Howe. With great sorrow Howe now realized that he had no power to
grant what Congress insisted upon, the recognition of
independence, as a preliminary to negotiation. There was nothing
for it but war.

On the 15th of September the British struck the blow too long
delayed had war been their only interest. New York had to sit
nearly helpless while great men-of-war passed up both the Hudson
and the East River with guns sweeping the shores of Manhattan
Island. At the same time General Howe sent over in boats from
Long Island to the landing at Kip's Bay, near the line of the
present Thirty-fourth Street, an army to cut off the city from
the northern part of the island. Washington marched in person
with two New England regiments to dispute the landing and give
him time for evacuation. To his rage panic seized his men and
they turned and fled, leaving him almost alone not a hundred
yards from the enemy. A stray shot at that moment might have
influenced greatly modern history, for, as events were soon to
show, Washington was the mainstay of the American cause. He too
had to get away and Howe's force landed easily enough. Meanwhile,
on the west shore of the island, there was an animated scene. The
roads were crowded with refugees fleeing northward from New York.
These civilians Howe had no reason to stop, but there marched,
too, out of New York four thousand men, under Israel Putnam, who
got safely away northward. Only leisurely did Howe extend his
line across the island so as to cut off the city. The story, not
more trustworthy than many other legends of war, is that Mrs.
Murray, living in a country house near what now is Murray Hill,
invited the General to luncheon, and that to enjoy this pleasure
he ordered a halt for his whole force. Generals sometimes do