I'm not sure if I've lost it or not. But I was wondering, should I remove its leaves? What might I do to save it?

Any help would be appreciated.

When dehydration occurs, the most succulent parts of the tree die first. Hair roots and blooms, then fine roots and leaves, finally twigs and larger roots die. You're likely dealing with a plant that, if viable tissue remains, needs to be treated as a cutting.

Be very careful not to over-water. You can't force water into the plant by keeping the soil soggy. Damp is ideal. Put the plant in bright shade and hope for the best.

Temperate deciduous rees defoliated after the summer solstice have an uphill struggle because the natural tendency for the plant is to limit the formation of new foliage and stop branch extension from around the solstice until spring. What will happen is the plant (if living) will try to grow new foliage, using it's stored energy. The problem is that leaves are a net user of energy until they are about 75% mature. After that, they begin to pay back what they borrowed from the reserves. If frost takes the leaves before they are mature, the tree will have expended all it's energy to grow leaves with no pay-back.

Where you live will have some impact on the likelihood of survival if the plant is still viable because of variable growing seasons. You should always include that info (where you live) in your user info when you're asking advice/opinions.

Al

Thanks for your input. Good point about location, I live in central NJ. The leaves are still green, some are curling up, others are looking dry, but none are truly dried out.

The green branches are still pliable.

This is my oldest baby and I'm really worried. Thanks for the support.

Joe