General John Burgoyne: Soldier, Statesman, Playwright

As noted by historian George Billias, "Of the British generals in the American Revolution, none has been ridiculed more than John Burgoyne." He has been depicted as "a playboy general-a card-playing, wine-loving, "bon vivant" who had a winning way with women in the boudoir but a losing style on the battlefield; a buffoon in uniform who bungled his assignments badly; and a dilettante who pursued three careers-those of soldier, politician, and playwright-and mastered none."

The cause of such crude stereotypes can be traced back to hostile sources during his lifetime. First, the Parliamentary Debates which records the attacks by Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord George Germain, on Burgoyne (in his role of protecting the honor of King George III), the memoirs of Baroness von Riedesel (wife of General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel of Brunswick, Germany, who accompanied Burgoyne during the Saratoga Campaign), and Horace Walpole (a man of letters and Whig politician who amused himself by exaggerating Burgoyne's foibles).

A second realm where Burgoyne has been ill-treated can be found in written history. Those who supported the war against America denounced him as the cause of Britain's defeat. Those who opposed the war condemned him as an instrument of tyranny. And many American writers are more than happy to present Burgoyne as a pompous buffoon.

While this is a brief biography of General John Burgoyne, it is hoped readers will be left with the impression that he was a man of considerate military talent, and as a politician and playwright, attained a more than average position among his contemporaries.