The incident
was appealing in its tragedy and stirred the deep anger of the
population of the surrounding country among whose descendants to
this day the tradition of the abandoned brutality of the British
keeps alive the old hatred.
At Fort Edward Burgoyne now found that he could hardly move. He
was encumbered by an enormous baggage train. His own effects
filled, it is said, thirty wagons and this we can believe when we
find that champagne was served at his table up almost to the day
of final disaster. The population was thoroughly aroused against
him. His own instinct was to remain near the water route to
Canada and make sure of his communications. On the other hand,
honor called him to go forward and not fail Howe, supposed to be
advancing to meet him. For a long time he waited and hesitated.
Meanwhile he was having increasing difficulty in feeding his army
and through sickness and desertion his numbers were declining. By
the 13th of September he had taken a decisive step. He made a
bridge of boats and moved his whole force across the river to
Saratoga, now Schuylerville. This crossing of the river would
result inevitably in cutting off his communications with Lake
George and Ticonderoga. After such a step he could not go back
and he was moving forward into a dark unknown.
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