Battle Of Lindley's Mill

The Battle of Lindley's Mill took place in Alamance County, North Carolina, on September 13, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War.

Lindley's Mill stands at what was once a crossroads where the north-south trade route from Hillsborough to Raleigh and the east-west route through the Piedmont crossed. Built in 1755 by Irish immigrant Thomas Lindley, the recipient of 1000 acres (4 km²) in land grants from the Earl of Granville, the gristmill was one of five that lined Cane Creek.

On the road from Hillsboro to Lindley's Mill at Cane Creek lay a farm known as Kirk's Old Field. Its owner, "Old Kirk," was an English hatter, frequently 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 Loyalists rushed from