On the foggy dawn of June 20, 1780, Patriot Captains McDowell and Falls led their cavalry along the Tuckaseegee Road toward the Loyalist camp and advanced to within 30 yards before being discovered, surprising the sleeping soldiers. The Loyalists quickly rallied and fired back, forcing the horsemen to retreat, then advanced down the hill as the horsemen returned with infantry close behind. The Loyalist counterattack drove the Patriots back down the hill, but after regrouping the Patriots advanced again and pushed the Loyalists beyond the crest. Shortly afterward, more Patriots approached the camp from the south, and fierce close fighting followed in which men in common dress were hard to distinguish by side and fought hand to hand, even using the butts of their guns as clubs. Patriots under Captain Hardin arrived and deployed behind a fence, firing on the Loyalists' right flank, while Captain Sharpe extended his skirmish line in front of the Loyalist position. Under fire from two sides, the Loyalists fell back again, then broke and fled. When the Patriots reached the hilltop, they saw the Loyalists retreating over Clark's Creek and formed a new line of battle, expecting another attack, but could muster only 110 men. Outnumbered, Locke sent two officers to find Rutherford and urge him to hasten to the battle. The Loyalists retreated to between Clark's Creek and the South Fork River, where they hung a white sheet and sent men to negotiate surrender, but this was a ruse that bought enough time for the remaining Loyalists to disperse into the countryside.