Evacuation Day
Take that, Redcoats!
By adamg - 3/17/11 - 10:10 pm
Oh, yeah, today's also Evacuation Day, to commemorate the withdrawal of British troops from Boston. Spearmintkitten took in the Evacuation Day commemorations on Fort Hill in Roxbury.
Copyright Spearmintkitten. Tagged as universalhub on Flickr.
Don't say the city doesn't give you anything for Evacuation Day
By adamg - 3/16/11 - 8:37 amMeters are free tomorrow in Boston - although you still have to limit yourself to two hours.
British dummies on Evacuation Day
By adamg - 3/17/10 - 9:08 amFirst, top o' the Evacuation Day mornin' to ye! If you're a Boston City Hall worker or the parent of a BPS student, you're probably just now getting up, no? J.L. Bell posts an account from Gen. John Sullivan on pointing his spyglass at British fortifications in Charlestown on March 17, 1776:
... I then took my Horse, & rode down to Charlestown Neck, where I had a clear view of Bunker Hill. I gaw the Sentrys standing as usual with their Firelocks shouldered, but finding they never moved, I soon suspected what Regiment they belonged to; and upon taking a clear view with my Glass found they were only Effigies set there by the flying Enemy. ...
Meanwhile, Paul Revere tweets:
As the D----d Redcoats compleat their packing, so do we Prepare to depart Watertown, Amazing what 1 family may accumulate in 11 months!
See: A reason to celebrate Evacuation Day
By adamg - 3/16/10 - 7:38 pmMassExtra reports "Boston's Finest," a possible ABC series, is seeking Boston school kids for some filming tomorrow. Oh, they can't be afraid of snakes.
Governor seeks to outlaw Bunker Hill Day and St. Patrick's, er, Evacuation Day as paid holidays
By adamg - 10/29/09 - 12:07 pmBill would only affect public workers in Suffolk County (question: And Somerville?).
Via David Guarino.
Confederacy of dunces in the state Senate
By adamg - 6/4/09 - 4:06 pmAfter watching these excerpts from the Senate battle over getting rid of Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day, I can't tell who's worse: Some senator from Godknowswhere, MA, who briefly affects an Irish brogue to condemn our holidays and who defends Christmas as being "for the children," or our own Jack Hart, who says that unlike the rest of the state, "we have real history here in the city," nay, we have "a historic history" and if you strip that from our bosoms, what's next, gutting Thanksgiving?
Via Bostonist.
And so Washington's army marches into Boston
By adamg - 3/17/08 - 6:09 pmJ.L. Bell concludes his recounting of Evacuation Day:
... Immediately upon the fleet's sailing the Select Men set off, through the lines, to Roxbury to acquaint General [George] Washington of the evacuation of the town. After sending a message Major [Joseph] Ward aid to General [Artemas] Ward, came to us at the lines and soon after the General himself, who received us in the most polite and affectionate manner, and permitted us to pass to Watertown to acquaint the Council of this happy event. ...
Tom Menino needs a history lesson
By adamg - 3/16/08 - 7:17 pmJimbo brings to our attention the most recent issue of the Boston Post-Gazette, which features a front-page article by Tom Menino on the importance of Evacuation Day and St. Patrick's Day. It starts like this:
Actually, Mr. Mayor, while the British left Boston in 1776, they stayed around in the other colonies until 1783 (the colonies didn't even get around to declaring their independence until four months after Evacuation Day). In fact, a few months after Evacuation Day, the British seized control of New York City (and almost captured Washington) in the Battle of Long Island. You might also vaguely remember stories about the crossing of the Delaware and some place called Valley Forge.
