During the night of August 18, 1780, two hundred Patriot militiamen moved south from their camp on the Broad River intending to attack a similarly sized Loyalist force at Musgrove's Mill. Before sunrise the next morning, they regrouped just north of the Enoree River and learned that three hundred reinforcements, most of them Provincial Regulars, had joined the Loyalists during the night. The Patriots, now outnumbered, soon lost the advantage of surprise when a Loyalist patrol discovered their presence. Unable to retreat, they were forced to make hasty plans for battle.