Late in the morning, when the Federal defenses collapsed, a disorganized mass of Union troops streamed north on the single narrow road to Luray as Confederates fired into the fleeing bluecoats and men on the Coaling used captured Union cannons to blast canister into the retreating Federals, leaving the fields and road covered with dead, dying, and wounded. Many Federals tried to escape cross-country toward the mountains; some were captured, while others got away, including Col. Lewis Buckley of the 29th Ohio, who led a group into the hills. Exhausted Confederate infantry abandoned the chase after 5 miles, and Confederate cavalry continued the pursuit, seizing prisoners despite the narrow, forest-lined road, while one small group of Federals formed a Napoleonic anti-cavalry square and some Union soldiers resisted stubbornly. After several more miles, the Confederate cavalry also broke off pursuit, and the Federal flight ended when the troops reached fresh reinforcements under Gen. James Shields near Conrad's Store, modern-day Elkton, some 14 miles north, bringing an end to their retreat and the battle.