Battle of Crooked Billet The Battle of Crooked Billet was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on May 1 , 1778 near the Crooked Billet Tavern ( present - day Hatboro , Pennsylvania ) . In the skirmish action , British forces under the command of Major John Graves Simcoe launched a surprise attack against Brigadier General John Lacey and three regiments of Pennsylvania militia , who were literally caught sleeping . The British inflicted significant damage , and Lacey and his forces were forced to retreat into neighboring Bucks County . Background . The British Army , led by General William Howe , had captured New York City in 1776 and Philadelphia in 1777 . Even after the capture of forts Mifflin and Mercer , which had previously prevented the resupply of British - occupied Philadelphia by sea , the British relied heavily upon the overland route between New York City and Philadelphia for the movement of men , supplies and communication . British troops also regularly foraged for supplies in the countryside around the city . Since December , Washington and the Continental Army were in winter quarters at Valley Forge , northwest of Philadelphia . John Lacey ( who had been promoted to Brigadier General and commander of the Pennsylvania militia in January at the age of 23 ) , was tasked by Washington with patrolling the region north of Philadelphia , between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers . Washington ordered Lacey and the militia to prevent farmers from taking their goods into Philadelphia to sell to the British ( who paid high prices , in gold ) , and to protect patriots in the region from harassment by British and Loyalist troops . Washington was highly critical of both Pennsylvania ' s militia recruitment and Lacey ' s performance . Pennsylvania , despite promising 1 , 000 militia to patrol that area , had been unable to raise that many , and Washington was considering calling in militia from neighboring states . Washington wrote that militia stipulated by the state had never been above half kept up and that General Lacey had only 70 men left in the field . Lacey had not been as effective as Brigadier General James Potter at interdicting trade with the British , and Washington hoped Potter , off on leave , would soon return . Prelude . In late April Lacey began a series of maneuvers and patrols across the area that ended with his arrival on April 27 at the Crooked Billet Tavern in present - day Hatboro . One of his straggling companies was attacked by a British patrol , and Loyalist spies informed John Graves Simcoe , leader of the Loyalist Queen ' s Rangers , of Lacey ' s whereabouts . In Philadelphia , General Howe ordered Simcoe , to " secure the country and facilitate the inhabitants bringing in their produce to market . " During the winter of 1778 , British and Loyalist troops repeatedly led raids into Bucks County , despite the presence of Lacey and the militia . In April , Simcoe secured permission from Howe to launch an attack on Lacey and his militia . On the afternoon of April 30 , he and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Abercromby led their contingent of troops out of Philadelphia and towards the Crooked Billet . By then Lacey ' s troops numbered about 400 , including fresh arrivals from Cumberland and York Counties . That night Lacey ordered Lieutenant William Neilsen to begin a patrol between 2 : 00 and 3 : 00 am , and ordered the brigade of Thomas Downey to stand on alert . Neilsen failed to follow his orders , and his patrol only left camp shortly before daybreak on May 1 . They had not gone far when they spotted the advancing British . Battle . The British troops arrived at Crooked Billet at daybreak on May 1 . Simcoe had planned a " pincer " - type attack , with his troops attacking from the north and east , and Abercromby ' s troops from the south and west . Lacey ' s pickets , in place to warn against any type of threat , noticed the British troops , but failed to fire off a warning shot for fear of being killed or captured . Neilsen sent a runner back to the camp to raise the alarm , but he never arrived . Surprised and outnumbered , the militia were soon routed and forced to retreat into Warminster , losing their supplies and equipment at their bivouac site . An account of the battle , published on May 5 in Philadelphia ' s " Royal Pennsylvania Gazette " , reads as follows : Aftermath . As a result of this engagement , the American forces lost ten wagons full of much - needed supplies , and Lacey had almost 20 % of his force killed , wounded or taken prisoner . Lieutenant Nielson , the officer in charge of the pickets , was court - martial ed and cashiered from the militia for disobeying orders . On May 11 , Potter returned from his leave of absence and Lacey was relieved of his command . Washington requested that Lacey remain with the militia for a short time in order to familiarize Potter with the region . By late June , the British had withdrawn from Philadelphia , and the militia ' s safeguarding of the region was no longer of concern to Washington . Reported atrocities . Almost immediately after the battle , reports surfaced that British and Loyalist troops had committed atrocities , including the murder of prisoners - of - war and setting fire to the American wounded . On May 7 , Washington ordered Brigadier General William Maxwell to conduct an inquiry into these allegations so that a report could be made to General Howe . Andrew Long , a justice of the peace in Bucks County , took the depositions of Colonel Watts and four residents who witnessed the battle : Samuel Henry , William Stayner , Thomas Craven and Samuel Erwin . Watts reported " we found the bodies of the dead usid [ sic ] in a most inhuman & barbarous manner " and that " the most cruel Barbarity that had ever been exercised by any civilised Nation ; nay , Savage barbarity in its utmost exertion of cruelty could but equal it . " Lacey ' s report to Major General John Armstrong further documented the atrocities : " Some of the unfortunate , who fell into the merciless hands of the British , were more cruelly and inhumanely butchered . Some were set on fire with buckwheat straw , and others had their clothes burned on their backs . Some of the surviving sufferers say they saw the enemy set fire to wounded while yet alive , who struggled to put it out but were too weak and expired under the torture . I saw those lying in the buckwheat straw — they made a most melancholy appearance . Others I saw , who , after being wounded with a ball , had received near a dozen wounds with cutlasses and bayonets . I can find as many witnesses to the proof of the cruelties as there were people on the spot , and that was no small number who came as spectators . "