Race to Richmond

Race to Richmond. . The Union Line Breaks, The Confederates destroyed the Union line at Duncannon Road. They hit Cruft's brigade with a rolling musket volley, reloaded, jumped the fence and scattered his line. Manson's brigade fared no better. The 71st Indiana Infantry lost so many officers that it almost ceased to exist as an organized unit. The spent Union line crumbled and the Federal troops bolted toward Richmond. Civilian sightseers fleeing the battlefield were engulfed by the frenzied retreat, making a bad situation worse., "The flying masses drifted up the road and through the fields in the direction of Richmond" Gen. Cruft reported. "General Manson and myself rode forward, endeavoring to stay the flight and panic in every possible way. Our respective staff officers and some of the field officers of the various commands nobly assisted in the hopeless task.", It was late afternoon when the remnants of the demoralized Union army regrouped on the south edge of Richmond, in and near the cemetery. The Federals were badly rattled but they were not ready to concede defeat just yet.