The Turning Point Parade & Festival commemorates the American Victory at the Battles of Saratoga on October 17, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War.  In the months prior to October 8, 1777, the British suffered about 2,000 casualties. Burgoyne’s forces, now down to about 6,000 men, took refuge in a fortified camp on the heights of Saratoga (today’s Schuylerville).

There an American force that was approaching 20,000 men surrounded the exhausted British army.  Faced with such overwhelming numbers, Burgoyne surrendered on October 17, 1777. By the terms of the Convention of Saratoga, Burgoyne’s depleted army marched out of camp “with the Honors of War” and stacked their weapons along the west bank of the Hudson River at Fort Hardy. Saratoga was a decisive and important victory. It was the turning point of the American Revolution.