The Staff Ride Handbook for the Saratoga Campaign systematically analyzes this strategically important Revolutionary War campaign. This handbook is one in a number of works from the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) designed to facilitate staff rides for US Armed Forces personnel. Unlike its predecessors, Saratoga is the first handbook that covers a Revolutionary War campaign. Additionally, this book provides users an opportunity to conduct a staff ride that focuses both on the operational and tactical levels of war but is flexible enough that it can be conducted on one or the other level as well.--Provided by publisher.

The Combat Studies Institute is pleased to publish this staff ride handbook for the Saratoga Campaign. Covering the opening actions on Lake Champlain, along the Mohawk River, and across the border in Vermont, and concluding with the final, decisive actions along the banks of the Hudson River, this Staff Ride Guide enables a detailed campaign study, highlighting the importance of logistics and terrain, as well as a shorter, more focused study of just the Saratoga battles themselves. The guide highlights the importance of incorporating capabilities from across the total force, from regulars to militia, as well as the vital importance of skilled leadership, command relationships, and the principle of unity of command in order to achieve victory on the battlefield. The Saratoga campaign was the turning point of the American Revolution and served as a model for revolutionaries in later eras for how to defeat hegemonic imperial powers and thus remains a highly relevant case study for future practitioners of modern warfare.

"A dazzling addition to the history of the American Revolution." ―Kirkus Review (starred) "Finally... a full and fascinating portrait of a true hero of the American Revolution, until he was visited by villainy. A riveting read." ―Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author of Follow Me to Hell Benedict Arnold committed treason— for more than two centuries, that’s all that most Americans have known about him. Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat—his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD tells the gripping story of Arnold’s rush of audacious feats—his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga—that laid the groundwork for our independence. Arnold was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous military officer. He was also imperfect, disloyal, villainous. One of the most paradoxical characters in American history, and one of the most interesting. GOD SAVE BENEDICT ARNOLD does not exonerate him for his treason—the stain on his character is permanent. But Kelly’s insightful exploration of Arnold’s career as a warrior shines a new light on this gutsy, fearless, and enigmatic figure. In the process, the book offers a fresh perspective on the reasons for Arnold’s momentous change of heart.

Discusses how to plan a staff ride of a battlefield, such as a Civil War battlefield, as part of military training. This brochure demonstrates how a staff ride can be made available to military leaders throughout the Army, not just those in the formal education system.

"Armies of British Loyalists and Patriot militiamen fought the Battle of Kings Mountain, located about eight miles northeast of modern day Blacksburg, South Carolina, on the afternoon of 7 October 1780. Insignificant in terms of size, the Patriot victory at Kings Mountain upset the British attempts to gain permanent control of the Carolinas-and by extension fundamentally changed the course of the war in the South. The strategic and operational implications tied to the Kings Mountain battle will provide military professionals much to ponder about the nature of irregular conflict and counterinsurgency in the modern era. When viewed within the context of the British strategic goals for the Southern Campaign, the Patriot victory at Kings Mountain destroyed the British center of gravity, a well-organized Loyalist militia capable of securing South Carolina in the absence of British regulars. Not only did the disaster of Kings Mountain demoralize the surviving Loyalists, but it convinced the British ground commander, Lord Charles Cornwallis, to curtail attempts to recruit additional Loyalist militia regiments. Absent an effective Loyalist militia, the British did not have the manpower to both pacify South Carolina and continue the process of conquering the vast territory that lay between Charleston and the Chesapeake. By the time Cornwallis attempted to recruit fresh Loyalist militiamen in the time period before and after the Guilford Courthouse battle, few Tories were willing to risk their lives and property in service to the King"--