At first light on June 19, 1776, Private Daniel McCurtin, one of General Washington’s soldiers in Manhattan, rose and checked the weather. Then he glanced down the Bay toward the Narrows, and was stunned. The view had utterly changed. The “whole Bay [was] … full of shipping,” their countless masts resembling “a wood of pine trees.” King George’s men and ships had arrived under cover of night. Forty-eight men-of-war and transports, bearing General Sir William Howe, commander in chief of His Majesty’s forces in North America, and part of his army, were moored off Staten Island. Neither McCurtin nor the hundreds of New Yorkers who soon lined the Battery had seen anything like it.

And they had seen nothing yet. The next day, Sir William’s brother, Admiral Lord Howe, joined him with 82 ships. By July 12 more than 150 ships stood off Staten Island, with more coming. King George’s ministers had assembled the largest invasion fleet since the Spanish Armada, nearly two centuries before.

On that day, things started happening.

First, the British landed on Staten Island, near what is now Fort Wadsworth. The local militia surrendered without a shot. Then, around 3:00 p.m., frigates H.M.S. Phoenix and H.M.S. Rose, accompanied by three smaller ships, swept up the Bay under full sail to test the harbor defenses. American artillery fired on them from Red Hook, Governor’s Island, Paulus Hook in New Jersey, and Forts Washington and Lee. They were remarkably inaccurate, and Rose’s commander soon opened a particularly fine claret. The warships cruised some 30 miles north to Tappan Bay, off Tarrytown, returned a few days later to run the gauntlet in reverse, and were nearly undamaged when they anchored in the lower Bay.

Finally, the Howe brothers tried to open negotiations. Sir William Howe was in his late 40s. He had held the King’s commission for more than 30 years. Careful and intelligent, he generally eschewed wasteful frontal assaults against entrenched positions. Thus, part of the reason for Howe’s popularity with his troops stemmed from their confidence he would not waste their lives to pursue his glory. Another part was professional skill. In September 1759, Howe had led one of military history’s most audacious feats by scaling the sheer Cliffs of Abraham at Quebec with 4,000 men in a surprise attack that helped end the French and Indian Wars.

Yet Howe could be reckless with his own life. On June 17, 1775, at Bunker Hill, having seen his grenadiers driven back by American sharpshooters, he personally led their second assault, sword in hand, against “an incessant stream of fire … more than flesh could endure,” and when his men broke and ran, Howe had stood defiantly alone, a fine target in his cocked hat, gold epaulets, and scarlet coat, before calmly turning and slowly walking down the hill.

The Howes were apparently empowered to offer the Americans everything save independence. But first they had to address the letter to their opponent. “General” might legitimize the rebel Congress that had commissioned him. “Colonel,” his highest rank in the King’s service, might be insulting. They settled on George Washington, Esq. In “They Fought for New York,” John Brick describes the attempt of Lieutenant Brown, R.N. to deliver the letter. Arriving by boat under flag of truce, he saluted a blue-coated Colonel at the Battery stairs.

“Sir,” Brown said, “I have a letter from Lord Howe to Mr. Washington.”

“Sir,” replied Colonel Joseph Reed, Philadelphia lawyer turned adjutant-general of the United States Army, “we have no person here in our army with that address.” Address, in that context, meant rank and title. Opening negotiations is difficult when the foe won’t accept one’s mail on a lawyer’s advice.

Sir William then addressed another letter to “George Washing ton, Esq., etc., etc.” On July 14 this, too, was refused. The bearer, Lieutenant Colonel James Patterson, Howe’s adjutant general, nonetheless asked whether General Washington would meet him.

Washington received Patterson at his headquarters at 1 Broadway. Patterson explained the “etc., etc.” as terms used in diplomacy when a man’s precise rank was in doubt. Washington replied there was no doubt about his precise rank and that “etc., etc.” could mean “anything – or nothing.” Patterson then suggested direct negotiations between the Howes and Washington. The commander in chief refused, saying he was merely a soldier, powerless to negotiate political questions: that was Congress’s domain.

Over the next month, as the British fleet swelled to over 400 ships, Washington wrote, “The powers of Despotism are all combined against [America], and ready to strike their most decisive Stroke.” Thus on August 22, 1776, Sir William, having assembled 32,000 soldiers on Staten Island, including 8,000 mercenaries rented from the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, invaded Brooklyn at Gravesend Bay, near Coney Island. He had 15,000 men ashore by noon with scarcely a shot fired. War had come to Brooklyn.