Staten Island Peace Conference - Aftermath

Aftermath

The Congressmen returned to Philadelphia and reported that Lord Howe "has no propositions to make us" and that "America is to expect nothing but total unconditional submission." John Adams learned many years later that his name was on a list of people specifically excluded from any pardon offers the Howes might make. Congress published the committee's report without comment. Because Lord Howe did not also publish an account of the meeting, the meeting's outcome was perceived by many as a sign of British weakness; however, many Loyalists and some British observers suspected the Congressional report misrepresented the meeting. One British commentator wrote of the meeting, "They met, they talked, they parted. And now nothing remains but to fight it out." Lord Howe reported the failure of the conference to his brother, and they then made preparations to continue the campaign for New York City. Four days after the conference, British troops landed on Manhattan and occupied New York City.

The next major peace effort occurred in 1778, when the British sent commissioners led by the Earl of Carlisle to occupied Philadelphia. They were authorized to negotiate with Congress as a body, and offered self-government that was roughly equivalent to modern Commonwealth status. This effort was undermined by the planned withdrawal of British troops from Philadelphia and by American demands that the commissioners were not authorized to grant.

The house where the conference took place is now preserved as a museum within Conference House Park, a city park. It is a National Historic Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.