You must be kidding <BBG>. Evacuation Day celebrates the day the Brits left Boston, on March 13, 1776. Go to http://www-tech.mit.edu/V118/N14/ring.14c.html for the correct story. Carl Hommel (I got it right this time.) -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: Soyamaven@aol.com > > Now almost forgotten, Evacuation Day was celebrated as a holiday long before > the Fourth of July: > > On November 25, 1783, the British Army boarded their naval vessels and > evacuated New York City (then only coterminous with New York County), their > wartime > headquarters and their last military position in the United States during the > Revolutionary War. > > As the British sailed away south in retreat through the Narrows separating > Staten Island on the west and Long Island on the east, the last thing they saw, > as their ships sunk below the horizon, was the Flag of the United States of > America flying atop the Liberty Pole (an extended flag pole) in the frontyard of > the Dutch Reformed Church in the Hamlet of New Utrecht, Town of New Utrecht, > in the south-central part of Kings County. Today this location is at > Christopher Columbus Boulevard (18th Avenue) and Liberty Pole Boulevard (84th > Street) > in the Bensonhurst neighborhood in the south-central part of the New York City > Borough of Brooklyn. (The NYC Borough of Brooklyn is coterminous with the NYS > Kings County). > > Replaced six times over the years, the 106' Liberty Pole is the last > remaining Liberty Pole in the original thirteen United States. On top of the > Pole is > the original eagle and weathervane. The eagle is made of wood and has a 5' > wingspan. After two hundred and twenty-two years, the weather has weakened it > considerably and it has been reinforced with iron bands. > > The eagle has looked over the bay and seen many sailing vessels, steamships > and war ships. It has been said that the eyes of this golden eagle has looked > upon more change in the world’s history than occurred from the days of > Nebuchadnezzar to the day when the eagle was raised. > > Here's the URL for the New Utrecht Liberty Pole Association: > http://www.historicnewutrecht.org/LPA.html > > Here's the URL for the Dutch Reformed Church: > http://www.newutrechtchurch.org/ > > > I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. > > Regards, > > Walter Greenspan > Great Falls, MT & Jericho, NY > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GEN-NYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message