Presentation Date: October 24, 2016
The Battle of Crooked Billet
On the night of April 30th, the British marched out of Philadelphia with 850 men on foot and horse. Their destination was The Billet, present- day Hatboro. Their mission was to stop the Militia from disrupting supplies reaching Philadelphia. Their other objective was to capture the leader of the Militia General John Lacey. Three hundred militiamen were encamped with Lacey at the Billet; most of them were unarmed and untrained. The British marched through the Fox Chase area of Philadelphia down the Huntington Pike where they split. The Queens Rangers, a loyalist regiment continued down the Second Street Pike and the 500 British regulars went left toward Old York Road.
Join us on Monday, October 24, 2016 as we welcome Scott Randolph has he presents The Battle of Crooked Billet. A short business meeting will start around 7:15pm. The presentation will start at 7:30pm. MaGreks Pub and Grill will be running a 1/2 price special on burgers that night. We encourage you to join our membership for the very small and reasonable tax deductible amount of $20. If you join before December 2016, you only pay $15 in celebration of our 15 year anniversary.
The plan was to have the British regulars wait in ambush along the Horsham Meeting Road near the Old Mill Inn in Hatboro. The Queens Rangers were to drive the Militia into the waiting British troops. The Militia were expected to retreat along the Horsham Meeting Road which leads to Valley Forge and the Continental Army.
General Lacey was a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and was the youngest appointed General under Washington’s command. During the battle he saved hundreds of lives by keeping his militiamen together and heading his troops north escaping into Bucks County.
The Militia suffered 9 men wounded, 26 killed and 58 captured. The British reported no casualties. However, several were wounded and 3 horses killed.
The British never achieved their objectives. They did not prevent the Militia from continuing to disrupt supplies and most importantly, General Lacey was never captured. While it is true the British could claim this a military victory, it was however a British failure thanks to the quick thinking and leadership of General John Lacey. He is truly a faceless hero of the American Revolution.
The State of Pennsylvania has officially recognized May 1, 2016 as “Battle of Crooked Billet Day” throughout the Commonwealth in large part thanks to PA State Senator Stewart Greenleaf. This film has won 2 awards Excellence in a Historical/Biography and Excellence in Videography/Cinematography
Director and Executive Producer Scott Randolph was born in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburb of Hatboro; the town’s 300-year-old history including its inclusion during the Revolutionary War planted the seed of interest in documenting history in the young would-be filmmaker. As a teen he became a part-time student at Cinekyd, a small local non-profit school for aspiring writers, directors, actors and production people, where he spent 8 years working in front and behind the camera.
Randolph was increasingly involved in television, film and radio in the mid-1980s. Over the years he has produced and directed local, regional and national television shows and films, as well as local commercials. He served as Audio Production for Inside the Sixers TV Show on The Sports Channel, provided Sales Development for Radio WXTU Country 92.5, Phila. and Comcast Spotlight, and continues to work with cable giant Comcast as Director and Assistant Director for their Newsmakers program, with the Philly Pops and World Café, and other projects.
In 2009, Randolph’s documentary The Battle of Crooked Billet, based on the Revolutionary War battle waged in his home town, won two Telly Awards for Excellence for a Historical/Biography and Excellence in Videography. In 2010, the marketing video he directed and produced for the Friends of Washington Crossing was shown at the Liberty Medal Ceremony in Philadelphia for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, presented by former Present Clinton. In 2013, he won another Telly Award and a Communicator Award for the orientation video for the National registered site Graeme Park State Park in Horsham, PA.
In 2012 he became the director for the national PBS television show Christina (formerly known as Christina Cooks). Under his guidance, along with business partner Rick Lombardi, it became the number one cooking show on cable.
In 2014 he began producing three television pilots, including working with a former cast member of Saturday Night Live and Second City Television. Also, he has begun work on a documentary on the National Shrine of Our Lady at Czestochowa with partner Rick Lombardi, American Czestochowa.
In 2015 he earned another Telly Award for the music video Power from national gospel recording artist Kevin Jarido and Nu Virtu.
In 2006 Randolph founded Arrival Video Productions, LLC, in Southampton, Pennsylvania, and continues to serve as its owner.