Morgan, New Jersey

Every so often I get notified of upcoming events which I think Morgan-NJ.org readers might find interesting.  In the past there was the Sayreville Historical Society lecture by Frank Yusko, probably the foremost authority on the Morgan-based T. A. Gillespie Loading Company explosions of 1918, and the lectures by my high school pal Joe Grabas at the Grabas Institute on various local topics pertaining to New Jersey and land titles.

Here are two events pertaining to Morgan which also occurred:

• Premiere of the New Jersey Documentary Film: “De Luxe: The Tale of the Blue Comet” followed by a Question and Answer session and reception with film maker and Rutgers University-Camden professor, Dr. Robert Emmons, Jr.

Date & Time:   October 2, 2010 from 7pm to 9:30pm

Location:         The Gordon Theater on the campus of Rutgers Camden; located on the New Jersey side of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Admission:       Free

Click here for a Rutgers Camden map.

From 1929 to 1941 the Central Railroad of New Jersey train, The Blue Comet, captivated onlookers and riders from Jersey City to Atlantic City. On each journey, it passed through Morgan, NJ.  My mother still talks about this train. The locomotive and its distinctive blue and cream passenger cars were the pinnacle of travel to the Jersey shore for a brief but splendid time. With the development of new modes of transportation, the expansion of highways, competition from the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the horrific crash of the Blue Comet in 1939, the mighty Blue Comet was authorized for abandonment on September 28, 1941. Despite its short-lived run, its glory has made it a unique and lasting memory in New Jersey history. From the individuals who remember seeing the train as children to its inclusion in The Sopranos, and its unique place in Pinelands history, The Blue Comet still blazes a trail. Dr. Emmons presents the distinct train not only as the CNJ’s most famous flyer, but also as one of Lionel toy train’s most memorable models.

Interviews feature Blue Comet historians Paul W. Schopp, Joel Rosenbaum, and Frank T. Reilly, and Lionel expert Ron Hollander.

For more information and a nearly eight minute preview of this well done documentary, click here to go to Robert Emmons’ web site.  I purchased this documentary via Dr. Emmons’ web site and very much enjoyed it!  It contains a lot of information which is not readily available via any other source I have yet found.  I learned a great deal about the Blue Comet.  Congratulations to Dr. Emmons for a great documentary!

• Lecture:  “400 Years of Mapping New Jersey”

Maxine Lurie and Michael Siegel presented an overview of how New Jersey was mapped during the last 400 years, using images from their recently published great book (I have one), “Mapping New Jersey: An Evolving Landscape.” This annual Mary Tanner Lecture was presented by the Lawrence Historical Society.

Date & Time:  Sunday, October 10, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Location:        Rider University, Science & Technology Center, Lecture Hall 102.  Lawrenceville, NJ.

Admission:      Free and open to the public – no reservation required

Click here for a Rider University Campus Map.  The Science & Technology Center is #22 and is located on the right side half way up (or half way down depending on how you look at things).

The history of New Jersey cartography shows the increasing geographic knowledge of map makers over time, as well as the impacts of scientific methods and evolving technology. The resulting maps are always interesting, often beautiful, and guaranteed to make you perceive the state in new ways.

Maxine N. Lurie recently retired as Professor of History at Seton Hall University. Michael Siegel is Staff Cartographer in the Geography Department at Rutgers University. They are co-editors, along with Peter O. Wacker, of “Mapping New Jersey: An Evolving Landscape.”

“Mapping New Jersey” is full of maps, illustrations and tons of interesting information on a great number of topics about New Jersey (256 pages, 225 color maps, graphs, and diagrams). I particularly like the chapter “The Era of Straight Roads” which discusses how the roads of Colonial times differ greatly from modern roads with one of the big advances having come just after the Revolutionary War, i.e., straightening roads.  At the “Mapping New Jersey” Rutgers University Press web site, you can preview some of the book’s content as well as watch a short video where Michael Siegel discusses the creation of and the content of the book.

Mr. Siegel is also the point of contact for Rutgers University’s fantastic Cartography web site which everyone has access to.

