Northeast

On this day in history, March 17, 1776, British troops flee Boston after dramatic 11-month siege by militia

Published

2 years ago

April 8, 2024

On this day in history, March 17, 1776, British troops flee Boston after dramatic 11-month siege by militia

British troops and loyalists fled Boston by ship for Canada in “disgrace” after nearly a decade of occupation that incited protest, bloodshed and then revolution, on this day in history, March 17, 1776.

“Surely it is the Lord’s doings and it is marvelous in our eyes,” patriot and future first lady Abigail Adams wrote of the incredible victory by the pugnacious little city over the mighty British crown.

The humiliating flight of King George III’s forces in the face of his disloyal subjects is still celebrated each year as Evacuation Day, a civic holiday, in Boston.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, MARCH 16, 1802, UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY ESTABLISHED AT WEST POINT

“It was a spectacle such as could only have been imagined until that morning,” David McCullough wrote in his “1776” epic of the most heroic year in American history.

“There were 120 ships departing with more than 11,000 people packed on board — 8,906 King’s troops, 667 women and 553 children, and in addition, waiting down the harbor, were 1,100 Loyalists.”

American Revolutionary War. Siege of Boston (April 19, 1775-March 17, 1776). Departure of the British fleet. On March 17, 1776, British forces were forced to evacuate the city of Boston following Gen. George Washington’s successful placement of fortifications and artillery on Dorchester Heights, which overlooks Boston from the south. Engraving by Petit. Panorama Universal. History of the United States of America, from 1st edition of Jean B.G. Roux de Rochelle’s Etats-Unis d’Amerique in 1837. Spanish edition, printed in Barcelona, 1850. (Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The Massachusetts Minutemen famously routed the Redcoats at the Battles of Lexington & Concord on April 19, 1775 — the “shot heard ’round the world” and the start of open hostilities between colony and crown — and chased them all the way back to Boston.

The Siege of Boston followed.

“Surely it is the Lord’s doings and it is marvelous in our eyes.” — Abigail Adams

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Thousands of militiamen from around New England left their farms, descended on Boston and launched an 11-month siege of their own port city. It was an unplanned display of resolve that shocked the British.

The British took Breed’s Hill, north of Boston, in the Battle of Bunker Hill, in June 1775, but at shocking cost. They did not make an attempt on Dorchester Heights, south of Boston.

In a line, the Lexington Minutemen and a group of the Massachusetts Sons of American Revolution stand atop Dorchester Heights in Boston on March 17, 2022. The annual commemoration of Evacuation Day at Dorchester Heights in South Boston on Thursday, March 17, is hosted by the National Parks of Boston and South Boston Citizens Association. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The Brits were trapped inside the city.

Gen. George Washington of Virginia arrived in Boston on July 3 to forge the militia — 16,000 men strong — into a legitimate fighting force.

“The siege of Boston from June 1775 to March 1776 marked Washington’s debut as commander in chief,” writes Smithsonian Magazine.

TEXAS MOM SUFFERS QUADRUPLE AMPUTATION, CREDITS HER FAITH AND A LITTLE DOG FOR PULLING HER THROUGH

“He met many of the men who would comprise his general staff for the duration.”

One of those men was Boston bookseller Henry Knox.

Col. Henry Knox, Washington’s chief of artillery, brings guns and mortars from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston. Hand-colored engraving by Van Ingen. (MPI/Getty Images)

“Knox impressed Washington with his energy, ingenuity, determination and knowledge of artillery,” writes MassMoments.org, a repository of Massachusetts history.

Knox proposed an audacious plan to end the stalemate: Trek more than 200 miles each way through a New England winter to Fort Ticonderoga, New York, and haul its bounty of artillery back to Boston.

“It was a spectacle such as could only have been imagined until that morning.” — David McCullough

“In less than two months’ time, Knox and his men moved 60 tons of artillery across lakes and rivers, through ice and snow to Boston,” writes MassMoments.org.

