The condition of the army under Burgoyne was now almost desperate. Their stock of provisions was nearly exhausted ; the Indians, their allies, who had marked the service with bloodshed and cruelty, withdrew from them in great numbers, and, to complete the mortifica tions of the general, he had received no intelligence from Clinton, whose assistance or co-operation he had long expected. After some days, however, a letter from that officer arrived, informing Burgoyne, that he intend ed to make a diversion in his favour: but, as this aid was distant and dubious, the communication of the design had little effect in raising the spirits of the soldiers, or animating their general with confidence.
In their present distressful circumstances, it was ob vious, that nothing but a victory could save the royalists from the ignominy of surrendering at discretion. Ac cordingly, on the 7th of October, the English general moved with his whole strength towards the camp of the provincials. His design was quickly perceived by Gates, the American commander, who resolved to at tack him without loss of time : the assault was impetu ous and bloody; but the English, resisting for a while, at last gave way, and Fraser, one of their ablest gene rals, was killed on the spot. Arnold pressed hard on the right, where Burgoyne commanded in person ; and though the king's troops in that quarter displayed their wonted courage, the British were compelled to retreat, and, with the utmost difficulty, regained their camp. They were pursued to their entrenchments by Arnold, and furiously assaulted; but that officer having received a dangerous wound at the very moment when his divi sion was entering the lines, the Americans were forced to retire. On the left, the provincials were still more successful ; the Germans were routed with great loss ; colonel Breyman ; and all the artillery and baggage remained in the hands of the colonial army.
This was the most fatal disaster which the English had experienced since the attack at Bunker's Hill. The number of killed and wounded, both of the Germans and British, was very great; but the chief misfortune was, that the Americans were now enabled so to ar range their posts, as to inclose the army, and effectually to prevent their escape. There was only one road by which it was possible for them to retreat. It was, there fore, resolved to repair the bridges on the way to Fort Edward ; to decamp suddenly, and march towards that place in the night ; and, forcing the passages of the Hudson, to effect an union with sir Henry Clinton, and the troops under his command. It was resolved also,
that the baggage should be left, and that the soldiers should carry their provisions attached to their knap sacks. All these resolutions indicate the extreme ne cessity to which the British were reduced. The design, however, was found to be impracticable. Intelligence was received, that the Americans had erected strong batteries at the fords ; that they had taken possession of an eminence between Fort Edward and Fort George, from which, it was said, they could annoy the army on their march ; that their numbers were daily increasing; and that the fresh troops, as well as their associates, were animated with all the zeal of men, ardent in the cause of freedom, and their country. The state of the royal army, and of its general, was now truly deplorable. Burgoyne himself had projected the expedition ; an officer of tried abilities had been removed to make way for him; and, at the beginning of the campaign, his en deavours had been followed with success. But a mourn ful reverse of circumstances had taken place ; he was deserted by his allies ; his provisions were exhausted ; he was enclosed by an enemy, rejoicing in his misfor tunes, and anticipating his fall. " In these circumstan ces," says he, in a letter to lord George Germain, "I called a council of all the generals, field officers, and captains commanding corps ; and, by their unanimous concurrence and advice, I was induced to open a treaty with major-general Gates." In consequence of this treaty, the British forces, to the number of 6000 men, laid down their arms ; having pledged themselves not to serve in America during the war, and stipulated, that they should be permitted to return to their native coun try. Such was the agreement; and to this agreement the congress ought unquestionably to have adhered : but when the transports appeared in the harbour of Boston, and the troops were preparing to embark, the American rulers, suspecting that they might be em ployed against their interests in other parts of the con tinent, would not permit them to remove, till the treaty should be ratilie(t bi the English cabinet. The surren der of Burgoyne led to the immediate evacuation of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence ; and the pro vincials saw themselves once more sole masters of the north.