In the evening of Sretenje Gospodnje, 1804, Tanasko, Karađorđe, Stanoje Glavaš, Janićije Đurić, and 70 other armed Šumadijans arrived at Orašac.

Karađorđe handed over a red and white war flag and appointed Tanasko the flag-bearer of the Serbian revolution.

After the outbreak of the uprising, Tanasko went to his home village and gathered and organized people for the siege of Rudnik which would follow.

Tanasko was indignant to Sali-aga and promised that he would personally kill him and save Rudnik from violence.

On 2 March 1804, the Serbian army led by Tanasko surrounded the city, demanding the surrender of Sali-aga.

Turkish reinforcements arrived from Čačak, resulting in a great battle on the outskirts of town.

Despite his advancing age, he immediately joined Miloš Obrenović's Second Serbian Uprising and returned to the battlefield.

As chief commanders of the Serb rebels, Tanasko sought to expel the Ottomans from the Čačak nahija (district).

The rebels hurried and fortified the trenches of Ljubić, 1.5 km north of Čačak, where Imšir was holding.

The battle began in the morning, with an Ottoman surprise attack on Serbian positions, and the Serbs managed in the beginning.