In 1687 Captain Christopher Billop turned the trick and the island, named "Richmond" by the Duke, was a part of New York -- almost.
     From that time forward it seemed that Staten Island was rarely in agreement with the four boroughs across the Upper Bay, and frequently at odds with the rest of the nation.
     During the Revolutionary War Staten Island's populace was Royalist; when General Howe occupied the island he was enthusiastically cheered by the natives. The good feelings paled somewhat with the 30,000 troops, including sailors from four hundred war vessels, billeted there.
     During the Civil War, the islanders were sympathetic with the South; when the 1863 D