through a wilderness. General Schuyler had had trees cut down across its
woodland paths and had done his work so well that it took Burgoyne about
a day to march a mile and a half. This gave the Americans time to gather
from all quarters and bar his southward way. But many of the soldiers
had no faith in Schuyler and Congress gave the command to General
Horatio Gates.

[Sidenote: Battle of Bennington, 1777. _Hero Tales_, 59-67.]

150. Bennington, 1777.--Burgoyne had with him many cavalrymen. But
they had no horses. The army, too, was sadly in need of food. So
Burgoyne sent a force of dismounted dragoons to Bennington in southern
Vermont to seize horses and food. It happened, however, that General
Stark, with soldiers from New Hampshire, Vermont, and western
Massachusetts, was nearer Bennington than Burgoyne supposed. They killed
or captured all the British soldiers. They then drove back with great
loss a second party which Burgoyne had sent to support the first one.

[Sidenote: Battle of Oriskany, 1777.]

151. Oriskany, 1777.--Meantime St. Leger, with a large body of
Indians and Canadian frontiersmen, was marching to join Burgoyne by the
way of Lake Ontario and the Mohawk Valley. Near the site of the present
city of Rome in New York was Fort Schuyler, garrisoned by an American
force. St. Leger stopped to besiege this fort. The settlers on the
Mohawk marched to relieve the garrison and St. Leger defeated them at
Oriskany. But his Indians now grew tired of the siege, especially when
they heard that Arnold with a strong army was coming. St. Leger marched
back to Canada and left Burgoyne to his fate.

[Sidenote: First battle of Freeman's Farm, 1777.]

[Sidenote: Second battle of Freeman's Farm, 1777.]

[Sidenote: Surrender of the British at Saratoga, 1777.]

152. Saratoga, 1777.--Marching southward, on the western side of
the Hudson, Burgoyne and his army came upon the Americans in a forest
clearing called Freeman's Farm. Led by Daniel Morgan and Benedict
Arnold the Americans fought so hard that Burgoyne stopped where he was
and fortified the position. This was on September 19. The American army
posted itself near by on Bemis' Heights. For weeks the two armies faced
each other. Then, on October 7, the Americans attacked. Again Arnold led
his men to victory. They captured a fort in the centre of the British
line, and Burgoyne was obliged to retreat. But when he reached the
crossing place of the Hudson, to his dismay h