MEET THE AMERICAN WHO ROWED WASHINGTON ACROSS THE DELAWARE ON CHRISTMAS: SAILOR-SOLDIER JOHN GLOVER

It’s gone down in American lore as the Noble Train of Artillery. Villagers cheered as the expedition of American patriots passed through their towns.

Knox arrived without losing a single piece of equipment. Continental troops mounted the guns on Dorchester Heights under the cover of darkness the night of March 4 and 5 — six years to the day of the Boston Massacre.

Engraved portrait of former U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox standing next to a cannon, circa 1780-1800. Engraved from the original by Chappel. (Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“My God, these fellows have done more in one night than I could make my army do in three months,” British commander General William Howe reportedly exclaimed amid his shock at seeing the guns.

The British garrison, and the loyalists inside Boston, had been reduced to near starvation during the siege.

Howe realized his situation was hopeless. He shipped out March 17.

“The British were completely disgraced,” enthused the New York Constitutional Gazette.

“In less than two months’ time, Knox and his men moved 60 tons of artillery across lakes and rivers, through ice and snow to Boston.” — MassMoments.org.

“The first cheers from the American lines had been heard as early as nine that morning, when the men on Prospect Hill and Dorchester Heights saw clearly what was happening,” McCullough writes.

“In no time small boys came running across the Neck from Boston to deliver the news that the ‘lobsterbacks’ were gone at last.”

The American Revolution moved elsewhere: next to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and eventually southern colonies, before the British were finally defeated at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781.

View of residences near Dorchester Heights Monument on April 2, 2015. (Patrick Whittemore/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

The American Revolution was over in Boston, the city where it began and where 11-year-old Bostonian Christopher Seider was the first colonist to give his life in the cause of independence in 1770.

Boston has not been occupied by a foreign soldier since.

The victory renewed faith in American independence across the colonies.

Spurred by leading Boston rebels John Hancock and John Adams, the Second Continental Congress declared independence four months later.

The same road into downtown Boston is known today as Washington Street.

Washington deferred the honor of marching into the newly liberated city on March 17 to the New England officer who led the colonial militia in its siege before his arrival.

“In the early afternoon the first troops from Roxbury crossed the Neck and marched into Boston,” writes McCullough. “Drums beating, flags flying and led by Artemus Ward on horseback.”

The general from Virginia soon followed.

The same road into downtown Boston is known today as Washington Street.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.

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Northeast

New York AG orders Manhattan hospital to resume gender-transition treatment for transgender youth

Published

3 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

New York AG orders Manhattan hospital to resume gender-transition treatment for transgender youth

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New York Attorney General Letitia James is instructing a Manhattan hospital to resume offering gender-transition treatment to transgender youth after it ended such treatments last month over funding threats from the Trump administration.

NYU Langone’s decision to close its Transgender Youth Health Program violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws by “jeopardizing access to medically necessary healthcare for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers,” James wrote in a Feb. 25 letter first made public this week.

James’ office threatened “further action” if the hospital does not immediately resume offering hormone therapies, puberty blockers and other treatment to transgender youth.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is instructing a Manhattan hospital to resume offering gender-transition treatment to transgender young people. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

NYU Langone, one of the city’s largest hospital systems, said last month it would stop providing certain gender-transition treatments for patients under the age of 19.

“Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,” NYU Langone spokesman Steve Ritea said in a statement at the time. “We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change. This does not impact our pediatric mental health care programs, which will continue.”

The hospital ceased admitting new patients into its transgender youth program last year after President Donald Trump signed an executive order entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which aims to restrict gender-transition treatment for people under 19.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a proposal to cut federal Medicaid and Medicare funding to hospitals that provide these treatments to transgender young people. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Referencing Trump’s order, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later announced a proposal to cut federal Medicaid and Medicare funding to hospitals that provide these treatments to transgender youth.

