Entry from December 16, 2004
Evacuation Day (November 25th)
"Evacuation Day" celebrates the evacuation of British troops from New York City on November 25, 1783. It used to be a great New York celebration, but now it is almost totally forgotten.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
attrib. a1854 G. FURMAN Antiquities Long Island (1875) 269 The Evacuation day..has been observed as a species of holiday on the west end of Long Island. 1880 WEBSTER (Suppl.), Evacuation day, the anniversary of the day on which the British army evacuated the city of New York, November 25, 1783.
30 November 1843, Pittsfield (MA) Sun, pg. 3:
Evacuation Day. - The anniversary of the Evacuation of New York by the British was celebrated by the military of that city on Saturday. It is said that they made a splendid appearance.
November 1883, St. Nicholas: an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks, pg. 3:
THE LITTLE LORD OF THE MANOR.
A Story of Evacuation-Day.
19 October 1924, New York TImes, pg. X12:
EVACUATION DAY WAS ONCE
A GLORIOUS HOLIDAY HERE
Dinner of Sons of the Revolution in November Will
Recall a Celebration That Once Gave
City a Thrill.
(...)
Waning in 1844./i>
(...)
When the centenary came in 1883, every one seem to have forgotten that once the day was an annual event.
23 November 1985, New York Times, pg. 27:
What Evacuation Day Meant to New York
By Peter Salwen
(Peter Salwen is the author of the "Big Apple Whore Hoax," but here he plays straight with history - ed.)
(Oxford English Dictionary)
attrib. a1854 G. FURMAN Antiquities Long Island (1875) 269 The Evacuation day..has been observed as a species of holiday on the west end of Long Island. 1880 WEBSTER (Suppl.), Evacuation day, the anniversary of the day on which the British army evacuated the city of New York, November 25, 1783.
30 November 1843, Pittsfield (MA) Sun, pg. 3:
Evacuation Day. - The anniversary of the Evacuation of New York by the British was celebrated by the military of that city on Saturday. It is said that they made a splendid appearance.
November 1883, St. Nicholas: an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks, pg. 3:
THE LITTLE LORD OF THE MANOR.
A Story of Evacuation-Day.
19 October 1924, New York TImes, pg. X12:
EVACUATION DAY WAS ONCE
A GLORIOUS HOLIDAY HERE
Dinner of Sons of the Revolution in November Will
Recall a Celebration That Once Gave
City a Thrill.
(...)
Waning in 1844./i>
(...)
When the centenary came in 1883, every one seem to have forgotten that once the day was an annual event.
23 November 1985, New York Times, pg. 27:
What Evacuation Day Meant to New York
By Peter Salwen
(Peter Salwen is the author of the "Big Apple Whore Hoax," but here he plays straight with history - ed.)