British Troops Leave NY: Revolution Ends
The last British troops evacuated New York City on November 25, 1783, ending seven years of military occupation. George Washington and Governor George Clinton led a procession down Broadway to the Battery as the British fleet sailed out of the harbor. A British officer had greased the flagpole at Fort George and removed the cleats; an American sailor named John Van Arsdale drove nails into the pole to climb it and raise the Stars and Stripes. The ceremony, known as Evacuation Day, was celebrated annually in New York for over a century, until Thanksgiving gradually replaced it. The departure completed the physical transfer of sovereignty: the Treaty of Paris had been signed in September, but British troops had remained in New York, the last occupied American city, until the final ships could be organized.
November 25, 1783
243 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Kingdom of Great Britain
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New York City
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American Revolutionary War
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Treaty of Paris (1783)
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American Revolutionary War
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Evacuation Day (New York)
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Treaty of Paris (1783)
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American Revolution
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New York City
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United States
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