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All of Boston turns out for the St. Patricks Day Parade.
Its also officially Evacuation Day, which commemorates the
expulsion of British troops from South Boston by General Washington
in 1776 and which is observed as the de facto legal holiday.
The city of Boston has been celebrating Evacuation Day on
March 17 for more than 200 years. Public employees - including
school teachers - in Suffolk and Middlesex counties have been
given a paid day off to celebrate.
The day actually marks the anniversary of the re-occupation
of Boston by American troops in 1776, according to noted Boston
historian Thomas O'Connor. Several days earlier, General George
Washington had stationed regiments with cannons on the top
of Dorchester Heights, where the British could see them from
their ships docked in the Harbor. No shots were fired, O'Connor
said. But the British were scared enough to evacuate the city
and sail off to Nova Scotia. About a week later, on March
17, 1776, Washington sent troops into Boston to make sure
the British were gone and occupy the city.
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