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Andrew Pickens

Brigadier General Andrew Pickens brought militia into Orange County in February 1781 under Nathanael Greene's orders to shadow the British at Hillsborough. His scouts under Captain Joseph Graham surprised the British guard at Thomas Hart's mill on the Eno, and Pickens then took command of a combined force with Henry Lee's Legion to pursue Tarleton.

Source: Carolana: The American Revolution in North Carolina, Hart's Mill

Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to Andrew Pickens. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about Andrew Pickens’ life and work.

Andrew Pickens, engraving
Andrew Pickens, engraving

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 5 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Lee's Legion joins Pickens's militia camp after the Hart's Mill raid Later the same day as the Hart's Mill raid, Henry Lee's Legion, returning from beyond the Dan River with Greene's army, reached General Andrew Pickens's militia at a farm up Stony Creek, where the camp at first took the horsemen for Tarleton's cavalry. The combined force then went after Tarleton west of the Haw, the movement that led to Pyle's defeat. People: Andrew Pickens, Joseph Graham (1759-1836)Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements: Pension application of Joseph Graham S6937
  2. Patriots and Loyalists clash at Hart’s Mill At daybreak about 45 North Carolina cavalry under Captain Joseph Graham and mounted riflemen under Captain Richard Simmons, sent out by General Andrew Pickens, surprised the British guard of about 26 regulars and two Loyalists that was keeping Thomas Hart's mill on the Eno grinding for Cornwallis's army. Graham's accounts report the whole guard killed, wounded or captured with no Patriot dead, and the party reached Pickens's camp with its prisoners ahead of pursuing British cavalry. People: Andrew Pickens, Joseph Graham (1759-1836)Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements: Pension application of Joseph Graham S6937
  3. Pyle's defeat near the Haw River Henry Lee's Legion and Andrew Pickens's militia attacked a few hundred Loyalist recruits under Dr. John Pyle who were riding to join Cornwallis at Hillsborough. Mistaking Lee's men for Tarleton's cavalry, the Loyalists were cut down, with more than 90 killed, on Michael Holt's land, then in Orange County and now in southern Alamance. People: Andrew PickensNC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources: Pyle's Defeat (Highway Historical Marker G-22)
  4. Greene sends Pickens's militia to shadow the British army at Hillsborough Nathanael Greene ordered Brigadier General Andrew Pickens to pass around the British force at Hillsborough, fall in its rear and report its movements. Pickens's men struck at British parties when they could, and he sent Captain Joseph Graham to scout the ground around the town. People: Nathanael Greene, Joseph Graham (1759-1836)Search the index · Carolana: The American Revolution in North Carolina, Hart's Mill
  5. Pickens's cavalry fights Tarleton's horse at Clapp's Mill An American force ambushed Banastre Tarleton's cavalry at Clapp's Mill on Alamance Creek, in the part of Orange County that became Alamance County in 1849. Forty of Pickens's cavalry under Captains Joseph Graham and Richard Simmons took part. The American second line broke and the British lost about twenty-one men. People: Joseph Graham (1759-1836)Search the index · MyRevolutionaryWar: The Battle of Clapp's Mills

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Background on Hart’s Mill skirmish, February 1781

Background reading on Hart’s Mill skirmish, February 1781. These works cover the broader subject and may not discuss Andrew Pickens. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

The Hartford mill complex during the revolution

Engstrom, Mary Claire, 1906-1997 · 1979

Mary Claire Engstrom's article on the Hartford mill complex on the Eno and its fortunes during the Revolution, centered on Thomas Hart, who died in 1808. Nine pages with a facsimile and a portrait, printed in 1979.

UNC

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Picture: Andrew Pickens, engraving. Public domain. Engraving after Thomas Sully's portrait; via Wikimedia Commons

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