The gleam of bayonets are seen in the woods near the chosen site and General Foster orders the Pilot Boy to head for the north side of Ashby's Harbor where they land unoposed. Two gunboats move in and shell the wooded area where the Confederates were seen. The cannon fire forces the Rebels to retreat to the entrenchment at Suples Hill. The rest of the infantry on the troop transports now board surf boats,lighters and long boats and are towed by light draft steamers. The steamers head for shore at full speed and when they ground to a halt the landing boats are cast off.
Sailors then row the boats towards shore until they run aground.
The soldiers then get out and wade onto dry land. Captain Lynch sees this activity and heads his fleet south to disrupt the landing of troops. The Union gunboats stop him and sink the Curlew in the process. The rest of the day and into the night the Union infantry land and assemble around the Hammond house on the north side of Ashby's Harbor. The men build fires and try to dry out.