Hi Carol, Thanks very much for posting this description of the Battle of Lindley's Mill. My 3rd great grandfather, William Green, born February 6, 1762 in Prince Edward County, Virginia was part of the Militia that attacked Col. Fanning at Lindley's Mill. He mentiones all the people named in the article you posted in his pension application. I had found the basic description of the battle, but this article is much more detailed than what I have. I do have one or two small points to add to the story. According to my ancestor, the Militia was told to go directly from their homes to Lindley's Mill, instead of mustering at a central point before marching to the Mill. These orders from General Butler were what enabled the Militia to arrive before the Tories. Another point is that the Tories captured about 200 citizens from Hillsboro, including the Governor. My William Green tells about going with Col. Robert Meliane (Mebane) of the Regular Troops to Livingston Bridge about 15 miles from Wilmington. I'm sure you have learned that Col. Mebane followed Fanning and the Tories for some time in an effort to free their friends and neighbors, not to mention Governor Burke, but the British sent out troops to help Fanning, and the Militia had to withdraw, apparently at Liningston Bridge. I don't know about you, but I get an enormious feeling of pride when I read what our ancestors did in their own words, so I will quote what my William Green had to say about the Battle of Lindley's Mill in 1832 in his pension application. "Next morning we all marched to the battleground at Lindley's Mill and helped to bury the dead. Depondent counted 31 dead on the ground, besides several other that were at Lindley's Mill and at the widow Laughlin's. Colonel Literal died at the Coller House. We then pursued Fannin and met a party of British on a bridge called Liviston on a creek who were sent out to cover Fannin's rear. We engaged this party of about 300 in number and after an engagement of about one quarter of hour we were compelled to retreat. We were commanded at this place by General Butler who overtook us before we reached Livinston Bridge. I then left Captain Grishom and joined Capt. William Douglass and marched back to Orange. The latter Captain commanded a horse company. We kept headquarters at William Stroud's. We started one night to Deep River and joined Major O'Neal and net Fannin at Cox's on Deep River where he kept his headquarters and engaged with him. We killed 9 men and took 9 prisoners, among whom was one of Fannin's chief Captains Meredith Edwards. We had none killed but had 2 wounded, Lt. Robert Christmas, and ____? Deny. We took our prisoners from there and sent them to Hillsborough jail. We then stopped at Strouds and scowered the neighborhood for about 2 days. Major Griffiths of Halifaxx County joined us with 75 or 80 men in scowering the country. After Major Griffith joined us we took a Tory by the name of John Waterman and Major Griffith hung him on the road that leads from Wilksborough to Fayetteville. Capt. Douglass and his men returned from there to Stroud's. Major Griffith and his men went down the Haw River and hung a Tory Captain by the name of Frank Irvine. And at that time my tour of three month was out, but I still remained with Captain Douglass about 10 or 12 days londer, and then we received the news of the capture of Cornwallis. We were then discharged." My ancestor had first joined the Hillsboro Militia in 1779 and was captured at Charleston, South Carolina, but being part of the Militia he was released. He was again called out for the Battle of Lindley's Mill. He married Kezziah Patton in Hillsboro in her parents home January 9, 1781, and their first child, Thomas S. Green was born there October 24, 1781. The faimily moved to Burke County, NC, named for the Governor he tried to free, in about 1783 where most of his other childrens were born. In about 1815 he again moved west to Haywood County, NC where he died March 2, 1827. On October 5, 1832, my William Green applied for a pension, and it was from that pension application I quoted the above description of the Battle of Lindley's Mill. I hope you enjoyed reading this direct quoted story as much as I enjoyed reading your posting of the details of the battle. I am posting your story to the GREEN list in hopes someone can help me identify the parents of my William Green. Various members of my family has been looking for over 30 years! Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for posting this article. Tom Green TBGreen3@aol.com YOU WROTE: In a message dated 97-11-16 17:12:15 EST, cjohn@tznet.com writes: << Centennial History of Alamance County (1849-1949) by WHITAKER Kirk's Farm On the road from Hillsboro to LINDLEY's Mill at Cane Creek lay a farm know as KIRK's Old Field. Its owner, "Old Kirk," was an english hatter, fequentl suspected of aiding the Patriots. On the night of September 13, 1781, a small band of Patriots stopped at KIRK's place en route westward, and asked permission to spend the night. They could, said KIRK, and so they established their camp and placed a sentry at the end of the lane leading to the farm. The night passed quietly and uneventfully. Early next morning, however, the Patriots were aroused by the sound of a shot. Quickly they mounted and rode toward the road and the place where they had left the sentry. Hardly had they discovered the dead body of the sentry when a group of Loyalist rushed from the thicket bordering the road and fired upon them. The battle was soon ended, but several of the Patriots were killed or wounded. LINDLEY's Mill On the same morning a band of six hundred Loyalist soldiers entered the sleeping village of Hillsboro at day light. Thomas BURKE or Orange County had recently been elected Governor by a Whig Assembly, and he was the first man to be taken prisoner by the British. Several other military and civil officals were aroused from their beds and also place under arrest. Colonel David FANNING (no relation to Colonel Edmund FANNING who was involved with the regulators) and Hector MCNEILL then led the men on a wild raid of plundering, takiing everything of value in the town. Colonel Alexander MELBANE of Hawfields watched this action from concealment. It was impossible for him to reach his horse, and so he set out on foot for his home to warn the people. Like the famous Paul REVERE, Colonel MEBANE spread the word, 'The British are coming!" Hawfields was Whig territory, and General John A BUTLER, who lived in this section, quickly raised three hundred of his Patriot militia to greet the British. Next morning the Tories crossed Cane Creek and headed through a hollow which would lead them across Hawfields to Tory country. On the brow of the hill, above the hollow, General BUTLER and his men awaited. As rifle fire broke out ahead of them, the rear-guard of the Loyalists, who were escorting the Governor, halted. Colonel MCNEILL commanded the front ranks to retreat; the whigs held a better position, and advance would mean certain death. One of his men, a scotchman named MCDOUGAL, accused him of cowardice, however, and MCNEILL reversed the order and advanced. He was instantly shot down. Seeing MCNEILL fall, some of the men called out that he was dead. MCDOUGAL cried out that the colonel was only wounded and urged the men forward. Meanwhile the other Loyalist commander, Colonel FANNING, crossed the creek some distance below the battle scene and attacked the Patriots from the read of the hill. This attack took the Patriots by surprise, and General BUTLER ordered a retreat. Major Robert MEBANE, the second in command, immediately countermanded the order, and facing a portion of his men to the rear, he attacked FANNING with such force that the latter was forced to withdraw at once. As the ammunition grew shorter, MEBANE passed along the line, carrying powder in his hat. Finally the battle came to a draw. The Tories, convinced that they could not get through the Whig lines, headed southeast for Wilmington, leaving their dead on the battlefield. Near the end of the battle a Tory marksman shot Major John NALLS of the Patriots, and mistaking three Whigs on horseback some distance away, the Tory rode toward them shouting that he had killed Major NALLS. A Patriot bullet suddenly ended his boast. Another of the Patriot officers, Colonel LUTTERAL, was wounded by the Tories, but he managed to stay in his saddle until his horse reached a farm house a half-mile from the battle scene. As he lay dying in a upstairs room of this home, the brave officer dipped his finger in his own blood and wrote his name across the wall. For many years this grim mark remained there. The battle of LINDLEY's Mill closed the war in North Carolina, and a month later at Yorktown Lord CORNWALLIS surrendered the tatterd remains of a once-proud British Army. >> ==== NCORANGE Mailing List ==== Larry Noah - lrnoah@bigfoot.com - Listowner - NCORANGE mailing list Orange Co, NC USGenWeb site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncorange