The battle of Cox's Mill was fought between Patriot and Loyalist militias in Randolph County, North Carolina on June 8, 1781. Cox's Mill was the site of a base of operations for the Loyalists under the command of David Fanning.https://amrevnc.com/coxs-mill/ Loyalist scouts informed Fanning of a large force of 160 Patriots under John Collier who were about 10 miles away in pursuit of him. Fanning had decided to make a preemptive strike on the Patriot forces under the cover of darkness that night. Fanning's guide was captured and the Loyalists were discovered and fired upon by the Patriots.https://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/810608-coxs-mill/ An exchange of fire was made between the two forces that lasted for 4 hours until the Loyalists withdrew to Deep River at dawn. Today a state historical marker can be seen along NC 22 denoting the Millhttps://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/10/coxs-mill-k-10
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