• Finally here is your chance to sign up with the H-New Jersey web site.  H-New Jersey is sponsored by the New Jersey Historical Commission and is all about everything concerned with the study of New Jersey History.  That is basically the state equivalent of this Morgan-NJ.org web site which is all about everything concerned with the study of Morgan, NJ.  Via this web site, you will have access to history related resources. By subscribing, you will automatically start to receive emails on a myriad of topics including announcements of upcoming events like the two described above.  It is also a forum where you can ask questions regarding topics you otherwise might not be able to find information on.  Check it out!

If anyone attended either event, please make a comment on this web site either in the Comments section below or in the Forums section at the top of the web site.  Unfortunately, due to living in California, I wasn’t able to attend either event. 

Sketch from the 1879 US Army Corps of Engineers Survey of Cheesequake Creek (dated 1882).

After a lot of looking and research, at long last Morgan-NJ.org is able to present what the mouth of Cheesequake Creek looked like prior to the 1882-83 construction of the two jetties and the dredging of the channel between them.  In all my time living in and away from Morgan, I had NO notion that the mouth of Cheesequake Creek looked this radically different from the jetty/channel configuration still in place today – some 127 years after it was constructed.  Absent the bridges and railroad, this sketch shows what the mouth of the creek would have looked like during (and before) the Revolutionary War times of Captain James Morgan, Sr.

This sketch is actually page 680 from the 1882 US Army Corps of Engineers Chief Engineer Report to the Secretary of War.  At the time of the 15 November 2009 Morgan-NJ.org posting, this page was not available in the on-line version of the report.  Many thanks go to Ms. Rebecca Price, Librarian at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for digging out the 1882 Army Corps of Engineers Annual Report and getting the image scanned for us.  Isn’t it amazing to see!

While the sketch wasn’t published until 1882 Army Corps of Engineers report, the actual survey was performed during August & September 1879 by Mr. R. H. Talcott, Assistant Engineer and the report submitted to John Newton, Colonel of Engineers, Brevet-Major General on 19 December 1879.  Close examination of the sketch reveals a number of other observations and conclusions:

• You would never know now that Cheesequake Creek ever looked like this!  I sure didn’t. In order to get your bearings compared to what is in place today, focus on the placement of the railroad and the jetties.  Remember, at the time of the sketch in 1879, the railroad was there but the jetties were not!

• Original Channel.  The Army Corps of Engineers Report states “The general direction of the channel is northeasterly, but before entering the bay it takes a sharp turn to the northwest, and runs about parallel to the bluffs.”  Mr. Otto Ernst had a clay and sand business and a dock upstream near the western most point of Cheesequake Creek, just south of what is now Ernston Road, as well as a “new brick-yard” on Stump Creek.  I wonder if Ernston Road was named for him?  He provided information for the report intended to persuade the US government to make the improvements to Cheesequake Creek for his benefit as well as for the benefit of others using the creek for their businesses. “I beg to call to your attention to another improvement that might be effective at the mouth of the creek. After passing the point of land at Morgan Station [see ‘Morgan Station’ below] the channel of the creek follows a peculiar course alongside of the mainland, being formed by a bank of sand and pebbles running parallel with said mainland for about half a mile. This outside bank is covered with water for several hours near high-water time, and the tides running in or out of the creek pass over said bank along its entire extent, thus diminishing the current at the actual month of the creek. If this bank could be raised by some means above high-water mark, and if the channel, as above described, could be shortened about one-half, by placing a bulkhead at right angles with the shore-line at the proper point, the velocity of the current might be increased sufficiently to make for itself a proper depth of water, and to prevent the formation of a bar where it empties into the bay.”

•  Rail Road.  The rail road stands out in this sketch.  At the time of the sketch in 1879, the railroad had only been open for four years; it started regular operations in the summer of 1875.  You’ll note that it mostly had one track through Morgan though there was a portion to the north west of Cheesequake Creek (i.e., the South Amboy side) which had two tracks. Of course today, there are two tracks all the way through Morgan.

• Country Bridge.  The unlabeled “County Bridge” crossing over the mouth of Cheesequake Creek appears as the narrow white rectangle located at a nearly 90 degree angle from the railroad tracks and connecting to the tip of the beach essentially at the location where the Robert E. Lee Inn used to be. The county bridge is mentioned in the 1879 Chief of Engineers Report, “There are two draw-bridges at the mouth of the creek; one, passing the county road, is about at right angles to the shore-line of the bay.  It is a simple pile structure and the draw is opened by running it parallel with the line of the bridge. It gives about 40 feet in the clear when the draw is open.”  I must confess I don’t fully comprehend how the mechanics of “running it parallel with the line of the bridge” would have been accomplished in 1879; looks like this is another topic for further research.

