Evacuation Day is a proper feast little noted outside of the Irish population of Boston, Massachusetts. It commemorates the departure of English troops (and loyalist families) from Boston in 1776. General William Howe led the evacuation, as the city was surrounded by Continental forces and break-out was unlikely. As the day falls on the Feast of Blessed Patrick of Ireland, there is a certain blurring of events remembered, which may also be due to the beer.