Thus Cominius and Aquilonia fell. On the other hand, the third battle in the stretch between the two cities did not take place, because the 20 Samnite cohorts had been called back seven miles from Cominius, and so did not participate in either battle.
When they returned in the early hours of the night and began to see the town of Aquilonia and the camps, the clamour from both sides made them slow down. Then the glow of the burning encampments removed all doubt from their minds as to the defeat, and they stopped on the spot, lying down here and there as they could, without laying down their arms, and they spent the whole night without closing their eyes for the gloomy prospects of the next day. At dawn, while they had not yet decided which direction to take, they were suddenly put to flight by those Roman horsemen who had chased the Samnites who had escaped from Aquilonia during the night, and now saw this great mass of people without any protection, neither from the trenches nor from the guard posts. They had also been escorted from the walls of Aquilonia, and some cohorts had come against them, but the infantry could not reach them and the cavalry only killed 280 soldiers of the rearguard. In the confusion, a large number of weapons and 18 military insignia were left behind. However, all the others, taking advantage of the confusion, managed to take shelter in Boiano unharmed.
Categories