They opened fire on the list attackers. Another forty patriots quickly crossed the river in canoes to supplement. The defense boyd was not really looking for an encounter at this time. It is possible that many of his men did not even have arms something they would receive once they reached augusta. There's also some evidence that many the loyalists under boyd's command had come under pressure to do so and we're looking for pretty much any opportunity to desert as a result. Boyd opted to avoid having to storm this block house and instead moved men to appoint about ten miles upstream where they could cross unimpeded into georgia after that. Colonel boyd rested easy. He was inside british lines. Only a few miles from the loyalist militia. Camp boyd awaited word from augusta about connecting his militia to the british regulars who were already there is army set up camp to rest from its long march near a small stream known as kettle creek. A boyd had not heard that campbell had decided to abandon and had put his men on the march back to savannah so his camp was more isolated than he knew. The patriots under pickens had not given up the chase pickens marshes patriot militia back across the savannah river into georgia. On the morning of february fourteenth pickens divided his patriots into three columns and attacked the loyalist camp under boyd. The lula's probably had close to twice as many men as attacking patriots. But they were taken by surprise. Boyd had failed to put out sufficient pickets or patrols to keep watch for any enemy. As i said. It's also possible that many of the loyalists still did not have muskets. Boyd quickly organized a defensive barrier where he and about a hundred of his men confronted the attackers while the bulk of his loyalists moved to higher ground in their rear. The defense was pretty effective with the battle. Raging for more than ninety minutes. Eventually the larger patriot force managed to outflank the loyalists line and forced the defenders to retreat back towards the main british. Line to the rear during this retreat. Colonel boyd received a mortal wound and would die later that evening. The patriots continued their assault up the heights against the main loyalist force. Boyd's second in command. Lieutenant colonel john moore was also killed or wounded. Third-in-command major william augusta spurgeon. Junior attempted to rally the loyalists but failed the terrified loyalist. Broken ran leaving behind their horses supplies. Intense fleeing into the swamps. The patriots overran their lines. In a complete rout the loyalists suffer between forty and seventy killed with another seventy five or so captured. Many.