John Burgoyne was the quintessential English gentleman. He was a brave and dashing officer, a Member of Parliament, and an amateur playwright. He also shared the typical view among English officers that the Americans were an ill-disciplined common rabble that well-trained English soldiers could easily bring to heel.

“Gentleman Johnny” bet an acquaintance fifty guineas that he would defeat the Americans and be home by Christmas the following year. Burgoyne lost this wager at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777, when he surrendered his entire army to American forces following a disastrous defeat that proved to be a turning point in the American Revolution (1775-1783).

The American victory renewed hopes of independence for men like Colonel Hugh Maxwell of Charlemont, Massachusetts, who was at Saratoga and brought back this remnant of one of Burgoyne’s silk flags.