250 years ago, the British left Boston — and never came back

The big picture: Boston had been under British military control since 1774, before the first battles of the war in Lexington and Concord.

• Boston Harbor was sealed off and commerce was strangled by a garrisoned army of Redcoats.
• The city's around 17,000 inhabitants endured nearly two years of military occupation.

Flashback: Washington pulled off an audacious overnight maneuver that put American forces and captured artillery on Dorchester Heights, high ground overlooking the town and the British fleet in the harbor.

• British Gen. William Howe woke to find cannons aimed at him and his position untenable.
• Rather than fight a losing battle with American troops entrenched in what is now South Boston, Howe negotiated an informal truce: The British would leave the town if Washington allowed them to depart.
• Washington agreed. Boston was secured without being burnt to the ground.

The British fleet set sail for Halifax while Washington turned his attention south to New York and the rest of the war.

Bostonians on Sunday celebrated the 250th anniversary with the annual parade through the neighborhood that coincides with the city's St. Patrick's Day festivities.