But the Feb. 25 letter signed by the attorney general’s health care bureau chief, Darsana Srinivasan, said the proposal did not officially change federal law and did not affect a “medical institution’s existing duties and obligations under New York law.”

“The sudden discontinuation of medically necessary transgender healthcare can have severe, negative health outcomes,” Srinivasan wrote. “Accordingly, the Attorney General is extremely concerned by your institution’s decision to cease the provision of care to this vulnerable, minority population.”

LETITIA JAMES SUES HHS OVER TYING FEDERAL FUNDS TO TRANSGENDER POLICY

NYU Langone said last month it would stop providing certain gender-transition treatments for patients under the age of 19. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The letter gives the hospital until March 11 to show its compliance, although it is unclear what steps would be taken if it fails to resume the treatments.

Several other hospitals across the country have also halted transgender youth treatments following Trump’s executive order and funding threats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Boston, MA

Charlotte plays Boston on 5-game win streak

Published

5 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Charlotte plays Boston on 5-game win streak

Charlotte Hornets (31-31, ninth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (41-20, second in the Eastern Conference)

Boston; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Celtics -6.5; over/under is 214.5

BOTTOM LINE: Charlotte is looking to keep its five-game win streak alive when the Hornets take on Boston.

The Celtics are 27-13 against Eastern Conference opponents. Boston is sixth in the NBA with 46.2 rebounds led by Nikola Vucevic averaging 8.8.

The Hornets are 19-21 in conference matchups. Charlotte is 7-8 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 15.0 turnovers per game.

The Celtics average 15.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.7 more made shots on average than the 12.8 per game the Hornets allow. The Hornets average 16.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.1 more made shots on average than the 13.9 per game the Celtics allow.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jaylen Brown is averaging 29 points, 7.1 rebounds and five assists for the Celtics. Payton Pritchard is averaging 17 points and 5.8 assists over the past 10 games.

Kon Knueppel is averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is averaging 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 8-2, averaging 109.4 points, 50.7 rebounds, 27.1 assists, 6.1 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 98.5 points per game.

Hornets: 7-3, averaging 117.3 points, 47.8 rebounds, 27.4 assists, 8.5 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.2 points.

INJURIES: Celtics: Jayson Tatum: out (achilles), Neemias Queta: day to day (rest).

Hornets: Coby White: day to day (injury management).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Pittsburg, PA

2 young girls found dead in suitcases in Cleveland, police say

Published

6 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

2 young girls found dead in suitcases in Cleveland, police say

The bodies of two young girls were found inside suitcases in Cleveland, Ohio, police said on Tuesday.

In a press conference, Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said on Tuesday that the bodies of the two girls were found in suitcases buried in shallow graves on Monday evening. One of the girls was believed to be between the ages of 8 and 13 years old, while the other was believed to be 10 to 14 years old. Neither girl was identified as of Tuesday night.

“This is a priority,” Todd said during Tuesday’s press conference. “This is a traumatic event for our officers, for the community, and this is just such a tragic incident, but we are trying to develop any leads we can.”

Police said there are no active missing persons reports in Cleveland that match the two victims.

Officials said someone walking their dog near East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue found what appeared to be a body inside a suitcase around 6 p.m. on Monday. When officers responded to the scene near Ginn Academy, they found one of the bodies stuffed in a suitcase in a shallow grave. The second shallow grave with the body stuffed in a suitcase was found after officers searched the area.

“This is a field close to the school over there,” Todd said. “This is just a residential neighborhood that I’m sure a lot of people do frequent.”

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has custody of the bodies and will identify the girls. Todd said there is no clear indication of possible causes of death for the girls or how long the girls were there.

“It was some time, so it’s not something that was recent,” Todd said.

There is no suspect, Todd added. Anyone with information can contact the Cleveland police at 216-623-5464.

“Usually in residential areas, you know what’s happening in your neighborhood, something just seems a little bit off,” Todd said. “That’s why we’re asking that anyone who has anything that they believe to be information directly related to or suspicious, that they give us a call.”

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