WASHINGTON BIDS FAREWELL TO CONTINENTAL ARMY OFFICERS
New York City (JFK+50) On December 4, 1783, General George Washington bid farewell to the officers of the Continental Army in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern* in New York.
The last British troops had departed on November 25 as Washington's troops entered the city.
Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge**, according to Terese Loeb Kreueer, wrote the "only eyewitness account that still exists" of the farewell meeting in 1830.
The Colonel wrote...
"(Washington's) emotions were too strong to be concealed."
General Washington filled his glass with wine and thanked his officers for their service. Afterwards, the General was escorted to Whitehall wharf where he boarded a barge for New Jersey.
*Fraunces Tavern was built by the De Lancey family in 1719 at 54 Pearl Street in NYC. It has been a residence, hotel & one of the most important taverns of the Revolutionary War.
**Benjamin Tallmadge (1754-1835) was born in Setauket, NY. BT was an American military officer, spymaster & politician.
SOURCES
"Fraunces Tavern Museum, History," www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/
"George Washington's Farewell To His Officers Revisited," by Terese Loeb Kreueer, www.static1.squarespace.com/
