 The exposition arrived on July 25th and proceeded to launch a series of inconclusive land attacks, leaving Patriot naval forces underutilized and allowing the British time to send for reinforcements. The land commander, Brigadier General Lovell, began to retreat at the arrival of seven British warships, expecting Stoutenstall to engage in a naval battle. Stoutenstall, however, did not fight for long. The naval engagement concluded in a total disaster, when Stoutenstall surprised everyone by fleeing upriver and burning his own ships.