The British had held New York since 1776. After the Treaty of Paris formally ended the war in September 1783, General Sir Guy Carleton oversaw the departure of soldiers and tens of thousands of Loyalists and freed Black people who had sided with the Crown. On November 25 the last troops boarded ships, and American forces marched to the Battery. Evacuation Day was celebrated in New York for more than a century. Nine days later, Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern.
Carleton had delayed the evacuation for months to allow those who feared American retribution to leave. He refused to hand over formerly enslaved people who had joined the British under promises of freedom, and recorded their names in the "Book of Negroes" so they could sail to Nova Scotia and elsewhere. Some 30,000 people left the city.
At noon on November 25 the final British units withdrew to their ships. Washington, Governor George Clinton and General Henry Knox then rode into Manhattan and down to the southern tip of the island. At Fort George, the retreating British had nailed their flag to the pole, removed the cleats and greased it. An American sailor, John Van Arsdale, climbed it with the help of cleats nailed on as he went, tore down the Union Jack and raised the Stars and Stripes as British ships still lay in the harbour.
On December 4, at Fraunces Tavern, Washington bade his officers farewell, and weeks later resigned his commission to Congress in Annapolis. New Yorkers marked Evacuation Day with parades until the early 20th century.
Key people: George Washington, Guy Carleton, Henry Knox