Warminster, Pennsylvania
~History~

This website was created by a proud resident of
Warminster, Pennsylvania.

It is intended to inform interested persons of the historical significance,
and rich history of our town.

   This website and its content are not approved by, affiliated with, or sponsored by the Township government of Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, and nothing on the website should be viewed as representing the views,
policies or practices of Warminster Township.

Tricentennial Proposal

Regarding
 The Battle of The Crooked Billet
Warminster, PA
May 1, 1778
&
The Noble Family Cemetery
and Other Graves

Home Page

History

John Fitch

Craven Hall

Battle of the Crooked Billet

Naval Air Development Center

*Historic Warminster Video*

Submitted to the
Warminster Township Board of Supervisors
October 2008

Revised March 2011

by Robert C. Goodyear

Monument located on the southeast side of Jacksonville Road,
Between Street and County Line Roads,
Warminster, PA  18974

 THE BATTLE OF THE CROOKED BILLET
WAS FOUGHT
AROUND THIS SPOT
MAY 1, 1778 

GENERAL JOHN LACEY’S COMMAND OF 400 OFFICERS
AND MEN STATIONED AT THE CROOKED BILLET (NOW
HATBORO) WERE ATTACKED BY A DETACHMENT OF
800 MEN OF BRITISH CAVALRY AND INFANTRY UNDER
LIEUT, COL. ABERCROMBE AND MAJOR SIMCOE’S RANGERS. 

ABOUT FIFTEEN AMERICAN SOLDIERS WERE KILLED
NEAR THIS SPOT, FIFTEEN WOUNDED, AND A NUMBER
TAKEN PRISONERS. 

SIX OR SEVEN OF THE PATRIOTIC SOLDIERS WERE
BURIED IN THE NOBLE FAMILY GRAVEYARD WHICH
IS 676 YDS.  S.  87° 46’ W. OF THIS SPOT.

AN EQUAL NUMBER WERE BURIED APPROXIMATELY
481 YDS. S.  83° 48’ E. OF THIS SPOT.
SEE DIRECTION ARROWS ON BASE OF MONUMENT 

THE NAMES OF SOLDIERS THERE BURIED, AS FAR
AS KNOWN ARE –
     CAPTAIN JOHN DOWNEY                  CAPTAIN WALTER DENNY
Q.M. ALBERT ADAMS                  SERGT. JOHN NEILL
 PRIVATE JONATHAN ROSS                  PRIVATE JOHN POORMAN

 TO THEIR MEMORY AND TO THAT OF THE UNKNOWN DEAD
THIS MONUMENT IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 

ERECTED MAY 1, 1928,  BY THE BUCKS AND MONTGOMERY
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETIES,  THE AMERICAN LEGION,
THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION, AND THE OTHER PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES
AND CITIZENS OF THIS VICINITY.

This Monument is located approximately 9 blocks from my home in Warminster, and is at least near the spot where originally placed in 1928. 

The property was originally farmland, but a development called Lacey Park was built in 1942 as housing for workers during the War effort, and was named after General John Lacey, who commanded the troops near here. Nearly every street in the development is named after a Revolutionary War soldier under Lacey’s command, or prominent early citizens of the vicinity. 

The Noble family graveyard mentioned is about a mile from my home, but no surface evidence of it remains in 2009. 

No one in the government of Warminster knows of the disposition of the 6 known bodies which had been buried there. 

General Lacey's report to Major General John Armstrong documented atrocities by the British and Loyalists:
"Some of the unfortunate, who fell into the merciless hands of the British, were more cruelly and inhumanely butchered. Some were set on fire with buckwheat straw, and others had their clothes burned on their backs. Some of the surviving sufferers say they saw the enemy set fire to wounded while yet alive, who struggled to put it out but were too weak and expired under the torture. I saw those lying in the buckwheat straw—they made a most melancholy appearance. Others I saw, who, after being wounded with a ball, had received near a dozen wounds with cutlasses and bayonets. I can find as many witnesses to the proof of the cruelties as there were people on the spot, and that was no small number who came as spectators. "

I feel the sites of the Noble cemetery and other graves should be investigated by an archaeological team, in order to honor our fallen Patriot soldiers who may still lie there, unheralded, and to preserve the locations. 

I have contacted the Archaeology Department at Bucks County Community College, and corresponded with a Ms. Pat Fischer-Olsen, to see if a detailed investigation could be organized. 

She and Mr. Lyle Rosenberger, a local preservationist, have expressed extreme interest in the project. 

It is known that the Noble Family Cemetery is on property now owned by (deleted for security reasons).  The other site has never been marked in any way, and is in an open area in Warminster Heights. 

The arrows mentioned as being on the base of the monument have been vandalized and removed. 

The exact location on which the monument was first placed is not crucial in surveying the location of the Noble Cemetery, and the other gravesite, however it is believed to have been moved only a few yards farther off the original Jacksonville Road (to the east). 

A 1960 “History of Warminster Township” by Paul Bailey, indicates the location of the Noble Cemetery site, and shows an image of the wooded area in the rear of the (deleted for security reasons) family property.

A 1986 Road Map of Warminster compiled by Mr. Bailey with many historic landmarks indicated, shows the number 45 within a circle, and is captioned “Noble Cemetery.”

The circle labeled “18” is the site of the 1928 Monument.  

 Detail of map by Paul Bailey

This is an image of the site Mr. Bailey indicated, taken on September 8, 2008.

 W.W.H. Davis’ 1876, “History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania,”
confirms that the cemetery was “on a knoll overlooking a meadow.”

 Using the surveyor's markings on the Monument, a professional survey was done, beginning
at the known location of the Noble Family Cemetery.

From that point, the surveyors were able to locate the original 1928 placement of the
Battle of the Crooked Billet Monument.

Then from that point, they pinpointed the location of the mass grave.

Non-invasive and more detailed examination of the sites should be done using sophisticated
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)  equipment, and by respected
professional archaeologists.

Dowsing rods are used by charlatans, and are not acceptable as scientific.

I am a Member and Registrar/Genealogist of the Sons of the American Revolution, New Jersey Society, Monmouth Chapter, though my descendancy from Mary Ludwig Hays, “Molly Pitcher.” 

Previous correspondence with the Washington Crossing Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of the S.A.R. regarding this matter has been ignored for over a year.  

Although the image below is simply a rough concept, I believe it is a necessity in order to prevent digging for “artifacts.”

According to Sam Costanzo Masonry and Builder, Inc. of Willow Grove, the estimated cost of a similar slab would be about $5,000 depending on the stone chosen. We should, of course, obtain bids from other contractors for this work. I also suggest that a wrought-iron fence be placed against and around the stone slab. Mr. Costanzo said the cost would be about $2,000, again, depending on the style of fence.

A marker in the style and wording of our choice for the center of the slab would be provided free of charge, including delivery, less installation, from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

Originally submitted to the Warminster Township Board of Supervisors in October, 2008.
Presented to the Warminster Township Tricentennial Executive Committee on March 16, 2009.