While most Americans have heard of the Saratoga campaign that changed the character of the Revolutionary War, some enduring myths have surrounded this pivotal event. While researching and writing his book The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution, Kevin Weddle, a professor of military theory and strategy at the U.S. Army War College, encountered almost a dozen Saratoga stories that many historians have repeated for over two centuries, giving them remarkable credibility. Unfortunately, he says, while these myths tend to be dramatic and entertaining, they obscure the facts of a campaign that needs no embellishment.

Did the British encounter drunken American soldiers left behind to defend the retreat from Fort Ticonderoga? Did Benedict Arnold disobey orders to win the Battle of Bemis Heights while Horatio Gates cowered in his tent? Learn about these incidents and more.

Weddle’s book was the subject of a February 2021 Smithsonian Associates program that analyzed the strategic underpinnings of the Saratoga campaign. Now, he takes a deeper dive into history to examine and counter several of the most predominant myths about the campaign, demonstrating that the true story is just as captivating as the fictional version.

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