The great New York fire of 1776
a lost story of the American Revolution
- ISBN: 9780300246957
- Editorial: Yale University Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2023
- Lugar de la edición: New Haven. Estados Unidos de Norteamérica
- Encuadernación: Cartoné
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 345
- Idiomas: Inglés
Who set the mysterious fire that burned down much of New York City shortly after the British took the city during the Revolutionary War?
New York City, the strategic center of the Revolutionary War, was the most important place in North America in 1776. That summer, an unruly rebel army under George Washington repeatedly threatened to burn the city rather than let the British take it. Shortly after the Crown's forces took New York City, much of it mysteriously burned to the ground.
This is the first book to fully explore the Great Fire of 1776 and why its origins remained a mystery even after the British investigated it in 1776 and 1783. Uncovering stories of espionage, terror, and radicalism, Benjamin L. Carp paints a vivid picture of the chaos, passions, and unresolved tragedies that define a historical moment we usually associate with "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Introduction: Was It Just the Wind?
One: A Small City Still Standing
Two: Destroying Towns in a Civil War
Three: The Armies Approach New York
Four: The Rankled Rank and File
Five: General Washington's Bad Options
Six: The Loss of New York City
Seven: The Great Fire
Eight: Firebrands
Nine: Surveying the Wreckage
Ten: The Commandant's Conundrum
Eleven: The Story of the Fire Takes Shape
Twelve: The Fates of Three Captains
Thirteen: A War of Devastation and Restraint Fourteen: The Unresolved War
Conclusion: Forgetting the Fire
