Howe received a letter from lord Dartmouth, advising 1776. to the evacuation of Bofton, and the removal of his troops to New York. He excufed himself by pleading he had not fufficient fhipping. He was now obliged to evacuate with fewer.

A flag was fent out from the select men, acquainting gen. Washington with the intention of the troops, and that gen. Howe was difpofed to leave the town standing, provided he could retire uninterrupted by the coun-try. Gen. Washington brought himself under no obligation; but expreffed himself in words, which admitted of a favorable conftruction, and intimated his good wishes for the towns-people. He was at a lofs to know where it was that gen. Howe intended going; and though inclined to believe it was Halifax, yet to guard against the evil of a mistake, while the British were preparing to be gone, he fent off the riflemen by land to New York, to affift in fecuring that city.

General Howe iffued a proclamation, ordering all 9. woollen and linen goods to be delivered to Crean Brush efq; be they in whofe hands they might. Sundry fhops, 10. belonging to perfons in the country, were broke open, and all the goods, of whatever fort or kind, taken out by the faid Brush, and put on board fhip to be conveyed away. The next day shops were ftripped by him of all their goods, though the owners were in towr. There was a licentious plundering of fhops, ftores and dwelling houses, by foldiers and failors, carrying de-. struction wherever they went: what they could not carry away, they destroyed. The next day the fame fcenes were renewed, though exprefsly forbid in orders, and the guilty threatened with death, if detected in that or

12.

Mar.

34.

1776. firing a house. The ftreets were barricaded in different parts of the town, and difpofitions made, as though the troops would foon take their departure. Stores, &c. were plundered by failors from the ships of war, led by their officers under pretence of orders from the admi15. ral. Proclamation was made by the crier for every inhabitant to keep to his house from eleven o'clock in the morning till night, left they should annoy the troops in their intended embarkation; but the wind coming about to east, they moftly returned to their barracks again. 16. The troops waiting only for a fair wind to embark,

17.

had little else to study but mischief, which they practised to a great degree, by breaking open ftores and toffing the contents, being private property, into the dock; destroying the furniture of every house they could get into, and otherwise committing every kind of wantonnefs, which disappointed malice could fuggeft

A breast work was discovered to be thrown up by the Americans at Nook's-hill on Dorchefter peninsula, which from its proximity, had an entire command of Bofton Neck and the fouth end of the town-a work which the king's troops had moft fearfully dreaded. In confequence of it, they began to embark at four o'clock in the morning, and were all on board and under fail before ten *. When it was certain that they were quite gone, fearch was made, for fear of what might be, and fires were difcovered in feveral houfes fo circumftanced as to intimate a defign of fetting them on fire, which was happily fruftrated. Nothing but prevailing preju

+ Moft of the above from March the fixth, is taken from the mamufcript journal of a gentleman who continued in Bofton, while in the hands of the British generals.

dice will impute fuch defign to any other than fome un- 1776. principled privates; though an officer of rank was ftrongly fufpected of having plundered under an official character, and of having connived at the rafcally conduct of fmaller villains. What fo haftened the British upon a fight of the works on Nook's-hill, was probably an apprehenfion, that the Americans would poffefs themfelves of Noddle's Ifland, and by erecting batteries at both places, enclose the harbour with the fire of their cannon. When the king's troops withdrew from Charlef town, they left fentries ftanding as ufual with their firelocks fhouldered; but it was foon fufpected what regiment they belonged to, and that they were only effigies fet there by the flying enemy. It appears by one of the orderly books which was left behind, that their force was 7575, exclufive of the staff; fo that with the marines and failors, Howe might have been confidered as 10,000 ftrong, had it not been for the mutual jealoufies which took place between the army and navy.

The difficulties which the troops were under, from being fo unexpectedly obliged to evacuate Bofton, were much increased by the numbers who were under the neceffity of removing with them. Many who were difaffected to the American caufe had fled there with their families for fafety; befide thefe, there were not a few of the old inhabitants, who concluded it was far more prudent for them to withdraw than remain. Both together, with their families, made up fome hundreds, and with their effects encumbered the tranfports; to which must be added the plunder taken from the town, confifting of furniture and various other articles of a bulky nature. The fuddennefs of the evacuation prevented an appli

1776. cation to Halifax for a fupply of fhipping to leffen the embarrassments. When the fleet got down to King and Nantafket roads, they remained there feveral days, and during that period, burnt the block-house and bar racks on Castle Island, blowed up and demolished the fortifications; but they did not undertake to carry off the cannon, and only attempted rendering them unferviceable, which was effected as to several.

General Washington was foon acquainted with the evacuation of the town, when measures were taken to preferve the peace and order of it, by placing guards and giving directions as to the admiffion of perfons into it. The day of evacuating, being the fabbath, was in Mar. favor of regularity. On the Monday his excellency fent I 8, off five regiments under gen. Heath. After marching about a hundred miles, they embarked and went from New London through the Sound to New York by water. The reft, excepting a few which were left in Bofton, took the fame route, when the fleet put to sea. The American army was well fupplied with flour, while in the neighbourhood of Boston, without any particular interruption, owing to capt. Wallace's having been ordered to cruife about Rhode Island, inftead of off New London. Confequently the flour for the army alway got fafe from New York or elfewhere to New London, from thence to Norwich, and then by land to the place of destination. About a week after the evacuation, the British fleet failed, as was foon known, for Halifax; but commodore Banks was left with two or three men of war to protect the veffels that fhould arrive from Great Britain or Ireland; fome of which will undoubtedly be taken notwithstanding fuch precaution, It was but

three days before the evacuation, that capt. Manly took 1776. a tranfport of 400 tons burden, laden with peas, potatoes, pork, four crout, and ten packages of medicine.

parts

of

When admiffion into Boston was allowed, the Ame÷ rican troops were very defirous of feeing the town. Many of them came from inland places, and were never in a fea-port; their curiofity was much excited on a variety of accounts. But the small-pox was in feveral it; and therefore they only, who were past the diforder, were to be admitted. Such however was the defire of numbers, that they were guilty of a deception, to obtain entrance. The thought of being liable to catch the difwould have terrified them in the highest degree temper a little while back; but to gratify a different paffion, they suppressed their fears, which might operate for the preventing of their taking the infection. The works of the enemy naturally engaged their attention. These, by judicious perfons who have furveyed them, are acknowledged to be excellent, and every one is convinced, that it would have been a most hazardous attempt to have endeavoured forcing them.

General Washington appointed perfons to procure an account, and to take care of the articles which the British troops left behind. Befide others, there were at the Castle Island and Bofton, 250 pieces of cannon, great and small, more than half of which may be rendered ferviceable by the aids of ingenuity: the heaviest have been the least injured-four thirteen and a half inch mortars, two of them with their beds weighing five tons each-2,500 chaldron of fea coal-25,000 bushels of wheat-2,300 bushels of barley-600 bushels of oats-100 jars of oil, containing a barrel each-and 150