British leaders accused revolutionaries acting within the city and state, and many residents assumed that one side or the other had started it.

[4] Before the war began, the Province of New York was politically divided, with active Patriot organizations and a colonial assembly that was strongly Loyalist.

[7] American General George Washington recognized the inevitability of the capture of New York City, and withdrew the bulk of his army about 10 miles (16 km) north to Harlem Heights.

[8] Several people, including General Nathanael Greene and New York's John Jay, advocated burning the city down to deny its benefits to the British.

[17] According to the eyewitness account of John Joseph Henry, an American prisoner aboard HMS Pearl, the fire 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).

[18] The fire raged into the daylight hours and was stopped by changes in wind direction as much as by the actions of some of the citizenry and British marines sent in aid of the inhabitants.

[19] Howe's report to London implied that the fire was deliberately set: "a most bad attempt was made by a number of wretches to burn the town.

The strongest circumstantial evidence in favor of arson theories is the fact that the fire appeared to start in multiple places.

[20] Coincidentally, Nathan Hale, an American captain engaged in spying for Washington, was arrested in Queens the day the fire started.

[23] Major General James Robertson confiscated surviving uninhabited homes of known Patriots and assigned them to British officers.