[3] Outnumbered, Tyler's inexperienced men were routed, and Floyd camped near Carnifex Ferry.

The Confederates began throwing up entrenchments on the Henry Patteson farm (located on the rim of the Gauley River Canyon near Summersville).

Concerned about Floyd's drive to reclaim the Kanawha Valley, Union Brigadier General William S. Rosecrans led three brigades of infantry southward from Clarksburg to support Tyler's regrouped regiment.

The strength of Rosecrans's artillery proved to be problematic however, and Floyd decided to retreat that night across the ferry to the south side of the Gauley River.

Floyd, seeking to deflect the blame, placed the responsibility for the defeat on his co-commander Brigadier General Henry A.