• Morgan Station.  “Morgan Station” is spelled out and the figure showing its location is notated. Morgan Station was a train station, a physical structure and a regular stop along the railroad.  It is referenced in old post cards, railroad time tables, creek tide tables, and other old documents.  At the time of the sketch, the road that is now Old Spye Road crossed the railroad tracks then proceeded to cross the above mentioned county bridge on its way to Laurence Harbor and points south.  The physical Morgan Station building was perhaps two buildings and was located at the south east corner of the intersection; on the same side as the draw bridge.  The station building(s) can be seen in an old post card which will be included in a future posting.  In the early days of the railroad, Morgan was a regularly scheduled stop.  By some time around the 1920’s, it became a “whistle stop” meaning that trains would only stop if someone explicitly wanted to get on or off.  Sometime later during the 20^th century, and certainly by the 1960’s (if not earlier), Morgan was totally eliminated as a stop on the railroad.  Today at the site, there are no traces of any kind which would suggest that trains ever stopped here or that any train station structures were ever present.  Instead of crossing the tracks, Old Spye Road – once the major thoroughfare across Cheesequake Creek – now dead ends at the rail road tracks.  If my family had not had a bungalow on Morgan Beach in the first half of the 20th century, I would not have known that trains ever stopped in Morgan.

• Railroad Bridge across Cheesequake Creek.  You can see the outline of the original railroad swing bridge over Cheesequake Creek (discussed in the 28 September 2009 Morgan-NJ.org posting).  A faint image of this swing bridge next to Morgan Station also appears on the post card mentioned above which will be the topic of a future posting.  This bridge is described in the 1879 US Army Corps of Engineers report “has a pivot-draw, with a total span of 126 feet, and 2 openings of 40 feet in the clear. There are 3 masonry piers. The approaches on both sides are trestle-work.” This swing bridge was replaced in 1912 by the current Scherzer Rolling Lift type of bascule bridge.

• Jetties and Channel (subject of the 22 November 2009 posting).  The main point of this sketch, and the reason it was created (and the survey performed), was to show the recommended “improvements” to Cheesequake Creek which would allow for a significant increase the amount of commerce utilizing it.  Because of the severe bend in the creek at its mouth, and the build up of underwater sediments, it was very difficult for water craft to transition in and out of Raritan Bay.  Sailing vessels had great difficulty making that turn from the bay to go “up” the creek (presumably they had paddles) and vice versa.  Barges being towed by boats would also have had great difficulty navigating this turn in either direction.  You’ll note that the jetties/channel virtually eliminated the need to change course. Not called out in the sketch but discussed in the 1879 report was the necessity of dredging portions of the creek and cutting canals across the salt marshes in order to eliminate a number of natural creek bends upstream. Yes, that will be covered in another future posting and will include a sketch as well!

• The Dam.  After the two 950+ foot long jetties were built and the 200 foot wide channel dredged, a 550 foot long/5 foot wide dike (a brevet dam) was constructed across the existing mouth “from the railroad bridge across the present channel to the gravel bar.”  In the sketch, this dam is the dark line to the right (east) of the county road.  Today, you can’t actually see this dam but you can see where it was (is?) located.  Essentially it is the north west border of Cheesequake Creek between the railroad bridge and the current Route 35 road bridge.  Between the time the dam was built and now, the mouth of the creek was filled in; all of the land between Cheesequake Creek and the railroad is now landfill.  Henry Luhrs had his world renowned boat companies on this landfill site (see posting from January 10, 2010) and his boat ramp – still in place today – passed through the wall of the dam.  The elevated portion of Route 35 between the railroad overpass and the creek drawbridge sits on a berm located on top of this landfill.

• Stump Creek.  Stump Creek is the waterway which joins Cheesequake Creek on it’s north east side.  When the current Route 35 bridge was built in the 1940’s, Stump Creek’s course was moved slightly south at the point where it met Cheesequake Creek at the location of what is now Viking Marina.

