Anaxagoras
Banned
The American forces which defeated John Burgoyne and forced him to surrender at Saratoga were commanded by General Horatio Gates. Although his victory was one of the most pivotal in American history (indeed, the history of the world), Gates has not received a distinguished place in military history.
There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the American high command at Saratoga was bitterly divided between Gates on the one hand and Philip Schuyler and Benedict Arnold on the other. Gates' enemies spread word that Saratoga was won in spite, and not because of, Gates' leadership. Arnold, in particular, took the field to fight even after Gates had relieved him of command.
Second, Gates seems to have been behind a loosely organized effort to disparage Washington known as the Conway Cabal. Some historians have made more out of this than they probably should have, elevating it to a conspiracy to get Washington removed from command and Gates put in his place. Whatever it was, it didn't achieve anything other than discrediting gates with most of the Continental Congress.
Third, Gates' only major command after Saratoga was the army in South Carolina that was disastrously defeated by the British at the Battle of Camden in the summer of 1780. Gates outnumbered Cornwallis, but made foolish tactical decisions and suffered one of the worst drubbings of any American army in the war. Worst of all for Gates' reputation, he fled the field in unseemly haste and didn't stop riding hell-for-leather until he reached the town of Charlotte, something like sixty miles away, leaving the remnants of his army behind.
Here's my question. Setting aside what happened with the Conway Cabal and the Battle of Camden, does Gates deserve credit for winning the Battle of Saratoga, or were his American enemies right in disparaging his leadership in that battle?
There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the American high command at Saratoga was bitterly divided between Gates on the one hand and Philip Schuyler and Benedict Arnold on the other. Gates' enemies spread word that Saratoga was won in spite, and not because of, Gates' leadership. Arnold, in particular, took the field to fight even after Gates had relieved him of command.
Second, Gates seems to have been behind a loosely organized effort to disparage Washington known as the Conway Cabal. Some historians have made more out of this than they probably should have, elevating it to a conspiracy to get Washington removed from command and Gates put in his place. Whatever it was, it didn't achieve anything other than discrediting gates with most of the Continental Congress.
Third, Gates' only major command after Saratoga was the army in South Carolina that was disastrously defeated by the British at the Battle of Camden in the summer of 1780. Gates outnumbered Cornwallis, but made foolish tactical decisions and suffered one of the worst drubbings of any American army in the war. Worst of all for Gates' reputation, he fled the field in unseemly haste and didn't stop riding hell-for-leather until he reached the town of Charlotte, something like sixty miles away, leaving the remnants of his army behind.
Here's my question. Setting aside what happened with the Conway Cabal and the Battle of Camden, does Gates deserve credit for winning the Battle of Saratoga, or were his American enemies right in disparaging his leadership in that battle?