This Day in History: February 28

Meanwhile, General Burgoyne was in London, trying to get appointed to an independent command in North America. He brought up a plan that had been discussed by various British generals since 1775: an attempt to divide the American colonies by an invasion from the province of Quebec. This had already been attempted by General Carleton in 1776, although he had stopped short of a full scale invasion. Carleton had been heavily criticized in London for not taking more advantage of the American retreat from Canada in 1776, and he was out of favor with Germain, which meant that Burgoyne was in a good position to get command of the 1777 Canadian campaign.

Asked to submit a plan, Burgoyne outlined the strategy in a paper entitled "Thoughts for Conducting the War on the Side of Canada", and submitted it to Lord Germain on February 28, 1777. The plan was approved with modifications. Burgoyne won appointment as leader of the expedition, beating out General Henry Clinton, who was also in Great Britain trying to get an independent command of his own. (As consolation, Clinton was given a knighthood, but otherwise he had to continue serving as General Howe's second-in-command.) Burgoyne was so confident of his success that he bet a friend 50 guineas that he would return victorious within one year. Richard M. Ketchum, Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War, pp. 79–83.