New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan

Daniel Horsmanden is the Third Supreme Court justice serving on the New York Supreme Court during the 1741 slave rebellion trials. Following the trials’ conclusion, Horsmanden publishes his Journal of the Proceedings in The Detection of the Conspiracy, which serves as one of the only pieces of historical evidence about the slave burnings. In many ways, Horsmanden serves as the protagonist of Lepore’s history, appearing in every chapter of the work. Throughout New York Burning, Lepore is careful to evaluate the historical evidence for bias from Horsmanden, exploring how Horsmanden’s own personal desires and anxieties become closely intertwined with his investigation.

Horsmanden is originally born in Britain in 1694, where he is the son of a church rector. Rather than follow in his father’s footsteps, Horsmanden chooses to move to London and pursue a career in law. After running out of money, Horsmanden leaves to join his cousin William Byrd in Virginia, hoping to join the Virginia bar as a lawyer. However, Horsmanden is unable to find work in Virginia and eventually moves to New York to work under Governor William Cosby. Horsmanden slowly works his way up the political ladder in New York, becoming closely embroiled in New York’s hostile party politics. Despite Horsmanden’s gubernatorial appointments, he is unable to earn a fortune for himself and is frequently in debt.

When the 1741 New York fires occur, Horsmanden is one of three justices on the Supreme Court, allowing him a large amount of influence over the investigation. Sensing an opportunity to earn a reputation for himself, Horsmanden commandeers control of the investigation, closely interrogating every witness, often by himself. From early on, Horsmanden becomes convinced that “latent Enemies amongst us” (62) are behind the fires, he and drives the investigation towards uncovering the culprits behind the plot.

Over the course of the investigation, the plot rapidly grows in scope, until Horsmanden believes that the rebellion is nothing less than a conspiracy crafted by the Catholic Church. In the process, Horsmanden has more than a hundred of New York’s slaves arrested and sentences most to death. After the investigation concludes, the public begins to openly criticize Horsmanden, with many people believing that the entire plot had been a fiction. Horsmanden collects all of the court documents in his Journal of the Proceedings in The Detection of the Conspiracy, hoping to prove to the public that there had been a conspiracy behind the 1741 fires. However, the book sells poorly, and Horsmanden falls back into debt.

John Hughson is a tavern owner in New York, where he frequently entertains New York’s black slave population, as well as a community of poor whites. At Hughson’s tavern, slaves are treated as normal men, and they are given liquor and food to feast on. Slaves especially venture to Hughson’s tavern for celebration on holidays, and the tavern becomes an important place where slaves can relax and socialize with one another.

At these meetings, Hughson will often initiate the slaves into a supposed secret plot. Hughson tells the slaves that they are planning to burn down New York, and he asks them to pledge that they will participate in the rebellion, kill their white masters, and take the women for their wives. Afterwards, Hughson will be crowned King, while the slave Caesar will be named the Governor of New York. Often, Hughson has the slaves perform rituals as part of the initiation and has them sign their name to a list of agreed participants. Throughout New York Burning, Lepore suggests that Hughson’s “plot” may in fact have been an elaborate joke, parodying the well-known Freemason societies. Lepore notes that the first known instances of Hughson’s plot date to 1738, shortly after the first Freemason Lodge is established in New York.

Hughson is arrested shortly after the fires break out, having already aroused suspicions for his role in a robbery one month prior. Both white acquaintances and black slaves involved in the fires testify that Hughson had played a crucial role in planning the fires, leading to Hughson’s conviction. However, Hughson continually denies having been a part of the plot and refuses to confess. Hughson is eventually hung for his crimes, and his corpse is left to hang as a warning to other New Yorkers.

Jack is the slave of Gerardus Comfort, John Hughson’s next-door neighbor. Jack frequently visits Hughson’s tavern, and one night, he is initiated into Hughson’s secret plot. While Hughson may have meant the initiation as a joke, Jack begins to take the prospect of a rebellion seriously. Jack’s home is a popular destination for New York’s slaves, who visit it to fetch clean water from the home’s well. Jack begins to entertain these visiting slaves, offering them liquor and then initiating them into his own plot. Slowly, news of Jack’s plot spreads to other slaves through word of mouth. After being arrested, Jack decides to confess and name numerous other slaves as co-conspirators.

Mary Burton is Hughson’s indentured servant. Burton closely observes the feasts at Hughson’s tavern, as well as Hughson’s initiations. Burton is a core witness for Horsmanden’s investigation into the slave rebellion, and she is the first person to be called to testify before the grand jury. In her deposition, Burton first describes Hughson’s slave plot, shocking the judges with the details of Hughson’s supposed conspiracy. As the investigation continues, Burton is frequently called upon to testify, especially against white people, such as the priest John Ury, who the Supreme Court hopes to link back to Hughson’s plot.

After the conclusion of the trial, Burton gains a poor reputation in New York, with many people believing Burton to have lied on the stand. Burton is promised her freedom by the court for her testimony, yet she remains an indentured servant for the New York government. In the year after the trial, Horsmanden passionately campaigns on Burton’s behalf, seeking out more evidence to prove Burton had testified truthfully. Burton finally receives her freedom, as well as a monetary reward for her assistance in the trial.