“I was at that time on Toilsome Hill, having been just above with my father to drive cattle to our woodland, to keep them from the enemy.”
“…The town burnt all night-a cloud seemed to remain fixed in the west, from which issued frequent flashes of lighting; this, joined to many a column from the flaming buildings and frequent discharges of cannon and musketry on the British guard placed around the town…”
“About 40 of the enemy were found dead & 8 or 10 of ours. No doubt many were wounded & carried off with them….”
“Eighty dwelling houses, besides barns, stores, etc. were consumed…”
–The Journal of William Wheeler, July 7th, 1779
During the British invasion, this silver tankard was hidden in a stone wall on Captain Ichabod Wheeler’s property in Black Rock. Wheeler’s son, William, described in his journal how his father would hide the silver and go out in the night to see if there were enemy boats coming in.