The Information War Begins: Generals Avoid Written Mention of the Devastating Fire 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 American Revolution

The John Batchelor Show

1. The Information War Begins: Generals Avoid Written Mention of the Devastating Fire 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 American Revolution

The fire quickly ignited an "information war." Robert Morris and Benjamin Franklin urged their European emissaries to spread the narrative that Americans were innocent and highlighted British atrocities. Despite the information war, General Howe, when writing to Washington days later, complained about "dastardly acts" like doctored bullets but avoided mentioning the fire itself. Washington likewise omitted the topic from his correspondence. Both sides competed for public opinion: the British press insisting Americans were responsible, and the American press denying guilt and emphasizing arbitrary hangings like Wright White's.