1777

Tipping Point at Saratoga

By: Dean Snow

Narrated by: Bob Souer

In the autumn of 1777, near Saratoga, New York, an inexperienced and improvised American army led by General Horatio Gates faced off against the highly trained British and German forces led by General John Burgoyne. The British strategy in confronting the Americans in upstate New York was to separate rebellious New England from the other colonies. Despite inferior organization and training, the Americans exploited access to fresh reinforcements of men and materiel and ultimately handed the British a stunning defeat.

Assimilating the archaeological remains from the battlefield along with the many letters, journals, and memoirs of the men and women in both camps, Dean Snow's 1777 provides a richly detailed narrative of the two battles fought at Saratoga over the course of 33 tense and bloody days. While the contrasting personalities of Gates and Burgoyne are well known, they are but two of the many actors who make up the larger drama of Saratoga. Snow highlights famous and obscure participants alike, from the brave but now notorious turncoat Benedict Arnold to Frederika von Riedesel, the wife of a British major general who later wrote an important eyewitness account of the battles.

©2016 Oxford University Press (P)2017 Tantor

Very Good

The author is an archeologist by trade and how he tells this story follows that way of thinking. This book is written in chronological order siting specific times and interweaving the back stories of the British, German and Americans, including the stories of the wives of the combatants. It is an intriguing examination of the tipping point in the American Revolution.

Saratoga

Very thorough. Detailed from beginning to end. Interesting and informative about an important time in our history

A thorough and enlightening account of the battle

Well done! I found it to be a complete and enthralling account of the pivotal battle that shifted the tide toward American independence.

Excellent timeline of the events of this historic battle

The author does a excellent job painting a picture of the events of the turning point of the American Revolution

Rich detail makes for a great story

Took about an hour to get used to the intense hour by hour account laid out in this book. Really came to love it as it enabled me to really grasp and envision what it would have been like to be there in Saratoga during that late Summer and Fall of 1777. Would definitely recommend if you are into Revolutionary War history.

most detailed account that I have seen

Snow goes back to the original sources written by the individuals that were at Saratoga. he also finds the times for mots actions by using these sources which leads the reader to a better understanding of the events. Snow also uses the sources to discuss the events before and after each of the two battles. The reader gets a clearer sense of what Gates, Burgoyne, and their subordinates knew, thought they knew, and did not know. Other books that I have read have given short shrift to the time between the second battle and the signing of the Convention. Snow shows the reader how both Gates and Burgoyne dithered enough to lead the armies to the actual end point. I came away with a much greater understanding of the armies and their actions.
My one complaint comes from the book's beginning. It appears to me that Snow did not consult primary sources for these actions. Snow states that Schuyler was the one canceled any plans to fortify Mount Sugarloaf (later Mount Defiance), when action on fortifying Sugarloaf should have happened in 1776 when the American army's size was three times what it was in 1777. St. Clair, Ticonderoga's commander was in command for less than a month before Burgoyne arrived and had nowhere near enough men to dfend the works,let alone build more. Seth Warner may have commanded a militia brigade at Saratoga, but he had commanded one of the continental 'additional' regiments months before at Hubbardton. There he commanded his men to disperse and regather at Rutland. Andthese men were the backbone of the group that he led to bennington, and, from what I read, were the backbone of his militia brigade.
Snow points out the feud between gates and Schuyler, but only vaguely hints at the real source of the problems: the Congress. Sectional loyalty and politicking led Congress to promote the wrong generals and appoint a bevy of foreign officers ahead of desrving American officers. One such was Roche de Fermoy who commanded Fort Independence (across the narrows from Ticonderoga). When St. Clair ordered a clandestine retreat from Ticonderoga, Fermoy got drunk and set his offices on fire, thus alerting Burgoyne to the withdrawal. It is doubtful at best that the british could have caught up to the Americans without Fermoy's alerting the British. There were good foreign officers of course, but they were outnumbered by the bad ones, but the members of Congress presumed that they (foreigners and congressmen) knew better than the American officers who were actually in the field.
So I started out questioning Snow early in the book, but he really delivered after that.

Major turning point in the American Revolution.

The Archeologist’ viewpoint of the battlefield has a huge benefit to our understanding of the battlefield. The structure of the narrative utilizing contemporary letters is a great storytelling technique. My only quibble is this battle gave courage to the French to become our allies. This in turn spread the British Navy much more thinly. The battle of the Capes which resulted in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown can be indirectly traced to the Battle of Saratoga. Great book.

Very Interesting & Factual

I highly recommended for anyone that has a thirst for knowledge about history and the revolutionary war.

Excellent History

Despite growing up and living in Upstate NY and being a history buff, I had never studied the battle of Saratoga. This book was excellent in conveying the events and personalities of the battle. The use of primary sources was outstanding. The only criticism is Audible's failure to provide the relevant maps and illustrations as a PDF supplement.

Fascinating timeline of events leading up to and including the surrender by the British at the battles of Saratoga

This book is written in a timeline format so even if you’ve read other accounts of the battles of Saratoga this is a good addition to those readings because it’s set up a little differently. The narrator speaks well and it is not difficult to listen to for extended amounts of time.