In the following skirmish, "Carnation" was kept out of range by enemy fire and the boats were repulsed with a loss estimated by Reid to be twenty dead and twenty wounded. One American was killed and another wounded. At about 9:00 pm, twelve boats armed with carronades and filled with 180 marines and sailors from "Plantagenet" and "Rota" were towed into battle by "Carnation", which stopped out of gun range. There the boats divided into three divisions for another attack. Lieutenant William Matterface commanded the boats and "Carnation" was directed to provide covering fire. Loyd anchored "Rota" and "Plantagenet" a few miles away and they did not participate in the engagement. Just after 9:00 pm the British headed forward, the boats advanced but accurate American fire and the current kept "Carnation" from closing the range and she was damaged. It took Lieutenant Matterface until about 12:00 am for his boats to reach "General Armstrong", largely due to the current but partly because of where Loyd had stopped his ships. While the Americans were waiting they offloaded three of their cannon and erected a battery so when the British arrived, a boarding was attempted but the American gunners sank two of the British boats before they could get close, captured two more and killed many of the boarders with swords and musketry at point blank range. Lieutenant Matterface and several other officers were killed and no one of sufficient rank survived to lead the remaining Britons. Altogether thirty-six sailors of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines were killed in action, another ninety-three were wounded. The main action lasted over a half hour and only two Americans were killed and seven wounded in total, including Reid who was hit with a musket ball. Reid's men fired nails, knife blades, brass buttons and other makeshift projectiles from their cannon which reportedly caused severe pain to the surviving British. After being repulsed the British slowly rowed back to their ships and it was 2:00 am on September 27 when they found them. Captain Loyd's response to the defeat was to send the "Carnation" back to destroy "General Armstrong" after daylight but when she arrived, American fire caused further damage so "Carnation" broke off the attack. A little later "Carnation" appeared again but Captain Reid had already chosen to scuttle his brig by firing one of his swivel guns straight through the hull.