Haw River
RETURN TO INDEXVictory: American
Troops: United States 300 - Great Britain 300-400
Pyle's Massacre (also known as Pyle's defeat, Pyle's hacking match or Battle of Haw River) was fought during the American Revolutionary War in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina on February 24, 1781. The battle was between Patriot troops attached to the Continental Army under Colonel Henry Lee III and Loyalist North Carolina militiamen commanded by John Pyle. Due to the unique uniform of his forces, the Loyalists mistakenly thought Lee's men were the British Legion, who were en route to reinforce Pyle. When Lee's men opened fire, they took Pyle's force totally by surprise. Dr. John Pyle, Sr., a native of Chatham County, had previously fought against the colonial government in the War of the Regulation but did not serve at the Battle of Alamance. After the battle, however, Pyle responded to Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis' call for Loyalists in the Revolution, and he served in the militia against the Patriots as a colonel. After being captured, Dr. Pyle took an oath of loyalty to the Provincial Congress. However, with Cornwallis' army encamped at nearby Hillsborough, Dr. Pyle gathered between 300 and 400 troops and sent a request to Cornwallis for an escort.
Cornwallis sent Tarleton with his cavalry and a small band of infantry to escort these men. 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 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. On February 26, Cornwallis marched westward toward Haw River. He planned to gather volunteers in the Loyalists settlements and then attack the Patriot Army which was encamped at Guilford Court House. Later in the day, Pickens was joined by 300 mounted Virginia riflemen under Col. William Preston, bringing Pickens’ force, not counting Lee, to probably 800 to 900, many of the North Carolina militia having left him by this time.
Cornwallis sent Tarleton with his cavalry and a small band of infantry to escort these men. 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 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. On February 26, Cornwallis marched westward toward Haw River. He planned to gather volunteers in the Loyalists settlements and then attack the Patriot Army which was encamped at Guilford Court House. Later in the day, Pickens was joined by 300 mounted Virginia riflemen under Col. William Preston, bringing Pickens’ force, not counting Lee, to probably 800 to 900, many of the North Carolina militia having left him by this time.
