The Battle of Little Mountain, also known as Estill's Defeat, was fought on March 22, 1782, near Mount Sterling in what is now Montgomery County, Kentucky. One of the bloodiest engagements of the Kentucky frontier, the battle has long been the subject of controversy resulting from the actions of one of Captain James Estill's officers, William Miller, who ordered a retreat that left the rest of Estill's command to be overwhelmed by the attacking Wyandots. British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Continental Army Commander General George Washington at Yorktown in October 1781. With the surrender that turned the world upside down, major combat operations in the eastern theater of the American Revolution were over. The bloody year kicked off with a savage scrape, now little remembered, that left a prominent Frontier Partisan captain dead and resulted in the freedom of a heroic black slave — the first slave freed in Kentucky. Under interrogation, Munk was able to persuade the Wyandots to hold off their attack, convincing them that Estill's Station was at full strength. After killing a number of cattle, the Wyandots fled across the river. On the night of March 22, 1782, Estill and his militiamen encountered the Wyandot raiding party. Separated by Little Mountain Creek, they were a mile and a half north of Little Mountain.

The two sides fought in a violent, pitched battle for nearly two hours. The Wyandot leader, Sourehoowah, was reportedly shot by the first volley and urged his men to continue fighting as he lay dying. Miller was ordered to flank the rear of the Wyandots from the left. As he prepared to lead his men into battle, a musket ball apparently hit his rifle, knocking the flint from the jaws of the lock. Only a handful of men were left on each side, and the battle ended with the Kentuckians withdrawing from the field. Those Kentuckians who had been captured reported later that the Wyandots had suffered about 20 casualties. Monk Estill, who had escaped during the battle, reported that 17 Wyandots had been killed and two more wounded. The Wyandots had almost eliminated a company of militia and killed a well-respected Frontier Partisan leader. The firefight at Little Mountain, which would come to be called Estill’s Defeat terrified the Kentucky settlers. And as summer approached, when a force of British and Indians would kill out more than 70 militiamen in 15 minutes in an ambush at Blue Licks. William Miller became the scapegoat for both the Kentuckians' defeat and the death of Captain Estill. One of the survivors, David Cook, reportedly threatened his life 20 years after the battle. Miller never returned to Estill's Station to defend himself against his accusers.