State Representatives Nick Collins and Evandro Carvalho and the Evacuation Day Heritage Committee cordially invite you to the celebration of Evacuation Day, Thursday, March 17, 2018.

The ceremonies begin at 9 am with the annual Evacuation Day Mass at St. Augustine’s Chapel, the oldest Catholic Church in the Boston Archdiocese. At the conclusion of the Mass, the winners of the Evacuation Day Poster and Essay contest will be announced. From St. Augustine’s, a procession will proceed to Dorchester Heights, where General Washington placed artillery in 1776 to force the British out of Boston.

The annual Historical Exercises begin at 10:00 a.m., featuring the Lexington Minutemen, the South Boston Excel Junior ROTC, the Allied War Veterans, and the Major General Henry Knox Lodge of Freemasons.

The Allied War Veterans lay a wreath to honor the men and women of South Boston in the Armed Forces, and the Minutemen will fire a salute.
State Representative Evandro Carvalho will host the Historical Exercises at Fort Hill in Highland Park, Roxbury, beginning at 11 a.m, with ceremonies by the Minutemen and local elected officials.

This fortification, designed by Henry Knox, prevented the British from breaking out of Boston during the siege. Washington was so impressed with Knox’s ability at designing and constructing this fort, he put Knox in charge of American artillery. These two fortifications, at Roxbury and South Boston, were crucial to the first American victory in the War for Independence.

State Representative Nick Collins will host lunch at the Shirley Eustis House, 33 Shirley Street, Roxbury, following the Historical Exercises at Fort Hill. Shirley-Eustis House served as a Revolutionary War barracks during the Siege of Boston in 1775 when it housed members of the Massachusetts Sixth Foot Regiment, led by Colonel Asa Whitcomb.

For more information, please contact the Shirley-Eustis House at 617-442-2275 or email governorshirley@gmail.com.