"Evacuation Day", 1783, Its Many Stirring Events With Recollections of Capt. John Van Arsdale, of the Veteran Corps of Artillery, by Whose Efforts on That Day the Enemy Were Circumvented, and the American Flag Successfully Raised on the Battery

The opening paints a vivid portrait of New York in the autumn of 1783, a compact settlement of fewer than twenty thousand souls still scarred by seven years of British occupation. It follows the moment the British troops finally evacuated, the battered city streets stirring as the American flag was hoisted atop the Battery, a symbol of hard‑won liberty. Central to that scene is the recollection of Captain John Van Arsdale, whose actions helped secure the flag‑raising and have become a lasting part of the city’s folklore.

Interwoven with illustrative notes, the work captures the mixture of jubilation among patriots and the frantic despair of loyalists scrambling to abandon their positions. Personal anecdotes give voice to ordinary residents, merchants and former soldiers, letting listeners hear the cheers, the tears, and the clatter of hastily packed carts leaving the harbor. In its clear, conversational style the book offers a concise, approachable snapshot of a turning point that closed the Revolutionary struggle and set the tone for the new republic.