- March 6, 1809, 217 years ago — Death of Thomas Heyward Jr..
- March 6, 1724, 302 years ago — Birth of Henry Laurens, President of the Continental Congress.
- March 7, 1707, 319 years ago — Birth of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
- March 7, 1699, 327 years ago — Birth of Susanna Boylston Adams, mother of John Adams.
Horatio Gates
GATES, Horatio, soldier, born in England in 1728; died in New York city, 10 April, 1806.
He entered the British army, served in America during the French and Indian war, and was wounded at Braddock’s defeat. After the war he settled in Virginia and became a planter. At the outbreak of the Revolution he offered his services to Congress and was appointed adjutant-general with the rank of brigadier-general.
He commanded the northern department in 1777 and won the important victory at Saratoga, which led to the surrender of General Burgoyne. For this success he received the thanks of Congress and was considered a rival to George Washington.
In 1780 he was given command in the south but suffered a disastrous defeat at Camden. He was superseded by Nathanael Greene and later exonerated by a court of inquiry. After the war he retired to his estate in Virginia and later moved to New York.
Gates was a controversial figure—praised for Saratoga, criticized for Camden—but his role in the Revolution was significant.
Source:
Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske, eds. Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1887. Patriot Echoes Archive
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