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Novr. 2nd. John Dibble, of Darien, aged 89: "In 1777, I belonged to the Town Guards and was in the Ridgefield skirmish. I was then on the flank guards, and five out of twenty five of us got killed. I was east of Gen Arnold when his horse was killed. The British would have been beaten if they had not crossed Saungatuck river. I saw Arnold twice that day. He wore a blanket great coat. I was at the taking of the Should- -ham armed vessel of ten guns. We carried our whaleboats across Pell's Neck where we took a market boat which had three hundred barrels of salt on board, and twelve ten gallon kegs of brandy, returning from New York. We then ran down with a fair wind, and the [Shuldham] grand ship lay near City Island. When we came near the Shuldham Captn. Lockwood was at [our?] the helm, and the watch cried out: "What sloop is that?"
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Lockwood answered: "The Little Stanton." "Take care - take care - you'll be foul of us!" "Never fear, never fear!" said Lockwood very coolly. "The rebels boats are out tonight, and we want to get under your lee." First then we ran our bow- -spirit into her netting. One Allen, a Continental soldier cut the netting with his broadsword as well as others, and we then boarded and drove the watch below. They never fired a gun, but they fired at us fiercely from City Island. Ten Dollars we offered to the first man on board and five for the second. Andrew Mead was the first and one Gregory the second. No one of us understood the management of the stern top sail, and we then promised if any of the crew would assist us in the navigation we would not make them prisoners but would let them go.