Taking Albany was out of the question, but General Burgoyne still hoped to save both his battered army and his career. General Gates had called his aristocratic enemy “an old gamester,” and Lady Frederica Riedesel, the wife of the German commander, thought that Burgoyne had “lost his head.” Yet the British still greatly admired their leader. One of his officers said that “No General was more beloved in an Army, or more deservedly so, than was General Burgoyne.” At Burgoyne’s quarters here, people lived in relative comfort, with spacious quarters that had beds, tables, chairs, lighting, and servants. Burgoyne turned 54 years old in 1777. His wife Charlotte had died in 1775, a loss that left him feeling that the “animation of life is over.” This campaign was the first time Burgoyne had ever commanded an army.