Much of Schuyler's army when Gates took over was located near the mouth of the Mohawk River, south of Stillwater.

On September 8 he had ordered the army of about ten thousand men (of whom about eighty-five hundred are effective combat troops), to Stillwater with the idea of setting up defenses there.

The Polish engineer Tadeusz Kościuszko had found the area inadequate for proper defensive works, so a new location had been found about three miles further north (and about ten miles (sixteen kilometers) south of Saratoga).

At this location Kosciusko has laid out defensive lines stretching from the river to the bluffs called Bemis Heights.

The right side of these defenses is nominally given to General Lincoln, but as he is leading troops intended for a diversion against Ticonderoga, Gates assumes command of this portion of the line himself.

Gates has put General Arnold, with whom he has previously had a good relationship, in command of the army's left, the western defenses on Bemis Heights.

The relationship between the two had soured when Arnold chose to staff his command with friends of Schuyler, whom Gates hates.

Combined with the prickly natures of both Gates and Arnold, this will eventually bring internal power squabbles to a boil.