• Depth Markings.  You can see depth markings in both Raritan Bay as well as Cheesequake and Stump Creeks.  Note how the deepest portions of the mouth of Cheesequake Creek as well as Cheesequake Creek are in alignment with the two bridges shown on the sketch.  Natrually this is where the boats and barges would have gone.

• Old Spye Inn.  While it isn’t explicitly labeled on the sketch, in the center bottom of the sketch where the unlabeled Crossman’s Creek heads west off of Cheesequake Creek, you can see the site and the pier of the Old Spye Inn.  It is said that stage coaches used to cross Cheesequake Creek at low tide near the Old Spye Inn.

• Structure to the North West of Morgan Station.  While I don’t exactly know what this unlabeled structure is, it is in the exact location as the circa 1975 black and white photo of a house next to the rail road tracks shown on the 14 February 2010 posting about Old Spye Road.

• Bluffs.  The final thing shown on the sketch are the bluffs. In the sketch, they are shown starting at the site of the Old Spye Inn and runing parallel with the railroad tracks. The neighborhood making up present day Morgan is at the top of these approximately 30 foot high bluffs.  You’ll on occasion encounter references to Morgan Heights.

On February 5, 1881, New Jersey Governor George C. Ludlow signed into law “An Act  authorizing the United States to change the channel of Cheesequakes Creek.” to take effect immediately.  The wording for this New Jersey law essentially utilized the wording from the 1879 US Army Corps of Engineers report verbatim.  New Jersey did add this second part “2. And be it enacted, That the board of chosen of freeholders of the county of Middlesex, are authorized to remove the present bridge across the mouth of Cheesequakes creek, to and across the new channel when the said new channel shall be completed by the United States government.”  Ultimately a bridge was constructed over the new channel.  Whether the same bridge which crossed the mouth of Cheesequake Creek was some how moved to the channel as implied in the law (“remove the present bridge … to and across the new channel”), I don’t know yet.

Watch for an upcoming posting showing the complete sketch of Cheesequake Creek originating from the US Army Corps of Engineers 1879 survey.  It will show the locations of most, but not all, of the docks and creeks at the time.

The Magical Castle on Willow Street in Morgan, NJ with Bill Love About Age 4. Image Courtesy of Bill Love.

Once upon a time in a place far, far away (at least from where I live now) there was a mystical and magical castle.  This castle, while small (one room), was a wondrous place for local Morgan, NJ kids to climb in, have snow ball fights, or just hang out in.  No one ever chased you out – even though it was on private property (thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Bloodgood).  It was made of large dark stones held together by cement.  It had a thick dark stone floor, open windows on three sides and an open doorway on the fourth side.  It was connected by a long, thick, heavy metal chain to another structure belonging to the King and Queen.

This photo, just provided to me by the actual subject of the photo, Bill Love, shows what the castle looked like.  I never thought I would again see an image of it other than the one apparently deeply etched in my mind.  Not only had I not seen the castle for all of these years, I had not seen Bill Love either – until today!

One of the great things for me about this web site is hearing from people who I knew long ago or from people who live in Morgan, NJ now that I have not met – yet.  A few days ago, I heard from Bill and today I went to Anaheim Convention Center to meet up with him.  Timing is everything and this weekend was the weekend of Bill’s annual trip to the Southern California area for the North American Reptile Breeders Conference.  Bill is a legend in the amateur reptile community having been in the industry since he was a teenager and, like his wife Kathy, a pioneer in this personal hobby.  Bill gained his love for reptiles from his days as a kid in Morgan.  Along with his friends Ross and Jack, Bill would go into the woods to find box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) and garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) near the South Amboy Waterworks ponds or at Applegates Pond at the bottom of the hill off of Liberty Street.  Bill shared a story of the one time he remembers meeting the Chicken Farmer (see posting from September 5, 2009). He and his friends were getting onto the path at the top of Dodd Place which led into “the woods” (as we called it).  Bill was greatly relieved when the Chicken Farmer didn’t pull out his legendary shot gun but instead asked how the boys were.  Bill replied that they were going into the woods to find turtles or snakes.  The Chicken Farmer told that that if they hurried, they might find the box turtle that he had just let loose near the path ahead (they did). 

