#191 The Great Fire of 1776

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2015

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A little after midnight on September 21, 1776, the Fighting Cocks Tavern on Whitehall Street caught on fire. The drunken revelers inside the tavern were unable to stop the blaze, and it soon raged into a dangerous inferno, spreading up the west side of Manhattan.Some reports state that the fire started accidentally in the tavern fireplace. But was it actually set on purpose – on the orders of George Washington?To understand that damning speculation, we unfurl the events that lead up to that moment – from the first outrages against the British by American colonists to the first sparks of the Revolutionary War. Why did New York get caught up so early in the war and what were the circumstances that led to the city falling into British hands?Underneath this expansive story is another, smaller story – that of a young man on a spy mission, sent by Washington into enemy territory. His name was Nathan Hale, and his fate would intersect with the disastrous events of September 21, 1776.PLUS: The legacy of St. Paul’s Chapel, a lasting reminder not only of the Great Fire of 1776 but of an even greater disaster which occurred almost exactly 225 years later. www.boweryboyshistory.com This episode is brought to you by Trunk Club, taking the hassle out of shopping by shipping you a trunk of clothes that fit perfectly and make you look like a million bucks. To take advantage of this unique styling service and to support the Bowery Boys, go to trunkclub.com/BOWERY for a trunk full of clothes that you’ll love wearing Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Bowry Boys Episode 191, The Great Fire of 1776.
0:05.8	Hey, it's The Bowry Boys.
0:07.3	Hey.
0:08.6	Support for The Bowry Boys is provided by our listeners.
0:12.1	Join us for as little as a dollar a month by visiting patreon.com slash Bowry Boys.
0:21.1	Hi there, welcome to The Bowry Boys. This is Greg Young.
0:23.7	And this is Tom Myers.
0:25.0	Today we are bringing you an oft forgotten chapter in the history of the American Revolution.
0:31.1	The story of The Great Fire of 1776, a blaze that was mysteriously set and destroyed one
0:37.5	fourth of the city's buildings.
0:39.0	Although in telling this story, we're going to be talking about much more than just a fire
0:43.7	that lasted one night because you can't really understand the story of The Great Fire without
0:49.2	talking about New York and the Revolutionary War.
0:52.0	Well, frankly, it's just our excuse to talk about the Revolutionary War as we're all in this
0:56.4	Hamilton the Musical story.
0:57.6	Yeah, I was going to say, I think it's just your excuse to talk about Alexander Hamilton.
1:01.8	Yes, that's true.
1:03.4	But this is also a story about New York at its most fragile, you know, within just a short
1:08.5	few weeks in 1776, the character of the city itself changed drastically.
1:13.9	Because at that point in 1776, the city had been controlled by the British for more than 110
1:20.8	years. New York in the 1770s was a bit insecure.
1:26.0	It was filled with loyalist residents and also patriots who very much wanted to bring the
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