Sorry drying up and falling off x

I take it that it was already in a pot so this what happens naturally. I would just move it into a sheltered spot so that they roots are barely moist and the pot doesn't freeze solid. In the spring, move it into a spot where it will get dappled shade and out of the wind. Then a little feed will help.

I agree if it is in the pot. if you lifted it from the ground then the plant may have suffered from this. But the tree should recover next spring.

Acers are large growing trees. I don't feel they belong in a pot at all except for a temporary display. That pot is too small to sustain this tree. If possible try to plant it in the ground. It's roots want to spread out in all directions and drink about 50 gallons of water per day everyday. They also have a symbiotic relationship with certain types of fungus which wont happen in that tiny pot. I also think it's planted too deeply. The roots should be right at the surface

That is a Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum), Bathgate. It's not like a Norway Maple or a Sugar Maple, but a slow growing shrub-tree, instead--especially since it is one of the threadleaf varieties. Even without bonsai techniques, it should be good for at least another three years in that pot.

My Acers are all in pots and seem quite happy Angela. I mix compost with bark for them and give liquid seaweed a couple of times a year. I take top layer of about three inches of compost off in spring and put new on and they seem to be doing ok. (The Acer specialist next door to me advises liquid seaweed and sells it with her plants).
My leaves all fell off in the storm a couple of weeks ago.

Tug - I know the difference between a Japanese Maple and a Norway Maple. lol

My point is that they are incredibly thirsty trees and high maintenance. The pot brings additional challenges. It's not likely have a long happy life as it would planted in the ground.

3 years in that tiny pot? Not without all the amendments. It's demands increase as it grows larger. They tend to get top heavy & blow over.

Total leaf loss is not from the storm.

There are Japanese Maple bonsai in Japan that are centuries old, a few in the same pot for nearly a century. Now, that includes frequent watering, regular feeding and pruning, and root pruning every several years. I never said that it would be low maintenance. Perhaps I am fooled by the exigencies of my own climate, where container plants are automatically assumed to receive frequent watering and regular feeding...or they die very quickly!!

I consider bonsai more an art form or sculpture. There are some amazing examples on exhibit at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

I've got a few acers in pots and they are all doing well. Mine lose their leaves every year and always come back Angela. I don't move my pots, I just leave them where they are and they've been fine. So don't worry, it's natural for them to drop their leaves at this time of year.