 The British fleet was first spotted when it passed Norwalk. When the troops landed, Patriot messengers were dispatched to warn Danbury and local militia leaders of the movements. Major General David Wooster and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold were in New Haven when messengers reached them on April 26. Wooster immediately sent the local militia to Fairfield. When he and Arnold reached Fairfield, they learned that General Silliman, the commander of the Fairfield County militia, had already departed for Redding, with orders that any militia raised should follow as rapidly as possible. Wooster and Arnold immediately moved in that direction. Including their troop of volunteers, Silliman assembled a force numbering about 500 militia members and 100 Continental Army regulars. Messages broadcasting the alarm went as far as Peekskill, where Alexander McDougall began mobilizing Continental Army troops garrisoned there to intercept Tryon in case he entered Westchester County. The force then moved out, heading toward Danbury in a pouring rain. By 11 pm they had only reached Bethel, about 2 miles (3 km) short of Danbury. Since their wet gunpowder would make battle impossible, they chose to spend the night there rather than press on to Danbury.
