On the evening of December 27, 1864, six members of Burke's Battalion deserted and made their way into the Union lines, where they reported the presence of the former prisoners and the likelihood that they would not resist any Union attack. The next morning Grierson's 1st Brigade advanced and came under fire from Confederate skirmishers, including Burke's Battalion, which was ensconced in a stockade east of the rail line. After suffering a number of casualties, the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry responded with a charge in which it took severe casualties, including 22 dead, and lost 80 horses but captured more than 500 prisoners, among whom were Burke and 254 former Union soldiers from Burke's Battalion of the 10th Tennessee.