The Great New York City Fire of 1776

Unsung History

Just days after British troops captured New York City from General Washington and his army in September 1776, fire broke out, destroying a fifth of the city. The British blamed rebels who had remained hidden in Manhattan, but Washington, who had been ordered by Congress to leave the city standing on his retreat, never claimed responsibility, though he complained that the blaze hadn’t caused more destruction. So who did start the fire and why?

Joining me this week to discuss the New York fire and the question of who started it is Dr. Benjamin Carp, Professor and Daniel M. Lyons Chair of History at Brooklyn College, and author of The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The poetry is from selections of “Conflagration: A Poem,” Printed in New York from High Gaine in 1780 and performed by Theodore Weflen-Pollock. The episode image is "Representation du Feu terrible a Nouvelle Yorck," The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library; the image is in the public domain.

Additional Sources:

• “Timeline: The American Revolution,” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
• “The American Revolution: A timeline of George Washington's military and political career during the American Revolution, 1774-1783,” George Washington Papers, Library of Congress.
• “The Burning of Charlestown: Only Two Spoons Remained for Relief Ellery,” by Massachusetts Historical Society, Charlestown Patriot Bridge, June 17, 2020.
• "The Burning of Falmouth, 1775: A Case Study in British Imperial Pacification," by Donald A. Yerxa, Maine History 14, 3 (1975): 119-161. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol14/ iss3/3
• “New York City’s Forgotten Past,” by Erik Peter Axelson, HistoryNet, December 9, 2019.
• “Did George Washington Order Rebels to Burn New York City in 1776?” by Erik Ofgang, Smithsonian Magazine, May 11, 2023.
• “From George Washington to Lund Washington, 6 October 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives.

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