Could the Revolution Have Ended in 1776?
Travel back in time to Staten Island, New York on 11 September 1776 A.D. The day Benjamin Franklin and John Adams meet Admiral Lord Howe to discuss the possibility of peace between Britain & the Colonies. There is the slight complication that a few years previously, Benjamin Franklin had left the sister of Admiral Howe with child while visiting England.
This occurred after George Washington was defeated in what would be the biggest battle of the Revolution, on Long Island and forced to withdraw up Manhattan Island. The British would occupy then New York City for the rest of the war. It would become a haven for runaway slaves, including two of George Washingtons’s.
“They met, they talked, they parted. And now nothing remains but to fight it out.” — British report after the Staten Island Peace Conference 11 September 1776
According to history, neither Admiral Howe nor Franklin and Adams, have any real authority from their respective governments to negotiate.
For his 24-hour bubble in time, Time Patrol Agent, Doc arrives prior to the meeting. Doc quickly learns that is not the case. That there is a real possibility of history being changed.
George Washington has just been defeated on Long Island, and his army is being threatened across the Hudson on York (Manhattan) Island.
What if a peace is negotiated? And the Revolution ends in 1776 with the colonies still part of England?
As the peace conference gets underway, Doc must decide how to stop the negotiations and keep our history intact But at what cost?
What of the legend of a ghost in Billopp House, where the meeting was held, on the southwestern corner of Staten Island? The ghost of a servant girl killed by the owner who believed she betrayed him to the Colonists?
This is one of the missions in Nine-Eleven (Time Patrol)
A free slideshow on this topic and many others about interesting history, survival, writing and other topics is on my web site at www.bobmayer.com/workshops
Recent Comments