Home / Macdonald, John. Interview with Dibble, John; (1847-11-02). John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851, WCHS item 1665. Westchester County Historical Society. Transcribed by history.croton.news April 2026. / Passage

Interview with Dibble, John

Macdonald, John. Interview with Dibble, John; (1847-11-02). John M. McDonald Interviews, 1844-1851, WCHS item 1665. Westchester County Historical Society. Transcribed by history.croton.news April 2026. 301 words

We went down to attack the fort being in number about thirty or sixty. Fade Donaldson was a rough old [boy?] and had three sons with him in the whale boat service. Major Eyres had been a Major in the army, and was afterwards a whale boat captain. I was under him three or four months. He was a very brave man with very little conduct, and was killed by Captn. Marks. He surrendered, and delivered his

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241 587 108 98 musket to Marks who took it and killed him with it after he surrendered. Major Hubbell* was from somewhere near Bridgeport, a very clever man who afterwards became a Colonel. He commanded the party that killed three men by the School house near here, about two miles west of Darien church. They took no prisoners then. We took Joseph Smith prisoner who was wounded. He (Joseph Smith) was from New Canaan. We were fifty or sixty in number, enough to have taken Hubbell prisoner. Hubbell afterwards said Lieut. Howe missed his figure when he hailed them. We were then under the command of Lieut. Nathan Howe of Middlesex of the coast guard. Captain Frost who took off the old [meeting?] house [cong.] was a Shoemaker from Middlesex. [margin: * From Monroe, formerly part of Huntington. W. Hawley say - "a gentlemanly old man."]

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242 588 109 99 I was with those that pursued them to Scotch Cove. We might have taken them all, but for Major Davenport who said: "It won't do to attack them now - they'll kill half of you!" Davenports courage was doubted much. The British vessels of war couldn't come up to the Islands at first. One Talcott was part owner of a vessel taken by the aforesaid Refugees who put Mr.