ched
at the principal passes on his route, and had fortified the high
grounds. The army of Burgoyne was moreover attacked by the Americans
at Stillwater, and he was forced to retreat to Saratoga. His army was
now reduced to five thousand men; he had only three days' provisions;
all the passes were filled by the enemy, and he was completely
surrounded by fifteen thousand men. Under these circumstances, he was
forced to surrender. His troops laid down their arms, but were allowed
to embark at Boston for Europe. The Americans, by this victory,
acquired forty-two pieces of brass artillery, four thousand six
hundred muskets, and an immense quantity of military stores. This
surrender of Burgoyne was the greatest disaster which the British
troops had thus far experienced, and raised the spirits of the
Americans to the highest pitch. Indeed, this surrender decided the
fate of the war, for it proved the impossibility of conquering the
Americans. It showed that they fought under infinitely greater
advantages, since it was in their power always to decline a battle,
and to choose their ground. It showed that the country presented
difficulties which were insurmountable. It mattered but little that
cities were taken, when the great body of the people resided in the
country, and were willing to make sacrifices, and were commanded by
such generals as Washington, Gates, Greene, Putnam, and Lee. The
English ministry ought to have seen the nature of the contest; but a
strange infatuation blinded the nation. There were some, however, whom
no national pride could blind. Lord Chatham was one of these men. "No
man," said this veteran statesman, "thinks more highly of the virtues
and valor of British troops than I do. I know that they can achieve
any thing except impossibilities. But the conquest of America is an
impossibility."

There was one nation in Europe who viewed the contest with different
eyes. This nation was France, then on the eve of revolution itself,
and burning with enthusiastic love of the principles on which American
independence was declared. The French government may not have admired
the American cause, but it hated England so intensely, that it was
resolved to acknowledge the independence of America, and aid the
country with its forces.

[Sidenote: Arrival of La Fayette.]

In the early part of the war, the American Congress had sent
commissioners to France, in order to obtain assistance. In consequence
of their represe