Bill and Kathy have made careers as herpetology enthusiasts.  They breed snakes, sell snakes, photograph snakes and have written books about snakes.  Kathy is one of the world’s foremost authorities on Corn Snakes (Elaphe guttata).  Their books including their most recent, “Corn Snakes, The Comprehensive Owner’s Guide”, their herp wall posters, T-shirts and other herp products (including a kit which helps determine if your snake is male or female), are available at Kathy’s web site, CornUtopia.com.  Bill is a noted “herp” photographer (BillLovePhotography.com) as well as herp expedition guide. They offer 1-day reptile expeditions in Southwestern Florida (ReptileRally.com) as well as expeditions to Madagascar off the south east coast of Africa via their BlueChameleon.org web site.

It was just fabulous to see Bill today!

While the castle is long gone, replaced by a house, it is still remembered fondly by many now adults who were able to play in it in a time long, long ago.

“View of the Narrows between Long Island & Staten Island with Our Fleet at Anchor & Lord Howe Coming In”, July 12, 1776, by Lieutenant Archibald Robertson (1745-1813) of the Royal Engineers. Shows Lord Howe’s HMS Eagle (top right) joining the other British ships anchored off of Staten Island.

I keep referencing being a student in 3^rd or 4^th grade at Jesse Selover Elementary School in Morgan, NJ and how, while learning about the Revolutionary War, it all seemed to have occurred so far away from where I was.  As I have subsequently learned, I could not have been more WRONG! Before the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy, France during World War II, the largest amphibious landing in history occurred 168 years earlier on Gravesend Bay on the other side of Raritan Bay – virtually within eye shot of the heights of Morgan during the early stages of the Revolutionary War.

In March 1776, after the British defeat in Boston in the opening stages of the Revolutionary War, the British fleet sailed north to Halifax, Nova Scotia to fight another day. Both General George Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and Major General William Howe, the British Commander-in-Chief of North America, knew that after Boston, New York was the most strategically important city in the colonies.  After driving the British out of Boston, Washington set off to set up for a possible invasion of New York Island (as Manhattan was known then) and Howe set off to set up the invasion.

The first 45 British war ships arrived at Sandy Hook, located on the south-eastern part of Raritan Bay in New Jersey, on June 29, 1776, and proceeded to drop their anchors in Lower New York Bay.  A few days later, on July 2, the first of the eventual 35,000+ British and Hessian troops started to land on Staten Island in preparation for the upcoming amphibious invasion of Long Island.

BTW, wondering what is a “Hessian troop”? During the American Revolution times, Hesse-Kassel was a German principality of the Holy Roman Empire (this was well before Otto von Bismark united Germany on 18 January 1871) governed by a dude named Frederick II.  Frederick II happened to be the uncle of King George III of Great Britain.  As was the practice at the time, Frederick II rented some of his conscripted army to others as mercenaries.  In this case, he rented them out to King George.  Hesse is now a state in present day Germany located in the west-central region of the country.  Its capital is Wiesbaden.

The invasion of Long Island began during the morning of Thursday, August 22 when, depending on which source reference you believe 15,000 British and Hessian troops and “artillery, consisting of forty cannon” were transported by “large flat-boats” to Gravesend Bay.  The landings were under the protection of “the fire of three frigates and two bombketches”.  Note that a “bomb ketch” is a specialized type of ship which used mortars to fire projectiles instead of cannons.  Mortars differ from cannons in that mortars fire projectiles upward at high angles to allow for their projectiles to arc on their way to their targets. This comes in handy when you want to blow up something on the other side of a wall.  Cannons tend to shoot at very shallow upward angles.  They would be used to blow up the wall.  It was 38 years later, during another war with Britain, that “the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air” from five British bomb ketches attacking Fort McHenry in the harbor in Baltimore, Maryland inspired Frances Scott Key to write the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry” which eventually became the national anthem of the United States of America.

Sorry, back to Long Island on August 22, 1776.  Gravesend Bay is located on the shores of Long Island under and around the east tower of the present day Verrazano Narrows Bridge, just to the west of Coney Island (when it actually was an island).  This posting will not go into the all the details of this battle but the outcome of this first battle of the newly declared United States of America did not end in its favor.  The actual battle didn’t begin until August 27 and by August 29, the British and Hessians were able to drive the “Americans” into a perilous situation due to their larger numbers as well as their usage of a relatively unguarded pass which allowed for them to surround a significant portion of Washington’s army. 

