http://www.cityofsmoke.com New York History, Commentary, and Culture Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:02:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= http://www.cityofsmoke.com/archives/543 http://www.cityofsmoke.com/archives/543#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:43:48 +0000 William Bryk http://www.cityofsmoke.com/?p=543 On August 19, 1815, the Commerce, an American brig of 200 tons, Captain Misservey commanding, raced through the Narrows under full sail after outrunning two British frigates in the lower Bay.  Someone—Misservey never said who—had paid him 18,000 francs in gold to depart immediately from Bordeaux for New York, and]]> http://www.cityofsmoke.com/archives/543/feed 0