opponents, and that he was also a perceptive social and political commentator.[5]

Burgoyne has made appearances as a character in historical and alternative history fiction. He appears as a character in George Bernard Shaw's play The Devil's Disciple and its 1959 and 1978 film adaptions, portrayed by Laurence Olivier and Ian Richardson respectively. Historical novels by Chris Humphreys that are set during the Saratoga campaign also feature him, while alternate or mystical history versions of his campaign are featured in For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel and the 1975 CBS Radio Mystery Theater play "Windandingo".

Notes

  1. ^ Thomson p.120-121
  2. ^ Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John, eds. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)‎
  3. ^ a b Billias, p. 143
  4. ^ Billias, p. 142
  5. ^ Billias, p. 144

Sources

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Burgoyne.


Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Midhurst
1761–1768
With: William Hamilton 1761–1765
Bamber Gascoyne 1765–1768 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Preston
1768–1792
With: Sir Henry Hoghton, Bt 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Ireland
1782–1784 		Succeeded by

{{Persondata | NAME = Burgoyne, John | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION =British general and playwright, defeated in the 1777 Saratoga campaign | DATE OF BIRTH = 24 February 1722 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Sutton, Bedfordshire | DATE OF DEATH = 4 August 1792 | PLACE OF DEATH = [[

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