General Howe Evacuates Boston

Happy Evacuation Day Boston! On this day in 1776 commander-in-chief of the British troops of North America, General William Howe, and the British Military evacuated Boston. Sir William Howe had made the decision to evacuate after a trying year barricaded within the town and surrounded by the Continental Army and Colonial Militia. He had arrived in Boston on the Cerberus in 1775 and in October of that year assumed the position of commander-in-chief from the outgoing General Gage.

As General Gage's replacement, General Howe would have also taken command of Massachusetts under his military jurisdiction as the Provincial Government had been disbanded by a bill of Parliament in 1774.

While in Boston, General Howe would have witnessed a lot of deprivation and upheaval. The port of Boston was closed so supplies were not readily available by sea and the one road leading into Boston was barricaded off to protect the British army and Loyalists within Boston from the surrounding rebel force. As a result, renewal of supplies was not easily forthcoming and soldiers had to tear apart church pews and fences just to provide themselves with firewood. In addition, an outbreak of smallpox occurred and the inhabitants of Boston, who could not move between the lines, were stuck in Boston with the spreading illness.

On March 4, the rebel army decided to fortify Dorchester Heights with 59 cannon newly arrived from Fort Ticonderoga. General Howe initially intended to attack the fortification even though he knew it came at great risk and could result in higher casualties than the British army had experienced at The Battle of Bunker Hill. On March 5 and 6, however, a great storm prevented Howe from conducting any amphibious attack and Howe was forced to face a realization he had long been considering.

Though Boston was, to the colonists, a symbol of freedom and morale, Howe saw no military strategy in keeping Boston. The disease and deprivation of supplies over the past two years had done their work and Howe now had an honorable reason to evacuate Boston. He chose to leave Boston before his army was bombarded by the cannons on Dorchester Heights and he decided the best course of action would be to leave Boston for Halifax, Nova Scotia where he could wait for reinforcement before returning to a place where the Continental Army might prove more vulnerable. With Howe and the British military, the Loyalists evacuated as well and followed the military north putting an end, not just to the siege, but also to British control of Massachusetts.

Sir William Howe

A Map of the peninsula of Boston and the surrounding area, Dorchester Heights is off to the right of Boston's Neck.

A Map of the peninsula of Boston and the surrounding area.  Dorchester Heights is circled in red.