Outcome – Realizing the battle was lost, during the evening of August 29 General Washington evacuated his remaining 9,000 troops. Under the cover of darkness and using “every flat-bottomed boat and other craft” which could be mustered from the near area, Washington’s troops stealthily crossed the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan Island.  By 7am the next day, all troops were safely on Manhattan Island without the British knowing.  Manhattan was not their final stop.  They retreated north to Harlem Heights then all the way across New Jersey ultimately arriving in Valley Forge, PA for the winter.  On Christmas Day in 1776, Washington and his Continental Army crossed the ice laden Delaware River and attacked the Hessian soldiers stationed in the small New Jersey town of Trenton (14 years before it became the state capital). Possibly some of these same Hessian soldiers landed on Staten Island the previous summer.  This battle, known as the Battle of Trenton, had an enormously positive effect on the American Revolution cause which, as we know, ultimately lead to the agreement to American Independence by King George III.  Had Washington not evacuated the 9000 surviving troops that evening, the war perhaps would have ended early and the revolution might have been squelched.

A person standing on the bluff overlooking Raritan Bay on what is now Cliff Avenue in Morgan would have been able to look across the bay and watch the 400+ British ships sail from Sandy Hook to Staten Island as well as any other points on the bay.  Doubt there has been a time before or since when that many ships were in Raritan Bay at one time.  Who knows, maybe even James Morgan, Sr. and Jr. watched these ships during that world changing summer of 1776.

Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, NJ.

 The summer of 1776 was a dramatic time period in the areas around Morgan, NJ.  In addition to the Battle of Long Island, which occurred on the other side of Raritan Bay, two other events of significant historical relevance and some less historically significant skirmishes or events occurred during the time periods surrounding the arrival of British forces on Staten Island. 

The first significant event occurred two and a half miles, as the sea gull flies, from the location that eventually became my childhood home in Morgan. At the Perth Amboy residence of the Royal Governor of New Jersey – now known as Proprietary House (subject of a future Morgan-NJ.org posting), William Franklin, the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, became the last Royal Governor of New Jersey when he was arrested and removed on June 19 by the Council of Safety of the Continental Congress.  Those of us that went to Rutgers University owe some gratitude to Governor Franklin as he was the person that signed the 10 November 1766 charter for Queens College and subsequently supported it.  Queens College was renamed to Rutgers College in 1825. 

The Continental Army’s Commander-in-Chief General George Washington learned of the second event, the July 4 signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, a few days after it was signed. He had it read aloud to his troops in New York City on the evening of July 9. 

The other events and skirmishes in the area during this time frame I have thus been able to find mention of are:  

• The Hessians camped on the shores of the Kill Van Kull (the Dutch named river which separates Staten Island from New Jersey between Perth Amboy and Elizabeth).  Some American sharpshooters on the New Jersey side (maybe in Perth Amboy?) would on occasion shoot the Hessian sentinels who were on the opposite [Staten Island] shore.  Eventually the Hessians answered back the Americans with cannons.  

•  In June, British vessels in Raritan Bay exchanged volley fire with gun in a breastwork (a form of fortification, such as a trench, dug to breast height) in St. Peter’s churchyard [in Perth Amboy].  St. Peter’s is the oldest Episcopal church in New Jersey.  When I visited Proprietary House in the summer of 2009, my excellent tour guide, Anton, showed me a cannon ball which was fired into Perth Amboy by a British ship afloat in Raritan Bay.  I don’t know if this cannon ball was from the June skirmish but I had no idea such a thing had occurred and was amazed to see and learn about the cannon ball.  It propelled me to do more research which you are now reading.  My good friend Diana from college had Anton’s dad for history when she went to school in Perth Amboy and remembered the experience fondly. Thank you Anton for sharing your in-depth knowledge of local history, I hope to visit Proprietary House again soon to learn more and encourage all Morgan-NJ.org readers to also visit.  

• The fort near Billops Point on Staten Island exchanges cannonades [i.e., heavy artillery fire] or bombardments with a battery at [Perth] Amboy.  

• As written in the Pennsylvania Evening Post in July 1776: We hear two men of war now lay near Amboy, in order it is supposed, to stop all navigation that way. 

As other information becomes available, this posting will get updated.

