men had been
detached by Gates to his aid. Before their arrival, General Vaughan
had returned to New York, whence a reinforcement to General Howe was
then about to sail.

Great as was the injury sustained by the United States from this
enterprise, Great Britain derived from it no solid advantage. It was
undertaken at too late a period to save Burgoyne; and though the
passes in the highlands were acquired, they could not be retained. The
British had reduced to ashes every village, and almost every house
within their power; but this wanton and useless destruction served to
irritate, without tending to subdue. A keenness was given to the
resentment of the injured, which outlasted the contest between the two
nations.

The army which surrendered at Saratoga exceeded five thousand men. On
marching from Ticonderoga, it was estimated at nine thousand. In
addition to this great military force, the British lost, and the
Americans acquired, a fine train of artillery, seven thousand stand of
excellent arms, clothing for seven thousand recruits, with tents, and
other military stores, to a considerable amount.

The thanks of congress were voted to General Gates and his army; and a
medal of gold, in commemoration of this great event, was ordered to be
struck, and presented to him by the President, in the name of the
United States. Colonel Wilkinson, his Adjutant General, whom he
strongly recommended, was appointed Brigadier General by brevet.

[Illustration: The Saratoga Battle Monument

_Schuylerville, New York_

_"Nothing bespeaks more strongly the consummate tragedy of Benedict
Arnold's career than the Battle Monument which rises on the banks of
the Hudson to commemorate the victory of Saratoga. In the square shaft
are four high Gothic arches, and in these are placed heroic statues of
the generals who won the victory. Horatio Gates, unworthy though he
was, stands there in bronze. The gallant Schuyler, the intrepid
Morgan, honor the other two. But where is he whose valor turned back
the advancing Saint-Leger? whose prompt decision saved the Continental
position at Bemis Heights? whose military genius truly gained the day?
A vacant niche--empty as England's rewards, void as his own
life--speaks more eloquently than words, more strongly than
condemnation, more pitifully than tears, of a mighty career blighted
by treason and hurled into the bottomless pit of despair. This is
America's way of honoring Arnold in his dishonor."_