September 11, 1776: The Staten Island Peace Conference

Today in Revolutionary War History — September 11, 1776

On September 11, 1776, three of the most prominent representatives of the newly independent United States crossed into British-held territory on Staten Island.

Their mission was an extraordinary one.

Could the American Revolution still be stopped by negotiation?

Just fifteen days earlier, George Washington’s Continental Army had suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Long Island. British forces controlled New York Harbor. Washington had barely managed to save his army with a remarkable nighttime evacuation across the East River.

From the British perspective, this might have been the perfect moment to bring the rebellion to an end.

Admiral Lord Richard Howe, commander of the British fleet in North America, hoped reconciliation might still be possible. The Continental Congress agreed to hear what he had to say and sent three delegates to meet him: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge.

The meeting took place at the Billop House on Staten Island, known today as Conference House.

There was just one problem.

The two sides weren’t really negotiating the same question.

Britain Wanted Reconciliation. America Wanted Independence.

Howe possessed authority to discuss grievances and offer pardons to Americans willing to return to British allegiance.

But he did not have authority to recognize the independence of the United States.

That made meaningful negotiations almost impossible.

The Americans had declared independence only two months earlier. Franklin, Adams and Rutledge weren’t there to negotiate their way back into the British Empire. If peace were going to come, Britain would have to deal with them as representatives of an independent nation.

Howe couldn’t do that.

Franklin, who had spent years in London trying to prevent the rupture between Britain and its colonies, understood perhaps better than anyone how much had changed. After Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, the burning of American towns and more than a year of warfare, restoring the old relationship was no longer a realistic proposition.

For roughly three hours, the four men talked.

They remained civil.

They accomplished virtually nothing.

One Last Door Closes

There is something poignant about the Staten Island Peace Conference.

Imagine the scene.

Benjamin Franklin and John Adams are sitting across the table from one of Britain’s most powerful military commanders while tens of thousands of British and Hessian troops surround New York.

Washington’s battered army is nearby, trying desperately to survive.

The Declaration of Independence is barely two months old.

And for a few hours in a house on Staten Island, representatives of Britain and America are still talking.

But the political world had already changed.

The Americans were no longer asking Parliament to respect their rights as British subjects.

They were claiming the right to exist as Americans.

Neither Howe nor anyone else sitting at that table possessed the power to bridge that divide.

The conference ended without an agreement.

Four days later, on September 15, British troops landed at Kip’s Bay on Manhattan. Washington’s forces retreated northward.

The following day, September 16, the Continental Army fought the Battle of Harlem Heights and finally earned a badly needed battlefield success after the disaster on Long Island.

The war would continue for another seven years.