New York City Great Fire of 1776
The New York City Great
Fire of 1776 was a devastating fire that burned through the night of
September 21, 1776, on the west side of what then constituted New York City at
the southern end of the island of Manhattan. It broke out in the early days of
the military occupation of the city by British forces during the American
Revolutionary War.
The fire destroyed 10 to 25 percent of the city,
and some unburned parts of the city were plundered. Many people believed or
assumed that one or more people deliberately started the fire, for a variety of
different reasons. British leaders accused rebels acting within the city, and
many residents assumed that one side or the other had started it. The fire had
long-term effects on the British occupation of the city, which did not end
until the British left the city in 1783.
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