09/05/2026
On Wednesday, September 23 at 2:30 pm, we are co-sponsoring an event in the Will Library conference room entitled “Evacuation Day: A Brief History of the End of the American Revolution”.
The American Revolution officially ended on September 3, 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. It was a stunning loss for the British Empire, and thousands of British troops and even more Loyalists were still in the American colonies. Although evacuations occurred in all the major Atlantic ports, New York City was one of the largest, and the last to evacuate.
The British under General Sir Guy Carleton had begun evacuating New York in August of 1783, and all British citizens were to be gone by noon on November 25, 1783. Like many Loyalists, the Philipse family went with them, abandoning the Philipse Manor for the safety of England. November 25th became known as “Evacuation Day,” and became an early American holiday as the Patriots celebrated their victory and the freeing of New York City from British occupation.
In this talk, Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site Programs and Events Manager Sarah Wassberg Johnson outlines the end of the Revolution and Evacuation Day itself. Learn what happened to the Philipses, Philipse Manor, their tenants, and the people they enslaved following the American Revolution.
Registration is required: https://www.ypl.org/event/evacuation-day-brief-history-end-american-revolution-new-york-110512.
