As the battle began, the tide immediately started to turn against the British—literally. The pilots refused to bring the warships in as close as Admiral Parker ordered, for they feared running aground. The full effect of British gunnery, hence, was lost. The sally, which was planned to exploit the unfinished sides of the fort, failed when the tide changed and the ships ran aground on the shoal where Fort Sumter now stands.

In the meantime, the inexperienced gunners of the palmetto fort, who had been trained as infantrymen, were pouring a deadly fire into the British fleet and demonstrating courage and order uncommon in green troops. Their fire was having a terrible effect on the ships. Every person on the quarterdeck of the H.M.S. Bristol, the flagship of the fleet, was killed or wounded. Lord William Campbell, South Carolina's exiled royal governor who was manning a gun on that ship, was wounded by a splinter, a wound that never fully healed and caused his death two years later. Commodore Parker was also wounded by a splinter that tore off his pants and "left his posteriors quite bare." Another splinter wounded his knee and left him unable to walk without aid. The other ships also suffered a number of casualties.

The British also attempted an assault from Long Island by small boats on Thomson's men on the northern end of Sullivan's Island. The attack was covered by an armed British schooner. The boats were turned back when Thomson’s troops fired at point-blank range, causing very heavy casualties among the assault party. With this rebuff, Clinton called off the attack and no other attempts were made.

With their efforts repulsed at both ends of the island, the British halted their attack late in the day. Still, they had a major problem. Of the three ships that had run aground, the Acteon remained unable to extract herself, despite the best efforts of her crew. The captain requested Commodore Parker's permission to abandon and destroy the ship to keep her from falling into the hands of the rebels. This was received, and the captain set ablaze one of the Royal Navy's finest ships, commissioned less than a year before.

A patriot salvage party went out to the ship after it was abandoned and was able to gather the ship's bell, the colors, and various stores before the spreading fire endangered their safety. Half an hour later, the ship's magazine exploded. Observers stated that the smoke plume formed the shape of a palmetto tree.

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