ON SETTLES HIS ACCOUNTS WITH THE UNITED
STATES--JOURNEY TO ANNAPOLIS--COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AND BALL
THERE--WASHINGTON RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION--HIS RETIREMENT TO PRIVATE
LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON--LETTERS TO HIS FRIENDS ON THE
SUBJECT--WASHINGTON'S DREAMS OF QUIET LIFE.

It was late in November, 1783, before the British troops were prepared
to leave New York, so large was the number of persons, and so great was
the quantity of goods to be first conveyed away. At length Sir Guy
Carleton gave Washington notice when he would be ready to surrender the
city. Governor Clinton summoned the members of the state council to
convene at Eastchester on the twenty-first of November, to prepare for
the re-establishment of civil government in New York city and its
vicinity, and a detachment of troops came down from West Point to be
ready to take possession of the posts about to be evacuated by the
British.

Carleton appointed the twenty-fifth of November as the day for the
evacuation, and before that time the British troops were drawn in from
the surrounding posts. On the morning of the twenty-fifth Washington and
Governor Clinton were at Harlem, with the detachment from West Point,
under General Knox; and during the morning they all moved toward the
city, and halted at the Bowery. The troops were composed of
light-dragoons, light-infantry, and artillery, and were accompanied by
the civil officers of the state.

[Illustration: ENTRANCE OF THE AMERICAN ARMY INTO NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 25,
1873.]

Between twelve and one o'clock the British troops were embarked. The
fleet immediately weighed anchor, and with a favoring breeze sailed out
the Narrows. The American troops and the civil authorities then marched
in and took formal possession. Washington and Clinton, with their
respective suites, led the procession, escorted by a troop of
Westchester cavalry. Then followed the lieutenant-governor and members
of the council, General Knox and the officers of the army, the speaker
of the assembly, and a large procession of citizens on horseback and on
foot.

The evacuation of the British, and the entrance of the Americans,
produced in the inhabitants mingled feelings of joy and sadness. The
whigs greatly rejoiced at their deliverance, while the families of
loyalists were saddened by the change. There was a marked contrast
between the troops that left and the troops that came. "We had been
accustomed for a long time to military displa