Highlights From The Vault — Evacuation of Boston

On March 17, 1776, British rule in Boston ended. Thousands of British soldiers, joined by hundreds of local Loyalists, evacuated Boston after an eleven-month siege. What became of those who left? And what was the Boston they left behind?

In this From The Vault map collection showing, take a look at maps that explore the Evacuation of Boston as we mark its 250th anniversary.

Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres, A chart of the harbour of Boston (1775)

British rule in Boston ended on March 17, 1776, as over 120 ships sailed out of Boston Harbor. Onboard were nearly 9,000 British soldiers, who had been trapped in the city during an eleven-month siege. More than 2,000 civilians fled with them. Boston (at left) was then only a small peninsula of only a few square miles, isolated from the surrounding countryside. British General William Howe ordered an evacuation after learning the Americans had fortified Dorchester Heights to the south, placing Boston within cannon range. Though the battle was over, the Evacuation of Boston changed the city forever.

Plan of the town of Boston with the attack on Bunkers-Hill in the peninsula of Charlestown the 17th of June 1775 (1778)

The Siege of Boston began after the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. Thousands of Bostonians fled the city, now a war zone. This map of the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought two months later, reveals how deeply the war transformed Boston. The British troops inside the city barricaded narrow streets and fortified their main camp on Boston Common. Trees and empty buildings were cut down for firewood. To the north, Charlestown stood in ruins, burnt down by the British as they made their assault on nearby Bunker Hill. Though the Evacuation of Boston marked a moment of triumph for the Patriot cause, it was also a moment of profound uncertainty for Bostonians as they cleaned up the aftermath of war.

Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres, Boston, seen between Castle Williams and Governor's Island, distant 4 miles : Appearance of the high lands of Agameticus, N.E. with Penobscot Hills, to the eastwards, at 3 to 4 leagues off shore ; Boston Bay, the light house bearing N.W.b.W distant one league ; The entrance of Boston Harbor (1777)

These views of Boston Harbor capture the last sights of Boston that many evacuees would ever see. In the top and bottom images, Boston fades into the distance beyond the islands of Boston Harbor. At least 1,100 local Loyalists boarded the evacuating ships, fearing persecution from their Patriot neighbors if they stayed behind. Some Loyalists returned home after the war, while others began new lives elsewhere as part of an American diaspora. As they sailed out of Boston, the British fleet destroyed Castle William (top image, at left) and Boston Light (bottom image, at right). For Boston, the threat of war remained just past its harbor as the Royal Navy controlled the seas.

Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres, Halifax Harbour ... Catch Harbour ... small vessels only (1781)

After evacuating Boston, the British fleet sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia and arrived two weeks later. Halifax was then a garrison town under martial law, hosting a key Royal Navy base due to its position on the coast. American privateers regularly raided the coast of Nova Scotia and the region’s cod fishing industry hurt as a result. By the end of the war, over 30,000 Loyalist refugees arrived in Halifax, which struggled to house and feed them. African American refugees, both free and enslaved, faced added discrimination and violence. For many Loyalists, Nova Scotia was merely a waypoint on a much longer journey.

John Montrésor, A plan of the city of New-York & its environs to Greenwich, on the North or Hudsons River, and to Crown Point, on the East or Sound River, shewing the several streets, publick buildings, docks, fort & battery, with the true form & course of the commanding grounds, with and without the town : survey'd in the winter, 1775 [i.e. 1766], [1775]

Even before the Evacuation of Boston, British General William Howe was planning an invasion of New York. British soldiers and sailors regrouping in Halifax began preparations right away. New York offered a deepwater port and its location on the coast made it a hub for operations across the Thirteen Colonies. Unlike Boston, New York had a hinterland that could sustain a British occupation. The British took New York in July 1776. It became a safehaven for tens of thousands of Loyalists, and for around 3,000 enslaved African Americans seeking their freedom under British protection. The British evacuated New York on November 25, 1783, an exodus eclipsing the Evacuation of Boston seven years earlier. 

Carington Bowles, A new chart of the vast Atlantic or Western Ocean including the sea coast of Europe, Africa, America, and the West India Islands with the banks, shoals, rocks & course of sailing from one continent to the other, laid down from the latest discoveries & regulated by numerous astronomical observations (1771)

The British Evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776 sent shockwaves across the Atlantic. This small colonial city had forced a powerful military to retreat and severed itself from the British Empire. New England Loyalists joined a growing diaspora to Canada, Britain, the Caribbean, and Sierra Leone on the west coast of Africa. Boston itself faced an uncertain future. The Declaration of Independence was still months away. Where would Boston fit in this new world?