The American Revolution on Trial

A master historian uncovers a spellbinding story illustrating the stakes for the new nation in the American War for Independence

How does a new country demonstrate to the world that it is prepared to uphold the rule of law? During the winter of 1778, in the midst of revolution, a bizarre and dramatic court-martial forced an American community to confront the full implications of its independence from Great Britain—and produced a frank reexamination of a struggling nation’s cultural and political values. British General John Burgoyne, a prisoner of war, accused an American colonel of mistreating fellow British prisoners. Angry and embarrassed after surrendering his army at Saratoga, he demanded an unprecedented full trial before an American jury. In a stunning decision, American military officers not only acquiesced to an unprecedented request for a court-martial but also allowed Burgoyne, an enemy commander, to serve as prosecutor.

Why were the Americans so accommodating of this audacious request? Burgoyne’s challenge, as T. H. Breen shows, had become about much more than an American soldier’s individual transgression—it sparked an emotional rejection of aristocratic privilege that went to the heart of the revolutionary cause itself. The American Revolution on Trial spectacularly illustrates how the platform provided to Burgoyne offered the new, rebellious republic an opportunity to demonstrate, to themselves and the world, that they were sufficiently civilized to deliver genuine justice. This saga and its larger significance address questions about the rule of law and a nation’s honor that challenge us to this day.