George Washington Arrives in Depopulated New York City, Debating the Burning of the Rebel Anchor Professor Benjamin L. Carp, Professor of History at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center | The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the Ameri

In spring 1776, George Washington arrived in New York City, the colonies' second-largest town, finding it small (25,000 people) and politically divided. Two-thirds of the population had fled anticipating conflict. Washington controlled the urbanized area south of Canal Street, occupied by his Continental Army, which he described as ill-disciplined. Before the fire, Washington privately believed burning the city was a good idea to deprive the British of winter quarters. The central question remains: was the fire accidental or by design?