Closing to his destination, Santa Cruz sent his grenadiers to take Quillahuasa, but they were sighted by the Peruvians advanced posts, which sounded the alarm. Strangely, Santa Cruz refused to use his artillery, losing the chance to overwhelm his enemy. Suárez, in command at Quillahuasa, realizing his army could be vanquished by the Chilean artillery shooting at them from higher ground, rapidly evacuated the town, putting his soldiers over the surrounding hills. Immediately, Peruvian forces under Cáceres climbed the hill at the northern end of the village as Bolognesi did the same on the southern end, towards Tarapacá.