[Illustration: Powder-Horn, Bullet-Flask, and Buckshot-Pouch Used in the
Revolution.]
BURGOYNE'S INVASION
It had become plain to the British that if they could get control of the
Hudson River, thus cutting off New England from the other States, they
could so weaken the Americans as to make their defeat easy. So they
adopted this plan: Burgoyne with nearly eight thousand men was to march
from Canada, by way of Lake Champlain and Fort Edward, to Albany, where he
was to meet a small force of British, who also were to come from Canada by
way of the Mohawk Valley. The main army of eighteen thousand men, under
General Howe, was expected to sail up the Hudson from New York. They
believed that this plan could be easily carried out and would soon bring
the war to a close.
And their plan might have succeeded if General Howe had done his part. Let
us see what happened.
Howe thought that before going up the river to meet and help Burgoyne, he
would just march across New Jersey and capture Philadelphia. This,
however, was not so easy as he had expected it to be. Washington's army
was in his pathway, and, not caring to fight his way across, he returned
to New York and tried another route, sailing with his army to Chesapeake
Bay.
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