 Shots rang out from Stephenson's men but the Sauk did not immediately return fire and the fight eventually descended into a bayonet and knife battle. The militia charged into the thicket and the Sauk returned fire, killing Stephen P. Howard. The militia force made two more charges into the woods. During one of these, Thomas Sublette stabbed a Sauk in the neck and George Eames was killed in action. The third charge resulted in severe wounds for Stephenson, who was shot in the chest with a musketball, and the death of militia man Michael Lovell. According to Stephenson's account of the battle, five or six Native American warriors were killed and the militia lost three men.
