The conference on Staten Island delayed the British military campaign, providing General Washington with more time to prepare his troops for the inevitable battle for New York City (lower Manhattan). Four days after the “negotiation” the British recaptured New York, forcing the Continental Army’s retreat. The Howe brothers believed the defeat, like the humiliation in Brooklyn, would result in a bid for peace. But the conference on Staten Island exposed the flaw in that logic, since the leadership in Congress was beyond persuasion. It confirmed the irreconcilable differences between the two sides, only stiffening the resolve of each to continue, until the war itself, and the long train of nightmares it produced, forced the British to relent.

Rural County, Urban Borough is a history with a strong sense of place. Covering the the history of Queens from European settlement to the present, Kroessler charts centuries of change in the landscape. He shows how politics, industry, transportation, government and real estate interests all shaped the borough. Linking Queens to New York City and the wider world, Kroessler illuminates important elements of American metropolitan history.