Peace Conference on September 11, 1776 on Staten Island, New York at the Billopp House (The Conference House) Between Admiral Howe and Representatives of the Second Continental Congress. L-R: John Adams, Edward Rutledge, Benjamin Franklin, Admiral Lord Richard Howe. Image Courtesy of the Artist’s Web Site – AlonzoChappel.org.

225 years before the year which will always now be associated with the date September 11 at a location 19.2 miles to the south west of Ground Zero, an attempt at a peace conference to put an end to the American Revolutionary War occurred on Staten Island.  On September 11, 1776, following the recent successful battle for Long Island by the British against the Continental Army of the recently self declared United States of America, Admiral Lord Richard Howe met with three representatives of the Second Continental Congress.  Admiral Howe was in command of all British navel forces in North American waters and brother of Major General William Howe, the British Commander-in-Chief of North America, and victor of the Battle of Long Island.  Admiral Howe was attempting to end the 17 month long conflict which ignited on April 18, 1775 when the first shots of the Revolution were fired at Lexington, Massachusetts, as the British were on their way to seize the colonial militia’s munitions stored in Concord.

The names of two of the three representatives, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, should be household names to modern day Americans.  We’ll let people slide if they are not as familiar with the name of the third Continental Congress representative, Edward Rutledge of South Carolina.  Admiral Howe was reaching out to his acquaintance Benjamin Franklin whom he had known in London, before the war, when Mr. Franklin used to play chess with the Admiral and General’s widowed sister Caroline.  In actuality, during this time period Admiral Howe and Mr. Franklin were trying to resolve the problems between Great Britain and its unhappy colonies.

Admiral Howe initiated the peace conference in the aftermath of the invasion of Long Island.  During this battle, the Hessians – mercenaries for the British – captured General John Sullivan of the American forces.  Sullivan, a lawyer by trade from New Hampshire, was one of two of Washington’s commanders during the battle; the other being General Israel Putnam. General Sullivan was released on parole in order to make contact with the Continental Congress to discuss the possibility of having a meeting to discuss a way to end the conflict.  After he was released, General Sullivan met with General Washington then, with Washington’s permission, proceeded to Philadelphia to meet with the Continental Congress. 

Another previous attempt by the Howe brothers to end the conflict prior to the invasion of Long Island by directly contacting George Washington was unsuccessful.  A big issue in this failure stemmed from the Howes not recognizing George Washington’s title as “General”. This is a common theme when an established government is being rebelled against.  The established government does not want the rebelling entity to have any credence or legitimacy to it so the established government will simply just not recognize the rebelling entity. It was along this line of thinking which propelled General Howe to send the letter to “George Washington, Esq.” Washington refused the letter. Howe sent a second letter addressed to “George Washington, Esq., etc., etc.” which was also refused.  This time however the messenger was Colonel James Paterson, General Howe’s adjutant-general.  When this second letter was refused, Colonel Paterson requested a personal meeting with General Washington.  Though they met, again the meeting did not result in an end to the conflict and shortly thereafter, the invasion on Long Island began.

After General Sullivan arrived in Philadelphia and briefed the Continental Congress, the Congress decided to send the three representatives to meet with Admiral Howe.  It was Franklin who recommended meeting either at Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, where Franklin’s illegitimate and estranged son, Royal Governor William Franklin had recently been arrested, or at the Billopp House on Staten Island just across the river from Perth Amboy.

A nice succinct summary of the Peace Conference can be found on pages 19-22 of the e-book “The Conference House Revisited. A History of the Billopp Manor House” by Field Horne located on the Conference House web site. (Note that the ebook viewer takes a little getting used to.  Use the “1:1” button at the top to enlarge the book to the correct viewing size.)

To make a long story short, Adams, Franklin and Rutledge arrived in Perth Amboy, took the barge supplied by Admiral Howe across the Kill Van Kull to the Billopp House, and met with the Admiral.  Though they met for three hours, they came to no agreement.  Four days after the conference, the British crossed the East River from Brooklyn and invaded Manhattan Island.

I have never been to the Conference House and didn’t even know about it until the last couple of years.  Next time I am in the area, I will certainly go there.  Interestingly enough, it is physically located closer to my childhood home in Morgan, NJ than Sayreville War Memorial High School, a place where I further learned about the Revolutionary War and a place where the year after I graduated, a somewhat well known rock star by the name (at the time) of John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. started attending.