Pyle ' s Massacre Pyle ' s Massacre , also known as Pyle ' s Hacking Match or the Battle of Haw River , was fought during the American Revolutionary War in Orange County , North Carolina ( present - day Alamance County , North Carolina ) , on February 24 , 1781 , between Patriot and Loyalist North Carolina militia troops . Patriot militia leader Colonel Henry Lee deceived Loyalist militia under Dr . John Pyle into thinking he was British commander Banastre Tarleton sent to meet them . Lee ' s men then opened fire , surprising and scattering Pyle ' s force . Background . British General the Earl Cornwallis had been unable to crush Nathanael Greene ' s army , but had managed to drive Greene across the Dan River and out of North Carolina . Cornwallis established a headquarters at Hillsborough , North Carolina on February 21 to rally Loyalist s to his side . Dr . John Pyle ( 1723 - 1804 ) had moved to North Carolina from Chatham County in 1767 . Noted for his loyalty to the King , he had assisted the Governor in the War of the Regulation , though he was not at the Battle of Alamance . When Cornwallis appealed for Loyalist volunteers , Pyle gathered between 300 and 400 men . He requested Cornwallis provide his men with an escort , and Banastre Tarleton with his cavalry and a small force of infantry , a total of about 450 men , marched to lead Pyle to safety . General Greene spent several days in Virginia , where he was able to resupply and gain reinforcements for his army . On February 17 he detached Colonel Henry Lee with his cavalry , and Colonel Andrew Pickens 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 Haw River crossing points . From there Lee sent scouts to watch for British movements . Word came the next morning that Tarleton was moving toward the Haw with an estimated 400 men . Lee and Pickens followed behind Tarleton , whom 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 expecting to meet did not show up . Pyle ' s force had delayed its movement ( in violation of orders ) to visit with family and friends before setting off . At noon on February 24 , Lee and Pickens captured 2 British staff officers and learned through interrogation that Tarleton was only a few miles ahead . In the waning hours of the day , Lee ' s Legion , who wore short green jackets and plumed helmets , encountered 2 of Pyle ' s men , who mistook them for Tarleton ' s dragoons , who wore similar uniforms . Lee used this to his advantage and learned that Pyle ' s troops were nearby . Lee instructed Pickens ' riflemen to flank Pyle ' s position , and then trotted into the camp in full salute . Lee exchanged customary civilities with Colonel Pyle and began shaking his hand when the sounds of battle commenced . Battle . 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 Whig and Tory badges . When he asked one of the Loyalists which side he was on , the man replied " King George " , and Eggleston responded by striking him on the head with his sabre . 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 . Aftermath . Pickens and Lee never caught up with Tarleton , since Cornwallis ordered him to rejoin the main army on the night of February 24 . Though pursued , Tarleton eventually got too close to the main British army for Pickens and Lee to attack safely . There were reports of atrocities committed by Catawba Indians in a late - arriving company , with claims that men were butchered after asking for quarter . The British were quick to denounce the incident as a massacre . Cornwallis , in a letter to Lord George Germain , reported that most of Pyle ' s force were " inhumanly butchered , when begging for quarters , without making the least resistance . " Lee later noted that if he had wanted a massacre he would have chased down the remnants of Pyle ' s company . Rather , Lt . Col . Lee allowed those who wished to run away do so in the successful strategy of putting off the fantasy tales of the British Army of their superior Calvalry , etc . , and help put an end to recruiting efforts by the Loyalists in N . Carolina for the British , as described by Lee in his memoir , " Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States " and in 1969 republished by Arno Press , Inc . , New York as " The American Revolution In The South . " Ch 27 . Obviously , Col . Lee had no control over the late arriving British troops slaughtered by the Cataba Indians in a separate incident . Tarleton and his commander Cornwallis likely took every opportunity to slander the Americans as butchers , as Tarleton has ( a mostly undeserved ) reputation himself of being a butcher . The battle occurred a few weeks before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse 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 periwinkle 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 . Arno Press , Inc . New York 1969 . Library of Congress Catalog Card No . 75 - 76561 .