Great Fire of New York ( 1776 ) The Great Fire of New York 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 revolutionaries 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 1783 . Background . When the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775 , the city of New York was already an important center of business , but had not yet become a sprawling metropolis . It occupied only the lower portion of the island of Manhattan , and had a population of approximately 25 , 000 . Before the war began , the Province of New York was politically divided , with active Patriot organizations and a colonial assembly that was strongly Loyalist . After Lexington and Concord , Patriots seized control of the city , and began arresting and expelling Loyalists . Early in the summer of 1776 , when the war was still in its early stages , British General William Howe embarked on a campaign to gain control of the city and its militarily important harbor . After occupying Staten Island in July , he launched a successful attack on Long Island in late August , assisted by naval forces under the command of his brother , Admiral Lord Richard Howe . American General George Washington recognized the inevitability of the capture of New York City , and withdrew the bulk of his army about north to Harlem Heights . Several people , including General Nathanael Greene and New York ' s John Jay advocated burning the city down to deny its benefits to the British . Washington laid the question before the Second Continental Congress , which rejected the idea : " it should in no event be damaged " . On September 15 , 1776 , British forces under General Howe landed on Manhattan . The next morning , some British troops marched toward Harlem , where the two armies clashed again , while others marched into the city . A civilian exodus from the city had begun well before the British fleet arrived in the harbor . The arrival the previous February of the first Continental Army troops in the city had prompted some people to pack up and leave , including Loyalists who were specifically targeted by the army and Patriots . The capture of Long Island had only accelerated the abandonment of the city . During the Continental Army ' s presence in the city , many abandoned buildings were appropriated for the army ' s use . When the British arrived in the city , the tables were turned , and the property of Patriots was confiscated for the British army ' s use . Despite this , housing and other demands of the military occupation significantly strained the city ' s available building stock . Fire . In the early hours of September 21 , 1776 , fire broke out in the city . According to the eyewitness account of John Joseph Henry , an American prisoner aboard the HMS " Pearl " , it began in the Fighting Cocks Tavern , near Whitehall Slip . Abetted by dry weather and strong winds , the flames spread north and west , moving rapidly among tightly packed homes and businesses . Residents poured into the streets , clutching what possessions they could , and found refuge on the grassy town commons ( today , City Hall Park ) . The fire crossed Broadway near Beaver Street , and then burned most of the city between Broadway and the Hudson River . It raged into the daylight hours , and was stopped as much by changes in the wind as by the actions of some of the citizenry and British marines sent , according to Henry , " in aid of the inhabitants . " It may also have been stopped by the relatively undeveloped property of King ' s College , located at the northern end of the fire - damaged area . The total number of buildings destroyed is not known with precision ; estimates range from 400 to 1 , 000 , between 10 and 25 percent of the 4 , 000 city buildings . Among the buildings destroyed was Trinity Church ; St . Paul ' s Chapel survived . Suspicions of arson . General Howe ' s report to London implied that the fire was deliberately set : " a most horrid attempt was made by a number of wretches to burn the town " . Royal Governor William Tryon suspected that Washington was responsible , writing that " Many circumstances lead to conjecture that Mr . Washington was privy to this villainous act " and that " some officers of his army were found concealed in the city " . Many Americans also assumed that the fire was the work of Patriot arsonists . John Joseph Henry recorded accounts of marines returning to the " Pearl " after fighting the fire in which men were " caught in the act of firing the houses . " Some Americans accused the British of setting the fire so that the city might be plundered . A Hessian major noted that some who fought the blaze managed to " pay themselves well by plundering other houses near by that were not on fire . " George Washington wrote to John Hancock on September 22 , specifically denying knowledge of the fire ' s cause . In a letter to his cousin Lund , Washington wrote , " Providence — or some good honest Fellow , has done more for us than we were disposed to do for ourselves " . According to historian Barnet Schecter , no accusation of arson has withstood scrutiny . The strongest circumstantial evidence in favor of arson theories is the fact that the fire appeared to start in multiple places . However , contemporary accounts explain that burning flakes from wooden roof shingles spread the fire . One diarist wrote , " the flames were communicated to several houses " by these flakes " carried by the wind to some distance " . The British interrogated more than 200 suspects , but no charges were ever made . Coincidentally , Nathan Hale , an American captain engaged in spying for Washington , was arrested in Queens the day the fire started . Rumors attempting to link him to the fires have never been substantiated ; there is nothing indicating that he was arrested ( and eventually hanged ) for anything other than espionage . Effect on British occupation . Major General James Robertson confiscated surviving uninhabited homes of known Patriots and assigned them to British officers . Churches , other than the state church es ( Church of England ) were converted into prisons , infirmaries , or barracks . Some of the common soldiers were billet ed with civilian families . There was a great influx of Loyalist s refugees into the city resulting in further overcrowding , and many of these returning Loyalists encamped in squalid tent cities on the charred ruins . The fire convinced the British to put the city under martial law rather than returning it to civilian authorities . Crime and poor sanitation were persistent problems during the British occupation , which did not end until the city was evacuated in November 1783 .