War and politics can both necessitate some strange bedfellows, and that was certainly the case 250 years ago today when two of the Revolution’s leading figures found themselves literally sharing a bed.

During the battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, the British captured Gen. John Sullivan of New Hampshire. They then paroled Sullivan and sent him to Philadelphia bearing a message from the British Peace Commissioners, Admiral Lord Richard Howe and his brother, General William Howe. The Howes invited the Continental Congress to discuss terms for peace.

Most in Congress considered the overture disingenuous, and some even bore ill-will toward Sullivan for bringing such an odious message. However, delegates also understood that if they rebuffed the overture out of hand, it would look as though they, not Great Britain, were to blame for continued war. On September 6, Congress decided to appoint a three-man delegation to travel to the British headquarters on Staten Island, New York, to hear what the British had to say.

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