The British suffered major setbacks during the siege of Fort Stanwix and the battle of Bennington.

Throughout the war, the British were unable to push into the interior of New York due to delays in the area of operations brought on by undermanned forces and setbacks brought on by sloppy planning and indecisive leadership. Burgoyne chose to pursue retreating American soldiers after taking Fort Ticonderoga in the early days of July rather than pursuing Albany, which cost him vital time and resources that could not be recovered. He focused his forces at Skenes Borough, at the southern tip of Lake Champlain, for several weeks in an effort to cut off an increasingly strained supply route. His march was eventually halted by Patriot soldiers' roadblocks and destroyed supplies.

When a sizable contingent of British foragers were defeated at the Battle of Bennington on August 16, the war's trajectory shifted more in the enemy's favor. Approximately 900 men were lost in battle about half of Burgoyne's army and the majority of them were captured after the battle. A little over a week later, St. Leger was defeated at Fort Stanwix in the Mohawk River Valley, leaving "Gentleman Johnny" in charge of the battle by himself.