On the 15 of September 1812, seven soldiers left the Copus cabin to wash at a nearby spring, leaving their weapons near the house, and Indians attacked them there. Three fled to the woods, but two were tomahawked and the third was shot and mortally wounded. Only George Dye regained the cabin, where he fought alongside John Shambaugh, a neighbor to the Copus family, after being wounded in the thigh by a musketball. As he came through the door, Copus was hit by a shot through his chest. Hills east of the cabin, covered with timber and large rocks, gave the attackers excellent cover and a position from which they could fire down upon the cabin during the siege. The soldiers tore up the puncheons of the floor and placed them against the door to prevent balls from penetrating the interior. Nancy Copus, a little girl, was wounded in the knee by a ball that passed through the door, and John Shambaugh shot and killed her attacker. George Launtz had his arm broken by a ball and reportedly killed the attacker who wounded him. The soldiers fought back from daybreak until midmorning, when the Indians retreated, killing some sheep on their way. After they disappeared, one soldier crawled out through the roof of the cabin to get help. The day before, Captain Martin had agreed to come to the cabin that evening with a number of soldiers and remain all night, but after scouting all day and finding no signs of Indians, he and his men judged the danger frivolous and did not appear as agreed. Encamped on the Black Fork, he reached the Copus cabin by late morning, attended to the wounded, and searched for the attackers without finding them. Those killed were Reverand James Copus and three soldiers, George Shipley, John Tedrick, and Robert Warnick, along with an unknown number of Indians.