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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: NEW YORK CITY, NOV. 25, 1783, EVACUATION DAY (U.S. ARMY ANTICIPATES, FORESTALLS LOOTING IN CAPTURED CITY) General Washington spent most of November at West Point, waiting for General Carleton to set a date for the final withdrawal from New York. The general was a commander in chief with only the ghost of an army – about eight hundred men. He was harassed by Governor George Clinton, who was anxious to make it clear that New York State, not that bankrupt entity, the Continental Congress, was taking possession of New York City and its environs. Having wrecked Congress’s hopes of revenue by voting down the impost, Clinton was acting more and more like the head of an independent state. Washington had to reassure the impatient governor (whom he liked personally) that he would send him “by express the first notice I receive” of the exact date for Carleton’s departure. General Washingon’s mostly symbolic presence did not prevent him from being harried by a familiar problem: no money. He asked his friend Governor Clinton to loan the Continentals $2,000 to march to New York and remain there a few days without starving. The embarrassed governor was forced to confess the state did not have that much money in its treasury. Quartermaster General Pickering sent an urgent appeal to Robert Morris in Philadelphia for anything that could pass as cash. Whatever the financier managed to scrape together was hastily dispatched and Washington began exchanging polite letters with General Carleton about the exact date of his departure. Toward the end of November, the British commander warned Washington that looting and mayhem seemed likely to break out as the last British troops withdrew. The thousands of former rebels who had streamed into New York were apparently preparing to wreak vengeance on anyone who had failed to meet their standard of patriotism. Carleton had stationed soldiers on every block in the city to keep order. Washington replied that he would do his best to make sure this upheaval did not occur. Finally, on November 24, a letter from General Carleton reported that he would depart the following day. By this time, General Washington and Governor Clinton and the Continental troops had advanced to Harlem. November 25 was a clear, cold day with a brisk northwest wind. The 800-man column swung down the Boston Post Road and halted at a barrier on Bowery Lane, where a detachment of British troops stood guard. They soon withdrew; from Fort George at the tip of Manhattan came the boom of cannon, meaning the last British soldiers had departed. The American regiments, led by General Knox, marched into the city to keep order. General Knox returned to report there was no sign of misbehavior. Rejoicing, not vengeance, was the emotion of the moment. Americans inside the city had already planned a triumphal parade. With General Washington and Governor Clinton side by side at its head, the procession began. Civilians dominated the marchers. Horsemen escorting Washington and Clinton were militia from Westchester, without uniforms. Behind the two leaders marched ranks of more civilians, many of them state officials and followers of Governor Clinton. Then came Washington’s officers. It was another indication of the way civilians wanted to de-emphasize the Continental Army’s role in the victory. Along the packed sidewalks, New Yorkers cheered and wept. Around them, buildings were worn and shabby. Deprived of the commerce that had been its lifeblood, the city was a kind of civic corpse. Along the Hudson River, the charred ruins of the warehouses, churches, and homes burned by the great fire of 1776 were even more painful witnesses of the seven years of war. There was not a tree left standing on any city street, nor anywhere else on Manhattan Island. All had been cut down for firewood; this added to the city’s barren look. At Fort George on the Battery, everyone expected to see the American flag soar skyward in the crisp sunshine. But the enemy had added a touch of departing malice to frustrate this ceremony. They had cut the halyards and greased the pole. In the harbor British sailors leaned on the oars of the boats ferrying the last soldiers to their transports, enjoying the spectacle. American ingenuity swiftly solved the problem. Sailors grabbed tools and nails from a nearby ironmonger’s shop and fashioned cleats which enabled one of them to climb the pole, restore the halyards, and raise Old Glory to its proper place. The fort’s cannon, now in the hands of General Knox’s artillerymen, boomed a thirteen-gun salute. With a final cheer, the crowd dispersed.
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#1. To: aristeides (#0)
Something to think about. Along the packed sidewalks, New Yorkers cheered and wept. Around them, buildings were worn and shabby. Deprived of the commerce that had been its lifeblood, the city was a kind of civic corpse. Along the Hudson River, the charred ruins of the warehouses, churches, and homes burned by the great fire of 1776 were even more painful witnesses of the seven years of war. There was not a tree left standing on any city street, nor anywhere else on Manhattan Island. All had been cut down for firewood; this added to the city’s barren look. At Fort George on the Battery, everyone expected to see the American flag soar skyward in the crisp sunshine. But the enemy had added a touch of departing malice to frustrate this ceremony. They had cut the halyards and greased the pole. In the harbor British sailors leaned on the oars of the boats ferrying the last soldiers to their transports, enjoying the spectacle. Wonderful imagery.
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