page_title: New York and New Jersey campaign
section_title: Capture of New York City
hierarchical_section_title: New York and New Jersey campaign / Capture of New York City
caption_attribution_description: English: Landing of the British troops, led by General Cornwallis, at the base of the Palisades near Fort Lee, New Jersey, on the morning of November 20, 1776. After ascending the Palisades, the British troops marched on Fort Lee, resulting in the evacuation of the fort by the Continental Army and their general retreat across New Jersey. This event is known as the Battle of Fort Lee.
context_page_description: The New York and New Jersey campaign was a series of battles in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War between British forces under General Sir William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington. Howe was successful in driving Washington out of New York, but overextended his reach into New Jersey, and ended the active campaign season in January 1777 with only a few outposts near the city. The British held New York harbor for the rest of the war, using it as a base for expeditions against other targets.
  Landing unopposed on Staten Island on July 3, 1776, Howe assembled an army composed of elements that had been withdrawn from Boston in March following their failure to hold that city, combined with additional British troops, as well as Hessian troops hired from several German principalities. Washington had New England soldiers as well as regiments from states as far south as Virginia.
context_section_description: The Howe brothers had been granted authority as peace commissioners by Parliament, with limited powers to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict.  King George III was not optimistic about the possibility of a peace, "yet I think it right to be attempted, whilst every act of vigour is unremittingly carried on".  Their powers were limited to granting of "general and special pardons" and to "confer with any of his Majesty's subjects".  On July 14, pursuant to these powers, Admiral Howe sent a messenger with a letter addressed to "George Washington, Esq." across the harbor.  Washington's adjutant, Joseph Reed, politely informed the messenger that no person with that title was in their army.  Admiral Howe's aide wrote that "the Punctilio of an Address" should not have prevented the letter's delivery, and Howe was said to be visibly annoyed by the rejection.  A second request, addressed to "George Washington, Esq., etc." was similarly rejected, although the messenger was told that Washington would receive one of Howe's adjutants.  In that fruitless meeting, held July 20, Washington pointed out that the limited powers the Howe brothers had been given were not of much use, as the rebels had done no wrong requiring an amnesty.
  In late August, the British transported about 22,000 men (including 9,000 Hessians) from Staten Island  to Long Island. In the Battle of Long Island on August 27, the British outflanked the American positions, driving the Americans back to their Brooklyn Heights fortifications. General Howe then began to lay siege to the works, but Washington skillfully managed a nighttime retreat through his unguarded rear across the East River to Manhattan Island.  Howe then paused to consolidate his position and consider his next move.
  During the battle, the British had captured General John Sullivan.  Admiral Howe convinced him to deliver a message to Congress in Philadelphia, and released him on parole.  Washington also gave his permission, and on September 2 Sullivan told the Congress that the Howes wanted to negotiate, and had been given much broader powers to treat than those they actually held.  This created a diplomatic problem for Congress, which did not want to be seen as aggressive, which is how some representatives felt a direct rejection of the appeal would appear.  Consequently, Congress agreed to send a committee to meet with the Howes in a move they did not think would bear any fruit.  On September 11, the Howe brothers met with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Rutledge in the Staten Island Peace Conference.  It had exactly the outcome the Americans expected.
  During this time, Washington, who had previously been ordered by Congress to hold New York City, was concerned that he might have escaped one trap for another, since the army was still vulnerable to being surrounded on Manhattan.  To keep his escape routes open to the north, he placed 5,000 troops in the city (which then only occupied the lower portion of Manhattan), and took the rest of the army to Harlem Heights.  In the first recorded use of a submarine in warfare, he also attempted a novel attack on the Royal Navy, launching Turtle in a failed attempt to sink HMS Eagle, Admiral Howe's flagship.
  On September 15, General Howe landed about 12,000 men on lower Manhattan, quickly taking control of New York City. The Americans withdrew to Harlem, where they skirmished the next day, but held their ground. Rather than attempting to dislodge Washington from his strong position a second time, Howe again opted for a flanking maneuver.  Landing troops with some opposition in October in Westchester County, he sought once again to encircle Washington.  To defend against this move, Washington withdrew most of his army to White Plains, where after a short battle on October 28 he retreated further north. The retreat of Washington's forces was aided by a dense fog which concealed their movement to the British troops.  This isolated the remaining Continental Army troops in upper Manhattan, so Howe returned to Manhattan and captured Fort Washington in 
caption: Depiction of the British landing at the Palisades near Fort Lee, New Jersey. Watercolor attributed to Thomas Davies
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