Pyle's Defeat

February 25, 1781

Patriot cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee ambushed Loyalist Colonel John Pyle’s militia in a daring ruse near Hillsborough, North Carolina. Mistaking Lee’s green-coated troopers for Banastre Tarleton’s men, Pyle allowed the patriots to ride straight into his ranks—only for a sudden, ten-minute melee to leave nearly a hundred Loyalists dead and their cause in the region shattered in what became known as Pyle’s Defeat.

Before You Go

Visitors may park at Splawn Belting, 1758 Anthony Road, Burlington, NC, 27215 and walk to the monument.