The city of Boston has celebrated the anniversary of “Evacuation Day” since 1901, but this year it belongs to the entire country. Boston’s eight-year struggle against the British regulars stationed in the city fueled the Revolution and the memory of it would contribute to key constitutional protections. Today, as we celebrate the country’s 250th birthday, the nation is also grappling with the proper role of border patrol, the National Guard, and regular military forces in American communities. The anniversary of Evacuation Day offers an opportunity to remember the revolutionary origins of cherished constitutional protections.
In 1768, King George III sent British troops to Boston to support royal officials as they enforced unpopular tax measures. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, 4,000 additional troops arrived in the city to quell further unrest. The troops were initially stationed in private homes and buildings. After they moved to barracks, inns, and stables, the colonists were forced to pay for their upkeep. In effect, colonists were forced to pay for the troops that were suppressing their movement and resistance.
On April 19, 1775, after the American victory in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the local militias took up position on the heights overlooking the city. Two months later, the Continental Congress created the Continental Army and appointed George Washington its commander-in-chief. As Washington attempted to organize the ragtag bands of militias into a coordinated fighting force, the British navy filled Boston Harbor and closed the city to local traffic.
For the next seven months, the city remained under siege. As the sun rose on the morning of March 6, 1776, British Commander Thomas Gage discovered that Washington’s forces had installed 60 tons of canons on Dorchester Heights. Admiral Molyneux Shuldham advised that the British fleet would be “shot to pieces” if the fortifications remained.
As the British prepared to evacuate the city, many “Inhabitants [were] greatly distressed thro-fear the Town would be set on fire by the Soldiers.” The city escaped the threat of widespread arson, but the British seized tons of linen and woolen goods before leaving the city. They sank heavy mortars in the harbor to thwart American vessels and erected barricades in the streets to inconvenience both residents and soldiers. Loyalists, who were evacuating with the British, destroyed whatever possessions they could not pack, leaving the street littered with discarded goods and broken furniture.
By the mid-morning of March 17, the British evacuated a total of “11,000 people including 8,906 troops, 1,100 loyalists and 553 children.” Washington described the “hurry in which they have Imbark’d.” The British left more than “30,000£s worth of his Majestys Property behind them, in Provision’s and Stores, Vessels, Rugs Blankets &ca.” They had also abandoned “near 30 pieces of fine heavy Cannon” as well as “all their Artillery Carts, Powder Waggens,” and ammunition “in abundance.”