History comes alive at the Conference House this month.
On Sept. 11, the Peace Conference Celebration reenacts Benjamin Franklin’s historic talks with the British that could have stopped the Revolutionary War.
In colonial garb and appropriate wigs, actors will recreate the meeting between the British Admiral Lord Howe and colonial patriots Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, the latter three coming to the Conference House beach via rowboat from Perth Amboy, NJ — as they did over 200 years ago.
Families can get in on the period fun, too, as the day-long affair will feature Colonial-era music and dancing, crafts booths, outdoor open-fire cooking demonstrations, and children’s games and crafts, including calligraphy, quilting, butter churning, candle making, and kite making.
Most history books pass over this day, but the Sept. 11, 1776 peace conference held at the 17th century manor house represents a dramatic point in the course of American history.
The talks are more about what didn’t happen than did. In the only diplomatic attempt between the Crown and the colonists to halt the course of the American Revolution, Howe offered to end the conflict peacefully if the colonies would return to British control. But the colonists refused to give up their struggle for independence. No reconciliation was reached, so the Revolution continued, lasting for seven years, until American independence was won.
Peace Conference Celebration at the Conference House [298 Satterlee St. at Craig Avenue in Tottenville, (718) 984-6046], Sept. 11 from 11 am–4 pm. Rain date Sept. 12. Suggested admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children, college students, and seniors. Children younger than 6 are free. For more info, visit www.ConferenceHouse.org.
