At the corner of Beaver Lane, while making his rounds at around 10:30 p.m. on 3 January 1804, Girdler met one of the armed citizens patrolling the area, 29-year-old excise officer Francis Smith.
Just past 11:00 p.m., Smith encountered bricklayer, Thomas Millwood, who was wearing the normal white clothing of his trade: "linen entirely white, washed very clean, a waistcoat of flannel, apparently new, very white, and an apron, which he wore round him" [REF].