But one month has been marked by multiple events in history. During September, we will be commemorating several milestones, including a 10th and 100th anniversary.
One of the earliest memorable September events that took place was in 1776. After he was forced to evacuate Boston, Gen. William Howe set his sights on New York. On July 2, 1776, he began to land his troops at the Watering Place (Tompkinsville) on Staten Island.
Approximately 30,000 troops eventually occupied Staten Island, waiting for what would become the Battle of Long Island in August. In an effort to end the war and avoid more bloodshed, Vice Admiral Richard Howe arranged a meeting with representatives of the “rebels.”
On Sept. 11, 1776, he met secretly with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Edward Rutledge. The meeting took place at the home of a British loyalist, Christopher Billopp, in what is today Tottenville; however, Vice Admiral Howe’s peace offer was too little too late and the meeting failed to bring an early end to the war.
The next significant event to occur in the month of September also took place on the 11th day of the month — the Battle of Plattsburg, N.Y., on Sept. 11, 1814.
During the War of 1812, the British plan to defeat the United States was similar to their strategy during the Revolutionary War. The plan was designed to split the nation in half by gaining control of the Hudson River Valley from Albany to New York City. Had the British succeeded, they may well have won the war.
Key to both plans was an evasion of New York from Canada. As the British army moved south on Sept. 1, supported by their navy on Lake Champlain, it looked like their strategy might work.
In preparation, the Americans hastily built their own fleet to meet the British fleet. Many of the ship builders came from our area, and it was their efforts that enabled the young nation’s fledgling navy to defeat the mighty British fleet on Lake Champlain on that fateful day in September — Sept 11.
This battle was the turning point in the War of 1812. Upon hearing of the defeat of the British fleet, Lt. Gen. Sir George Prevost abandoned his attempt to sever the new nation and retreated to Canada.
In the early 20th century, another important event took place when the first retreat house for laymen in the United States opened its doors on Sept. 9, 1911.
Rev. Terrance Shealy, a Jesuit priest, bought the old Fox Hill Manor from real estate broker Cornelius Kolff for $50,000 and converted it into a place for laymen to find solitude and pray.
Its opening was a huge success and sparked a movement that spread across the continent and continues to this day. Rev. Shealy became known as the “father” of the retreat movement in America.
At the beginning of the 21st century, there is one September event that stands in sharp contrast to all the others. It was one of those rare events in history where everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when it occurred.
That event, of course, was the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Early that morning, a hijacked jet airliner crashed into one of the WTC’s Twin Towers. At first many people, myself included, thought it was an accident similar to the plane that crashed into the Empire State Building on July 28, 1945.
On that foggy day in 1945, Lt. Col. William Smith was piloting a U.S. Army B-25 bomber on his way to Newark Airport when poor visibility resulted in the terrible accident.
While the Empire State Building remained standing and 14 lives were lost, the fate of the World Trade Center’s twin towers was very different. This was no accident. Two commercial airliners were deliberately flown into the World Trade Center’s twin towers with catastrophic consequences — 2,595 innocent people were killed and the towers were turned to dust.
That day everyone was a New Yorker. Everyone pulled together to help one another survive the aftermath – and we succeeded. Ten years later we are still dealing with the grief for all the loved ones lost; but, like the phoenix of legend, we have risen stronger and more resolute to stand for what we believe in.
BITS & PIECES
The final si350 Memories Program will take place at the South Beach Branch of the New York Public Library on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 2-4 p.m. The event will be hosted by retired Memories columnist Mike Azzara.