Spartacus, hearing of the approach of Pompey, attempts to negotiate with Crassus to bring the conflict to a close before Roman reinforcements arrive.

When Crassus refuses, a portion of Spartacus' forces break out of confinement and fled toward the mountains west of Petelia (modern Strongoli) in Bruttium, with Crassus' legions in pursuit.

The legions manage to catch a portion of the rebels—under the command of Gannicus and Castus—separated from the main army, killing twelve thousand, three hundred.

However, Crassus' legions also suffer losses, as some of the army of escaping slaves turns to meet the Roman forces under the command of a cavalry officer named Lucius Quinctius and the quaestor Gnaeus Tremellius Scrofa, routing them.

The rebel slaves are not, however, a professional army, and have reached their limit.

They are unwilling to flee any farther, and groups of men break away from the main force to independently attack the oncoming legions of Crassus.

With discipline breaking down, Spartacus turns his forces around and brings his entire strength to bear on the oncoming legions.

In this last stand, Spartacus' forces are finally routed completely, with the vast majority of them being killed on the battlefield.

The eventual fate of Spartacus himself is unknown, as his body was never found, but he is accounted by historians to have perished in battle along with his men.

When the fighting ends, three thousand Roman prisoners are found unharmed in Spartacus’ camp.

Although Pompey's forces do not directly engaged Spartacus' forces at any time, his legions moving in from the north are able to capture some five thousand rebels fleeing the battle, "all of whom he slew" (Plutarch, Pompey, 21:2, Crassus 11.7).

After this action, Pompey sends a dispatch to the Senate, saying that while Crassus certainly had conquered the slaves in open battle, he himself has ended the war, thus claiming a large portion of the credit and earning the enmity of Crassus.

While most of the rebel slaves are killed on the battlefield, some six thousand survivors are captured by the legions of Crassus.

All six thousand are crucified along the Appian Way from Rome to Capua.