In 1777, the British tried to divide the colonies by taking control of the Hudson Valley, with General Burgoyne advancing from Canada toward Fort Ticonderoga and Albany, General Barry St. Leger attacking through the Mohawk Valley, and Burgoyne expecting Sir William Howe to move up the Hudson from New York City after capturing Forts Clinton and Montgomery. St. Leger’s expedition stalled at Ft. Schuyler after the battle of Oriskany and the defection of the Native American part of his force, and reinforcements led by Major General Benedict Arnold drove him back to Canada. On June 1, Burgoyne and 7,900 men moved down Lake Champlain to Fort Ticonderoga, forced the Americans to abandon it by taking a nearby hill, and after fighting at Hubbardton and Fort Ann reached Fort Edward by the end of July, where they found the Americans had fallen back to Stillwater. Burgoyne then sent troops for supplies to Bennington, Vermont, where they were badly defeated on August 16. On September 13, he crossed the Hudson and six days later advanced toward the American defenses at Bemis Heights; after an indecisive battle and then an American victory nearby on October 7, Burgoyne surrendered his entire army at Saratoga on October 17, in what many historians regard as the turning point of the Revolutionary War. Instead of supporting this advance, Sir William Howe marched from New York City to Philadelphia, leaving Sir Henry Clinton in command in New York City. In early October, Sir Henry Clinton sailed up the Hudson River with about 3,000 troops, landed at Stony Point on October 6, sent part of his force around Bear Mountain against Fort Montgomery and another part against Fort Clinton, and after brief skirmishes overwhelmed the forts’ fewer than 700 defenders under Generals George and James Clinton when they refused to surrender. That evening the Americans burned their ships to keep them from capture, and the British then sailed north to Kingston and burned the town on October 16 before withdrawing to Philadelphia after news of Burgoyne’s defeat.