| Revision as of 02:29, 25 June 2006 edit121a0012 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers4,359 editsm partially revert; "USA" is almost never appropriate← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:34, 11 September 2006 edit undoTwinxor (talk | contribs)2,218 editsm rm editorializingNext edit → | ||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
| Boston was one of the most important ports in the New World and, ironically, one of the most defensible (there is only a single channel into the harbor which is ringed with ]). That the Americans were able to drive off several thousand hardened troops and 1,100 loyalists with only a few warning shots fired and no loss of life or property was a major accomplishment and was Washington's first victory of the war. It was also a huge morale boost for the new country, as the city where the rebellion against England started was the first to be liberated. Boston was never attacked again. | Boston was one of the most important ports in the New World and, ironically, one of the most defensible (there is only a single channel into the harbor which is ringed with ]). That the Americans were able to drive off several thousand hardened troops and 1,100 loyalists with only a few warning shots fired and no loss of life or property was a major accomplishment and was Washington's first victory of the war. It was also a huge morale boost for the new country, as the city where the rebellion against England started was the first to be liberated. Boston was never attacked again. | ||
| After a failed movement in 1876, the holiday was finally proclaimed on the 125th anniversary in ]. Not coincidentally, this time period marks the ascendancy of Irish political power in Boston. March 17 is also ], giving Boston's large ] and Irish-descended population an additional reason to celebrate |
After a failed movement in 1876, the holiday was finally proclaimed on the 125th anniversary in ]. Not coincidentally, this time period marks the ascendancy of Irish political power in Boston. March 17 is also ], giving Boston's large ] and Irish-descended population an additional reason to celebrate. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 13:34, 11 September 2006
March 17 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts is Evacuation Day, an official holiday commemorating the evacuation of the city of Boston by British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Evacuation Day is also observed in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Somerville, Massachusetts. Schools and government offices are closed on the following Monday in observance.
On March 17, 1776 the 11-month siege of Boston ended when the Continental Army, under General George Washington, placed captured cannon from Fort Ticonderoga onto Dorchester Heights in South Boston. With a clear view of the city and the narrow harbor where the Royal Navy's ships were docked behind it, the Americans had General Howe's garrison dead-to-rights. To prevent what would have been an inevitable slaughter of his troops, Howe agreed to retreat to Nova Scotia via his ships without setting the city on fire as he left.
Boston was one of the most important ports in the New World and, ironically, one of the most defensible (there is only a single channel into the harbor which is ringed with islands). That the Americans were able to drive off several thousand hardened troops and 1,100 loyalists with only a few warning shots fired and no loss of life or property was a major accomplishment and was Washington's first victory of the war. It was also a huge morale boost for the new country, as the city where the rebellion against England started was the first to be liberated. Boston was never attacked again.
After a failed movement in 1876, the holiday was finally proclaimed on the 125th anniversary in 1901. Not coincidentally, this time period marks the ascendancy of Irish political power in Boston. March 17 is also St. Patrick's Day, giving Boston's large Irish and Irish-descended population an additional reason to celebrate.