745:. Seeing this, Pickens' riflemen joined in the attack. The cavalry line turned and also attacked the Loyalists. Pyle's men broke and ran, but many were either killed or wounded in the early exchanges. Many Loyalists, believing the attack to be a mistake, continued insisting they were on King George's side, to no avail. After 10 minutes, the remaining Loyalists had fled, and 93 Loyalists were known to be dead, certainly more were wounded and others were seen being carried off by friends. According to local legend, John Pyle was badly wounded in the battle and crawled into a nearby pond where he concealed himself until he could be rescued. After recovering from his wounds, he surrendered to the local militia. Later they were pardoned because of Dr. Pyle's care for wounded patriots.
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objective. The sounds of battle apparently commenced when the militia at the rear of Lee's Legion, recognizing the strips of red cloth on the hats of Pyle's men as the badge of
Loyalists, alerted Captain Eggleston, who was new to the South and was not familiar with local Patriot and Loyalist badges. When he asked one of the Loyalists which side he was on, the man replied "
781:, reported that most of Pyle's force were "inhumanly butchered, when begging for quarters, without making the least resistance." Lee later argued in his memoir that if he had wanted to massacre the Loyalists he would have chased down the remnants of Pyle's company. Rather, he allowed them to run away put an end to Loyalist recruiting efforts in North Carolina.
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for
Pickens and Lee to attack safely. Additionally, Nathanael Greene's recovered army crossed the Dan River back into NC on February 22, proceeding for contact and action at Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781. Lee and Pickens broke off to screen and join the campaign, their task to demoralize and
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Word came the next morning that
Tarleton was moving toward the Haw with an estimated 400 men. Lee and Pickens followed behind Tarleton, who, they learned, had camped near the Haw. A planned attack was called off when scouts reported that Tarleton had again moved, after the militia companies he was
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and was a contributing factor in weakening
British troop numbers and morale. As late as the 1850s, local residents could point out the location of the battle and the mass graves of those killed during the skirmish; at least one known mass grave has been recently relocated. The site is marked with
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The most commonly accepted account of the battle, pieced together from reports from Lee and
Captain Joseph Graham, indicates that Lee's deception was purely chance, and that he had originally intended to avoid the Loyalists, intending instead to encounter Tarleton's Dragoons, the more important
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in command of the rear guard cavalry was the last to cross approximately two hours before the
British arrived) so that Cornwallis was stranded on the NC side of the river. Cornwallis made an exhaustive trip South, establishing a headquarters to regroup and recover at
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634:, who were en route to reinforce Pyle. When Lee's men opened fire, they took Pyle's force totally by surprise. This resulted in an extremely lopsided victory for Lee, and Pyle's command was scattered and routed.
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with
Maryland infantry and South Carolina militia, to recross the Dan and monitor British activity. This force crossed the Dan on February 18 and set up a hidden camp along the road between Hillsborough and
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General Greene spent days in
Virginia from the 15th to the 22nd, where he was able to resupply, feed his troops, medically recover his wounded and gain reinforcements. On February 17 he detached Colonel
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Pickens and Lee never caught up with
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890:"Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States" By Henry (light horse) Lee. Arno Press, Inc. New York 1969. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 75-76561.
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Indians in a late-arriving company, with claims that men were butchered after asking for quarter. The British were quick to denounce the Americans' actions as a
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and cedar trees and at one time had a stone marker (placed in 1880), which has since been removed from the site; the marker's current location is unknown.
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discourage Loyalist volunteers from adding to the diminishing British forces having been successful.
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in 1767. Noted for his loyalty to the King, he had assisted the Governor in the
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crossing points. From there Lee sent scouts to watch for British movements.
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Battles in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War 1780–1783
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at Irwin's (Turbeville, VA) and Boyd's Ferry (South Boston, VA) and out of
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Founding Fighters: The Battlefield Leaders who made American Independence
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February 24, 1781 battle fought during the American Revolutionary War
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Battles of the American Revolutionary War involving the United States
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Battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain
741:", and Eggleston responded by striking him on the head with his
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915:; description of book by Carole W. Troxler of Elon University
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Battles of the American Revolutionary War in North Carolina
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644:Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
618:attached to the Continental Army under Colonel
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769:There were reports of atrocities committed by
614:on February 24, 1781. The battle was between
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68:Learn how and when to remove this message
867:The Cowpens-Guilford Courthouse Campaign
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680:Dr. John Pyle (1723–1804) had moved to
752:"Pyle's Pond" by Benson Lossing, 1852
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869:. University of Pennsylvania Press.
803:List of massacres in North Carolina
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966:Alamance County, North Carolina
612:Alamance County, North Carolina
116:Alamance County, North Carolina
850:. Greenwood Publishing Group.
777:. Cornwallis, in a letter to
708:with his cavalry, and Colonel
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786:Battle of Guilford Courthouse
919:Philip Higdon pension record
671:Hillsborough, North Carolina
209:1 man wounded 1 horse killed
688:, though he was not at the
43:. The specific problem is:
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608:American Revolutionary War
92:American Revolutionary War
39:to meet Knowledge (XXG)'s
991:History of North Carolina
912:Deception at the Racepath
652:had been unable to catch
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606:) was fought during the
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519:House in the Horseshoe
296:Mobley's Meeting House
172:Commanders and leaders
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865:Davis, Burke (2002).
846:Cate, Alan C (2006).
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696:and a small force of
686:War of the Regulation
204:Casualties and losses
600:Pyle's hacking match
484:Guilford Court House
50:improve this article
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604:Battle of Haw River
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690:Battle of Alamance
648:British commander
415:Spencer's Ordinary
341:Wahab's Plantation
971:Conflicts in 1781
876:978-0-8122-1832-9
857:978-0-275-98707-7
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389:Yorktown Campaign
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739:King George
489:Fort Watson
464:Summerfield
444:The Village
346:Black Mingo
316:Rocky Mount
214:250 wounded
196:600 militia
52:if you can.
960:Categories
840:References
791:periwinkle
638:Background
628:militiamen
539:Raft Swamp
514:Ninety-Six
499:Fort Motte
430:Chesapeake
405:Cape Henry
276:Charleston
271:1st Mobile
933:79°27′1″W
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757:Aftermath
715:Haw River
706:Henry Lee
675:Loyalists
658:Dan River
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425:Francisco
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351:Charlotte
257:1780–1783
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186:John Pyle
182:Henry Lee
797:See also
775:massacre
698:infantry
624:Loyalist
435:Yorktown
395:Richmond
191:Strength
110:Location
90:Part of
58:May 2022
34:require
771:Catawba
694:cavalry
509:Augusta
449:Cowpens
291:Waxhaws
36:cleanup
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732:Battle
556:Wambaw
326:Camden
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123:Result
809:Notes
743:sabre
871:ISBN
852:ISBN
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545:1782
382:1781
266:1780
102:Date
602:or
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