Planning for the takeover of Karanovac, Karađorđe mustered an army on the
Jasenica near
Topola and in the valley of
Gruža on the Topola–Karanovac road, in early June 1805. Among the present commanders in Karađorđe's army were
Janko Katić,
Sima Marković,
Vasa Čarapić,
Đuša Vulićević,
Radič Petrović,
Mladen Milovanović, archpriest
Milutin Ilić, archpriest
Matija Nenadović,
Jovan Kursula,
Arsenije Loma,
Milić Drinčić and
Lazar Mutap, as well as the archpriests of Kragujevac, Jagodina and Dragačevo and many other
armed priests and monks. Also,
Teodor Filipović, the first secretary of the
Serbian Governing Council, accompanied Matija. Another detachment under
Stanoje Glavaš assembled in the Gruža valley at the Vrbica fountain on the road nearer to Karanovac. Smaller units of
Milan Obrenović and
Jakov Nenadović were put on the borders of the Užice, Valjevo and Rudnik areas, stopping the Užice Turks from helping Karanovac. Karađorđe arrived at Jasenica on and set out with the army towards Karanovac the next day. On the army was adjoined by Gruža men in Gruža and they then stopped at Glavaš's hajduk camp outside Karanovac. Stanoje Glavaš's detachment joined up with Karađorđe's army on the way and the rebel army went along the Morava river and on arrived at a height above the Morava towards Karanovac. The next day Radič Petrović crossed the Morava and with a vanguard dispersed Turk patrols and then a Karanovac
sortie in which Mutap killed a
deli. The rest of the army crossed the Western Morava and encircled Karanovac that same day, and in the evening were joined by Karađorđe and his staff. In the meantime, Mehmed-aga Zgura with many troops had sortied but he was killed and his head was put on a cow sent back into the town. Learning that the town had troops from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar who were to fight them, Karađorđe had sent a warning via Teodor Filipović to the
vali Ferhatagić of Novi Pazar to not interfere
in another pashalik, as Karađorđe had not touched his province. By then, the Karanovac Turks had retreated into the fortification, readying for better defense and aid from Užice and Novi Pazar. The number of Serbian troops participating in the battle is unknown, it may have numbered 6,000, the figure given by K. Protić and K. Nenadović when describing the rebel army during these events: "6,000 men, out of which 1,000 were cavalry". The attack on the fortification commenced on , according to the
operation plan of Radič Petrović who led the siege. A cannon, the only one carried into the battle, bombarded the fortification followed by lines of constant
fusillade, while all abandoned Turk houses in the town were set on fire. The cannon had been brought by Matija, and brought panic to the town. The burning town, made up mostly of wooden buildings, made it easier to fight in the dark. 700 buildings in the town burnt according to
K. Nenadović. The shootout around and inside the fortification lasted all night between and , and in the day of 1 July until noon, when the infantry assaulted the fortification. The Serbs lost 16 and 30 wounded in several failed attempts to take the
parapet, due to the wide and deep trenches and heavy rain.
Uzun-Mirko's head on the left side was grazed by a bullet, and this was the first of his many wounds. The heavy rain forced the Serbian army to stop the assault, with soaked soldiers and muskets, and Karađorđe understood that they couldn't take the fortification with unusable muskets and only one cannon. The rain had soaked the gunpowder and rifles and the trouble gave birth to a
proverb saying "It won't fire as if soaked at Karanovac". Karađorđe left Radič Petrović to hold the siege with a detachment, while he took the army across the Morava for rest and weapons maintenance, while he personally went to Topola to get more cannons on . Radič Petrović fortified the right banks of the Ibar and took over the command of the Dragačevo troops of Milutin Ilić and chosen detachments closed in on the fortification. On Radič ordered that all Turk
water mills on the Ibar be put on fire. On , the
silahdar (arms-bearer) of the Pasha of Novi Pazar arrived with an entourage at Karanovac that ordered the Novi Pazar troops present to stop fighting the Serbs and return immediately to Novi Pazar. The fear of a stronger assault and the loss of help from Novi Pazar forced Karanovac to enter negotiations. There are slightly different versions on how it went. • According to K. Protić, the Novi Pazar
silahdar ordered the Novi Pazar troops at Karanovac to stop fighting and immediately return home. The following day of the departure of the
silahdar, Karađorđe arrived at Karanovac with a six-pound cannon and plenty of ammunition. Seeing Karađorđe and realizing that Novi Pazar would no longer help them, Karanovac lost the will to fight and entered negotiations of surrender with Karađorđe. After some shorter discussions and bargains, the two sides agreed that all Karanovac Turks leave the town with their property for Novi Pazar and hand over the town to the Serbs, which was done on , which was also the Orthodox
feast day of St. Peter (
Petrovdan). According to K. Nenadović (1883–84), the negotiations took place on and the next day on
Petrovdan the Turks left the fortification and were escorted for Novi Pazar. According to B. Hrabak, Karađorđe had warned Novi Pazar already on , the
silahdar arrived on , negotiations were held on , and the Turks left the town on
Petrovdan. • According to M. Žutić, the
silahdar arrived on , ordered them to stop fighting and immediately return home, and enter negotiations regarding a peaceful retreat. The Serbian camp was in a bad state, and they didn't wish the Novi Pazar delegation to see this, so they held negotiations outside the camp. The rebels said that Karađorđe went to gather more troops and bigger cannons and was very upset that Novi Pazar Turks interfered in the Belgrade Pashalik, and that he would destroy Karanovac upon his return. This made the
silahdar suggest that they call back Karađorđe and enter negotiations, that they would take all Turks with them, both those of Novi Pazar and Karanovac, and leave the town to the Serbs. This was a good solution for the Serbs, most importantly due to their plans to take
Užice and the threat from the
Sanjak of Niš. They messaged Karađorđe and informed Karanovac that they could leave in peace, but had to wait for Karađorđe's arrival. He arrived with two cannons, a war flag (
barjak) and war drum, with the six-pound cannon inducing fear. Seeing that they lost help from Novi Pazar, and that Karađorđe would fiercely attack, they decided to leave the town, and sent their representatives and two Novi Pazar soldiers to conclude the conditions for their exit. On
Petrovdan , after giving Karađorđe a fine noble horse with red cloth to the hooves and handing over the town, the Turks were escorted by 50 rebels from the town. The Karanovac Turks were escorted to Kurilovo, where they joined the Novi Pazar contingent to Novi Pazar, with all their property. Some refugees from Karanovac moved to Užice. According to a
hatt-i humayun of Sultan
Selim III dated 18 September 1805, the Serbian rebels had expelled 3,000 Muslims to the
Bosnia Eyalet. The Turks had many losses in the battle. There was celebration in the town, with lamb
roast, and when the Turks were escorted past Serbian sentries Karađorđe invited all of the army into the town for the feast. A new town was then built in its place. Radič Petrović was proclaimed
vojvoda of Karanovac following the battle. Through their distinction in the battle, Mutap and Loma became famous and sung about in
epic poems.
Antonije Ristić-Pljakić, who had killed the
muselim of Karanovac back in 1804, moved to the town following its conquest. ==Aftermath and legacy==