“With a heart full of love and gratitude”
Aided by French forces, the Continental Army laid siege to English troops in Yorktown, VA. On October 19th, 1781, a white flag emerged from the English encampment, and Lord Charles Cornwallis offered his terms of surrender to General Washington. Cornwallis’ defeat at Yorktown paved the way for the Treaty of Paris (1783), officially ending the American Revolution.
Washington's Triumphal Entry into New York, Nove. 25th, 1783. Christian Inger after F.O.C. Darley. 1860. Collection of Fraunces Tavern Museum.
Between the Battle of Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris, New York City remained under British control. The British Army and those loyal to the Crown officially left the city on November 25, 1783. Celebrated as Evacuation Day, General Washington and a procession of Continental Soldiers and Officers made their formal entrance back into New York. The march marked Washington’s first return to New York since his defeat in 1776.
On December 4th, 1783, following the celebration of New York City’s return to American hands, Washington invited his officers to the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern. According to the Memoirs of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington lamented: “With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.” In an unprecedented move, Washington bid farewell to his officers and sought to step down from his position as General. After seven years with these men, the event was marked with “extreme sensibility on both sides,” as Washington personally thanked each of them. Afterward, Washington, escorted by a column of infantrymen down Whitehall Street, took a barge across the Hudson River and traveled to Annapolis, Maryland, to hand his resignation to Congress. Washington returned to Mount Vernon on December 24, 1783 and would spend the next four years as a private citizen.
