On this day in 1783 the last of the British troops who served during the American Revolution departed New York City for the final time.

Continental troops poured into Manhattan soon after, and celebrations began with Commander-in-chief George Washington and New York Governor George Clinton being welcomed with festivities and a parade.

The British flag was subsequently replaced with the American flag at Fort Clinton as a young patriot outwitted the British (who greased the flagpole in an act of sabotage) by climbing it with wooden cleats.

With Britain as an ally, Evacuation Day slowly decreased in popularity around the onset of the First World War before it all but faded from our national memory.