EVACUATION DAY AT BOSTON

Evacuation Day at Boston

Almost a year into the Revolutionary War, the siege of Boston had ground on with neither side able to deliver a decisive blow. General George Washington’s Continental troops ringed the city while British regulars and Royal Navy ships held the harbor and town, each side suffering from supply problems and disease. The balance shifted when American forces emplaced heavy cannon on the commanding ground of Dorchester Heights after a winter expedition dragged the guns from captured forts far to the north. Overnight, British commanders awoke to find their fleet and garrison suddenly exposed to plunging fire from the new positions. Rather than risk catastrophic losses, they chose to withdraw, sailing for Halifax and yielding the city to Washington’s army. The peaceful occupation of Boston gave the young rebellion its first major strategic victory, boosted morale throughout the colonies, and encouraged foreign observers to take the American cause more seriously.