Book Reviewed: The Great New York Fire of 1776, a Lost Story of the American Revolution by Benjamin L. Carp.

The Great Fire of New York The Great Fire of New York was a significant event during the early stages of the American Revolution. It occurred on the night of September 21, 1776, just a few weeks after the British forces captured the city of New York. The fire destroyed over 500 to 1,000 buildings. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but many British soldiers and Loyalists suspected that American patriots deliberately set the fire to prevent the British from using the city as a base. There were also stories about the British soldiers were responsible for the fire to destroy the spirits of the American patriots. The fire destroyed approximately one-third of New York City, which at the time was a small but densely populated area mostly located at the southern tip of Manhattan. Despite the damage, New York remained under British control for the remainder of the war and became a key base of operations for the British Army. The fire started near Whitehall Slip and spread rapidly, consuming buildings from the East River to the Hudson River. Today, it's part of the Battery Park City development and the area between Whitehall Street and Battery Park Place, and the region near Trinity Church (at Wall Street and Broadway). Trinity Church, one of the most prominent landmarks was destroyed in the fire, though St. Paul's Chapel, just a short distance away, survived. Many of the residential areas near the waterfront and within the area that today includes parts of the Financial District were also severely damaged. The story that St. Paul's Chapel was spared by a bucket brigade during the Great Fire of 1776 is more legend than fact, but it illustrates the importance of community efforts in times of crisis. Despite its proximity to the blaze, St. Paul’s Chapel survived the inferno. The precise reasons for its survival are not entirely clear, and the idea that a "bucket brigade"—a line of people passing buckets of water to extinguish fires may be a romanticized story. Several factors might have contributed to the chapel's survival including the wind direction and the construction materials: St. Paul’s Chapel is made largely of stone, which might have been more fire-resistant than many of the wooden structures including the Trinity Church at Wall Street and Broadway. George Washington worshipped at St. Paul’s Chapel. After his inauguration as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789, in New York City, which was the nation's capital at the time, Washington attended services regularly from 1789 to 1790. The chapel was close to the Federal Hall on Wall Street where the first Congress and Washington's executive offices were based. Washington would walk from Federal Hall to St. Paul’s for Sunday services. As with many historical events, the Great New York Fire of 1776 became the subject of art and literature over the years.. Paintings and writings helped romanticize and mythologize the fire. Stories about the fire spread through word of mouth were altered and exaggerated. There are no comprehensive lists of the eyewitnesses to the fire, but several prominent figures provided accounts of the event, civilians, soldiers, firefighters, government officials and civic leaders. There were the official records of the British military and the Continental Army. British General William Howe and Loyalist William Smith wrote about the fire, while other British soldiers and American prisoners who were in the city at the time also reported their observations. Unfortunately, many individual eyewitness names have not been preserved in historical records. After the New York fire, George Washington wrote to Congress expressing his thoughts on the situation, though he did not claim responsibility for or fully explain the origins of the fire. It seemed to have started in multiple places, which led to speculation that it may have been set intentionally. Washington’s tone reflected his uncertainty about the fire's origins, his main focus remained on military strategy rather than the fire itself. The author writes about the eyewitness accounts, but these accounts have not been corroborated and hence unreliable. It must be pointed out that British did set fire to several locations during the revolutionary war: Charlestown, Massachusetts, in the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, to prevent it from being used by the Continental Army. British also burned several other towns and settlements, including Norfolk, Virginia in 1776 as part of their military campaign to suppress the rebellion. These acts were part of their strategy to undermine American morale and disrupt supply lines.