The Battle Begins at Barber’s Wheat Field

The fighting began in mid-afternoon of October 7, 1777, in and near Barber’s Wheat Field, where within minutes more than 4,000 men collided in savage combat along a line stretching westward across the field and into a clearing on the far hillside. At the moment when the Americans gained the advantage, Patriots poured murderous volleys into the retreating British Grenadiers, while smoke in the far distance marked the crumbling British right flank. In the middle ground, German and English ranks, though still fighting valiantly, were giving way to the American onslaught.

Saratoga, New York · United States