In 1776, patriots hacked apart the gilded-lead statue of King George III in New York and hauled the pieces toward a Litchfield foundry to be melted into bullets. During a stop in Wilton, Connecticut, Loyalists stole and scattered some fragments in the area known as Davis Swamp, where pieces have been discovered ever since.
One such fragment, found in 1972 by antiques dealer Louis Miller, became the center of a lawsuit. The swamp’s owners argued the fragment belonged to them, and a Connecticut court ruled in their favor, determining the Loyalists had “mislaid,” not abandoned, the piece. After the ruling, the owners sold the fragment to the Museum of the City of New York, where it now remains on display.
