This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, from the arts to sports and from business to history and everything

in between, including your stories, send them to our American Stories.com. They're some of our

favorites. Today, our regular contributor, Bill Breike, brings us a fascinating story about the day

British troops finally left American soil after the end of the Revolutionary War.

Here's Bill.

The British Army held New York City for two years after Cornwallis surrendered to George

Washington at Yorktown on October 19th, 1781.

The city's population had fallen below 10,000.

Most of the residents were loyalist refugees from revolutionary terrorism.

Accident, disaster, and the war had disrupted civic life.

The great fire of September 21, 1776,

had burned everything between Whitehall and Broad Street as far up Broadway as Rector Street

and as far up Broadway as Beaver Street. Rents had risen 400% within the first year of occupation.

The price of food and other goods and services,

800%. The provincial assembly, city council, and courts were dormant, although nothing indicates

the politicians had stopped drawing their salaries. The city was governed by the British Army,

and its government, in the absence of a free press, had become corrupt.

Some New Yorkers made fortunes. Mr. Joshua Loring, who had pimped his blonde wife to General Sir

William Howe to gain appointment as commissary of prisoners, became wealthy by selling provisions

meant for prisoners of war on the black market. Others cloaked their sadism in the red

coat. Captain William Cunningham, the Provo Marshal, commanded the jails and prison ships

holding American prisoners of war. The Sons of Liberty had roughed him up before the war. He

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