The Battle of Saratoga was actually ten battles, culminating two decades of conflict among British, French, Colonists and indigenous Native tribes. The gateways formed by the St. Lawrence River and Champlain Valley in the north and the Hudson in the south were the scene of vicious wilderness combat, fresh-water naval engagements and countless acts of bravery and endurance that remain incredible centuries later. The final engagements in Fall 1777 changed the war and the world. In America, one of Britain's two armies surrendered. In Europe, the victory brought France into the war as a full American ally making its improbable victory possible and bankrupting France in the process. This course tracks two decades of conflict that led to Saratoga, the marches and battles, the political and military discord behind them and the heroism and folly that are part of every war. And we will learn how America's first generation of soldiers were able to defeat the most professional army in the world.