John Burgoyne

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John Burgoyne

General John Burgoyne (February 24, 1722 – June 4, 1792) was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. During the American Revolutionary War, on October 17, 1777, at Saratoga he surrendered his army of 6,000 men.

[edit] Biography

John Burgoyne was born on February 22, 1722 in Sutton near London. He was nicknamed "Gentleman Johnny". In 1743 he was given a commission to meet his debts, after which he lived abroad for seven years. By Lord Derby's intervention, Burgoyne was then reinstated at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, also called The French and Indian War, and in 1758 he became captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Foot Guards. In 1758-59, he participated in expeditions made against the French coast, and in the later year he was instrumental in introducing light cavalry into the British Army. The two regiments then formed were commanded by Eliott (afterwards Lord Heathfield) and Burgoyne. In 1761, he sat in parliament for Midhurst, and in the following year he served as brigadier-general in Portugal, winning particular distinction by his capture of Valencia d'Alcantara and of Vila Velha. In 1768, he became M.P. for Preston, and for the next few years he occupied himself chiefly with his parliamentary duties, in which he was remarkable for his general outspokenness and, in particular, for his attacks on Lord Clive. At the same time, he devoted much attention to art and drama (his first play, The Maid of the Oaks, being produced by David Garrick in 1775).

In the army he had become a major-general, having convinced King George III of General Carleton's faults and taking his place. On the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, he was appointed to a command. In 1777, he was at the head of the British reinforcements designed for the invasion of the colonies from Canada. In this disastrous expedition, he gained possession of Fort Ticonderoga (for which he was made a lieutenant-general) and Fort Edward, but, pushing on, was detached from his communications with Canada, and hemmed in by a superior force, led by Horatio Gates, at Saratoga. On October 17, 1777, his troops, 5,800 in number, laid down their arms. The success was the greatest the colonists had yet gained, and it proved the turning-point in the war. The indignation in England against Burgoyne was great. He returned at once, with the leave of the American general, to defend his conduct and demanded but never obtained a trial. He was deprived of his regiment and a governorship which he held.

In 1782, however, when his political friends came into office, he was restored to his rank, given a colonelcy and made commander-in-chief in Ireland and a privy councillor. After the fall of the Rockingham government in 1783, Burgoyne withdrew more and more into private life, his last public service being his participation in the impeachment of Warren Hastings.

In his later years, he was principally occupied in literary and dramatic work. His comedy, The Heiress, which appeared in 1786, ran through ten editions within a year, and was translated into several foreign languages. General Burgoyne, whose wife died in June 1776 during his absence in Canada, had several children (born between 1782 and 1788, John Fox, Edward, Marie and Caroline) by Susan Caulfield, an opera singer, one of whom became Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne. He died on June 4, 1792 and was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.