General Greene Takes Command of Boston

Despite the evacuation of British troops from the town of Boston on the 17th of March 1776, the town would not be immediately free from military control.  Though the British had boarded their ships and sailed into the harbor, they lingered in sight of the town for several days.  Washington was anxious to rush to New York where the British might strike next, but with the British ships still in the outer harbor, he could hardly leave the town unprotected. 

On March 20th, General Washington left General Nathanael Greene in charge of a force of troops left behind to protect Boston from re-invasion.  Greene immediately put Boston back into a state of martial law, only this time under the authority of the Continental Army.  Under Greene’s command, Greene ordered his soldiers to make a good show of themselves, condemning plundering and abuse of Boston residents and promising punishment for any soldier or officer caught doing so.  He expected his soldiers to maintain an appearance of a clean uniform, face, and hands, and ordered his men to keep their weapons in good condition.  Greene felt that it was necessary that his soldiers be on double duty while the town’s defenses were low, ordering nightly patrols until the British left the harbor.

As the days wore on, it became unclear why the British were still lingering in the harbor.  The original assumption had been that they were preparing to sail, but when days of good weather came and went with no movement of the British fleet, General Greene and General Washington grew anxious that they might be preparing for a surprise attack.  Greene warned his men of the possibility and ordered some of his troops to man boats in the harbor to watch for any indication of the enemy’s next move, prepared to fortify the town, and advised his troops to be ready for an alarm at a moment’s notice.

General Greene’s command in Boston lasted two weeks, which was just long enough to see the British fleet eventually sail from the harbor.  It is interesting to note the success of Greene’s command in Boston.  He states in one of his letters that during his entire stay in Boston there were only one or two complaints from the inhabitants regarding plundering, and those complaints could not even be proven.  In addition, when Greene left, he was replaced by Artemis Ward who the inhabitants complained got nothing done to help strengthen the defense of the town.  A letter written by William Cooper to John Adams, explained that there was nothing being done under Ward’s care and explicitly asks for the command of Boston to be placed back in the care of General Greene or another equally capable officer.  It had become clear that General Greene had impressed the people of Boston with his command.

The End of British Authority in Boston

Happy Evacuation Day Boston! On this day in 1776, General Howe and the British military evacuated Boston ending the 11 month Siege of Boston.

Only a few days before, on March 4, Washington had decided to place newly arrived cannon from Fort Ticonderoga on Dorchester Heights.   Washington hoped that the British would attack the Heights which would allow him to send men across the Charles River to attack the British in Boston.

General Howe had, in fact, originally planned an assault on the heights even though he knew it meant the possibility of more casualties to the British army than had occurred at The Battle of Bunker Hill.  On March 5 and 6, a storm arrived which thwarted his plans of attack and Howe, realizing Boston was not a strategic military position, made the decision to evacuate his army to Halifax, Nova Scotia where he could await reinforcements before returning to attack the rebels at a new location: New York.

The evacuation of Boston marks a drastic change in the executive power of Massachusetts.  From 1692-1774 Massachusetts had royally appointed governors who acted as representatives of King and Parliament, from 1774-1776 Massachusetts essentially was run by the leading generals of the British military-Generals Gage and Howe, and now, finally,  both royal governors and military control were gone.  British authority in Boston had officially come to an end but it would not be until October of 1780 when the people of Massachusetts would establish a new and permanent state government with a state governor.

Mezzotint of General Sir William Howe.  Thought to be American Revolution but uniform style suggests French and Indian War era with the Order of the Bath badge added later.  

Dorchester Heights is circled in red on Dorchester Neck across from the peninsula of Boston where the British were surrounded on all sides by the Continental Army and Colonial Militia. 

Portrait of a young George Washington at 40 years old in 1772.  At the time of his appointment as commander-in-chief of the newly formed Continental Army, Washington was only 43, and would have been 44 at the time of the British evacuation of Boston. 

A map of the peninsula of Boston with Dorchester Heights labeled off to the right of Boston Neck