On December 4, 1783, nine days after the last British soldiers left American soil, General George Washington visited Fraunces Tavern. He invited his officers from the Continental Army to the Long Room to thank them for their service, and to bid them farewell. After embracing each officer and wishing them well, Washington left for Annapolis, where he would resign his military commission before traveling on to Mount Vernon. The only first-hand account of this emotional goodbye comes from The Memoirs of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, which Fraunces Tavern Museum has on display in the McEntee gallery on the 3rd floor of the Museum.

Join us in the room where it happened for a special reenactment and opportunity to converse with Washington himself before he returns to Mount Vernon!

 
 
 
 

Important Event Information

Admission

Tickets for the reenactment can be reserved for $1 and include admission to the rest of the Museum including our gallery spaces and current exhibitions.

Space is limited in the Long Room. Advance ticket purchase guarantees your place. Once a reenactment time's capacity has been reached through reservations, admission may still be possible through a stand-by line, space-permitting, on a first come, first served basis. Stand-by admission tickets can be purchased day of, on-site.

Reenactment Details

Each reenactment of the farewell will be given in the Long Room, the actual room where George Washington bade farewell to his officers on December 4, 1783.

There will be 4 reenactments of Washington’s Farewell to his Officers throughout the day:

12:30pm
1:00pm
2:45pm
3:15pm

Rules & Regulations:

  • All performances begin promptly a the time listed. If you have a ticket for a performance, please arrive at the designated waiting area (George Washington Portrait Gallery) 10 minutes prior to the performance start time.

  • Once a performance starts, the doors will be shut and will NOT be reopened until it has finished.

  • Your ticket includes access to the entire museum.