But not to worry. No need to fear the guns of May. Not this time, anyway. Not during the weekend of May 17 - 18, when the Craven Hall Historical Society and Warminster Township bring you a reenactment of one of the lesser known battles of the American Revolution, but one fought right in our backyard.

Members of the 5th Pennsylvania, the 2nd New Jersey, Lamb's Artillery Company and other regiments from the Delaware Valley and Maryland, reenacting the roles of 23-year-old Brigadier General John Lacey Jr. and his pesky Pennsylvania Militiamen, will try to fend off a well-balanced two-pronged ambush by British and Loyalist forces, gamely essayed by the 43rd of Foot, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in America 23rd Regiment, the kilt-clad 84th Highlanders Light Infantry Company (of Scottish descent), and other "enemy" regiments.

The deck seemed stacked pretty badly against the sleeping Lacey and his band of 300 exhausted, undermanned and woefully under armed militiamen, outnumbered by nearly three to one. They were awakened by the crack of rifles greeting the crack of dawn on that fateful day in May.

Agitated by Lacey's successful disruption of supply routes from Montgomery and Bucks counties to British-occupied Philadelphia, General Howe ordered two columns of British troops and loyalist sympathizers to put this mosquito to rest. Their pincer movement almost succeeded.

Lacey and his men, acting quickly and reflexively, somehow eluded the enemy's crossfire by squeezing through the thickets of Warminster Creek and up into the wooded area near Bristol Road to the north. The skirmish proved costly to the defenders. Before the battle ended just hours later, 58 of Lacey's men were missing, eight were wounded and 26 were slain, including nine who were unaccountably set on fire on a straw pile situated near the present site of the Monument of Crooked Billet, honoring the brave men who fell that day. There were few British casualties.

Erik Fleischer, president of Craven Hall Historical Society, promises that the event will be as authentic as possible. "It will be accurate," he says, "because part of the park is hallowed ground, where Lacey and his men made their retreat and then regrouped after the battle.

"The accent for the whole weekend," continued Fleischer, "will be 'living history.' A narrator will give a preamble to the battle. Visitors will see the American troops fleeing after the ambush. And they'll show the regrouping. The key elements of the skirmish will be re-created."

Apart from the excitement of the battle, which will take place at 1:30 p.m. each day, visitors will be able to tour typical Revolutionary War encampments and see how the soldiers lived during the war. They'll experience artillery demonstrations and company drills each morning, watch the troops group before battle and regroup afterwards, see a demonstration of medical practices of the time, enjoy some period music, food and refreshments, and get to purchase period items from sutlers, the merchants who followed troops on the march to sell them food, liquor and supplies.

There will also be entertainment. Bella Signora, an 18th century slack walker who once plied her craft for Colonial Williamsburg, will perform acrobatics typical of the time. And there's plenty to do for children! Forty wooden rifles will be available for any lads or lasses who would like to join the militia. Fleischer says they'll participate in military drills and will be paid in Colonial "scrip" for their services.

Children will also play Colonial games, like rounders, a predecessor of the great game of baseball. They'll also learn how to write with a quill pen and how to string a rope bed.

And for those who'd prefer not just to see our boys ambushed and defeated (which happened a lot at this stage of the war), at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, the participating regiments will reenact a battle typical of those the Americans would soon go on to win!

Each day a fife and drum corps will bring the festivities to a close.

The last reenactment of the only battle fought in these two counties took place on May 3, 1982. Fleischer explains, "One reason we're doing this is to bring history alive for this generation, so we don't forget our heritage and where our freedom came from."

A firm believer in "living history," Fleischer also conducts a one-hour narrated slide show for 3rd graders in the Centennial School District about a dozen times during the school year, focusing on the history of Johnsville, the community that grew up at the intersection of Street and Newtown Roads, the site of Craven Hall.

Legend has it that the women of Craven Hall, following the 1778 skirmish, treated some of the wounded. And several of the fallen soldiers are buried in the family cemeteries of two local families - the Nobles and the Cravens.