<P> Although he left the direction of the battle to subordinates, General Gates received a great deal of credit as the commanding general for the greatest American victory of the war to date . He may have conspired with others to replace George Washington as the commander - in - chief . Instead, he received the command of the main American army in the South . He led it to a disastrous defeat at the 1780 Battle of Camden, where he was at the forefront of a panicked retreat . Gates never commanded troops in the field again . </P> <P> In response to Burgoyne's surrender, Congress declared December 18, 1777, as a national day "for solemn Thanksgiving and praise"; it was the nation's first official observance of a holiday with that name . </P> <P> Once news of Burgoyne's surrender reached France, King Louis XVI decided to enter into negotiations with the Americans that resulted in a formal Franco - American alliance and French entry into the war . This moved the conflict onto a global stage . As a consequence, Britain was forced to divert resources used to fight the war in North America to theaters in the West Indies and Europe, and rely on what turned out to be the chimera of Loyalist support in its North American operations . Being defeated by the British in the French and Indian War more than a decade earlier, France found an opportunity of revenge by aiding the colonists throughout the Revolutionary War . Prior to the Battle of Saratoga, France didn't fully aid the colonists . However, after the Battles of Saratoga were conclusively won by the colonists, France realized that the Americans had the hope of winning the war, and began fully aiding the colonists by sending soldiers, donations, loans, military arms, and supplies . </P> <P> The battlefield and the site of Burgoyne's surrender have been preserved, and are now administered by the National Park Service as the Saratoga National Historical Park, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 . The park preserves a number of the buildings in the area and contains a variety of monuments . The Saratoga Monument obelisk has four niches, three of which hold statues of American commanders: Gates and Schuyler and of Colonel Daniel Morgan . The fourth niche, where Arnold's statue would go, is empty . A more dramatic memorial to Arnold's heroism, that does not name him, is the Boot Monument . Donated by Civil War General John Watts de Peyster, it shows a boot with spurs and the stars of a major general . It stands at the spot where Arnold was shot on October 7 charging Breymann's redoubt and is dedicated to "the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army". </P>

What was the significance of the american victory at the battle of saratoga
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