The Battles of Saratoga are widely considered the turning point of the American Revolution, and the man most responsible for the victory is honored on the battlefield by a monument to his boot that leaves out his name: Benedict Arnold. This episode examines how massive egos, logistical failures and new tactics trapped a British army in upstate New York.

We cover the British plan to cut off New England with a three-way convergence on Albany, the collapse of that plan, and the outrage over the killing of Jane McCrea that swelled American militia ranks. Then we follow the fighting at Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights, Daniel Morgan’s riflemen, Horatio Gates’s feud with Arnold, Arnold’s rogue charge, and John Burgoyne’s surrender.

• Why Burgoyne was left stranded when Howe went to Philadelphia and St. Leger turned back
• How rifled Pennsylvania rifles let Morgan’s men target British officers and artillerymen
• The Pyrrhic British win at Freeman’s Farm and Gates leaving Arnold out of his report
• Arnold’s charge on the Breymann Redoubt and the wound that shattered his leg
• How the surrender convinced France to formally ally with the United States