Organization of Gates' Forces for 2nd Battle of Saratoga

In part due to the disorganization of the combined battle losses at Freeman's Farm and the arrival of new units to join in the fighting, Gates reorganized the American forces at Bemis Heights. He also used the reorganization of his forces as an attack upon Benedict Arnold, whom he purposefully relieved of command in the new structure.

This action came as the culmination of heated arguments between Generals Gates and Arnold which ensued after the Battle of Freeman's Farm. However, Arnold managed to find a way to lead at the close of the battle without legitimate command status. This action proved to be beneficial to Gates, providing a decisive victory over Burgoyne.

Gates' Reorganized Bemis Heights Forces
LEFT WING	CENTER	RIGHT WING
Commander - Major General Horatio Gates	Commander - Brigadier General Ebenezer Learned	Commander - Major General Benjamin Lincoln
COL Morgan Elite Light Infantry Corps COL Morgan - Morgan's Rifle Corps MAJ Dearborn - Light Infantry Corps (Roughly 500 men) Poor Continental Brigade COL Cilley - 1st NH Cont'l Reg LTC Adams* - 2nd NH Cont'l Reg COL Scammel - 3rd NH Cont'l Reg COL Van Cortlandt - 2nd NY militia COL Livingston - 4th NY militia COL Cook - CT militia COL Latimore - CT militia (Roughly 800 men)	Learned Continental Brigade COL Bailey - 2nd MA Cont'l Reg LTC Brooks* - 8th MA Cont'l Reg COL Wesson - 9th MA Cont'l Reg COL Livingston - 1st Canadian NY militia Reinforcements - 2 unknown NH militia	Glover Continental Brigade COL Vose - 1st MA Cont'l Reg COL Shepard - 4th MA Cont'l Reg COL Wigglesworth - 13th MA Cont'l Reg (unknown) - 15th MA Cont'l Reg COL Wemple - 2nd Albany NY militia COL Whiting - 17th Albany NY militia COL Graham - Dutchess/Ulster NY militia Nixon Continental Brigade COL Greaton - 3rd MA Cont'l Reg COL Putnam - 5th MA Cont'l Reg COL Nixon - 6th MA Cont'l Reg COL Alden - 7th MA Cont'l Reg Reinforcements - 1 unknown MA militia Paterson Continental Brigade COL Marshall - 10th MA Cont'l Reg COL Tupper* - 11th MA Cont'l Reg COL Brewer - 12th MA Cont'l Reg COL Bradford - 14th MA Cont'l Reg Reinforcements - 2 unknown MA militia Ten Broeck NY Brigade Detachments from 10 Albany militia Warner MA Brigade 5 MA militia regiments
*COL Hale captured at Hubbardton	*COL Hale captured at Hubbardton	*COL Francis killed at Hubbardton
Approximately 1,300 men	Approximately 1,400 men	Approximately 8,500 men
CAVALRY	LT Seymour - 2nd Troop, 2nd Reg Cont'l Lt Dragoons MAJ Hyde - 2nd Reg CT Light Horse Cavalry (Possibly reinforced by troops of CT militia Lt Horse) Estimated Strength - 200 to 250 strong
ARTILLERY	MAJ Stevens - Indep BN of Cont'l Artillery 22 cannon of various types Estimated Strength - 400 strong
ARTIFICERS	COL Baldwin - Approximately 140 Artificers
Force Total Estimated 12,000 men - 11,200 Infantry (6,700 Continental Infantry plus militia)

***Numbers are approximations based upon the historical research of COL John R. Elting. His figures are published in

The Battles of Saratoga.

See Unit Definitions for estimated unit sizes.

Links Back to the Battle

The Battle of Saratoga Background Page
Saratoga Preliminary Study Page
Saratoga Field Study Page
Saratoga Integration Phase Page

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Last modified: October 09, 2006 15:18:57