On the afternoon of April 8, 1865, hundreds of Confederate vehicles, including baggage wagons, ambulances, and artillery pieces, stood in a long column along the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road as soldiers paused to rest and cook rations while moving west toward Lynchburg. At nearby Appomattox Station, trains carrying badly needed supplies for the Confederate army waited on the tracks until Union cavalry charged into the station, captured most of the trains, and broke through a hastily placed Confederate artillery line. The Confederate column collapsed and scattered in three directions, leaving Union troopers in control of the Stage Road. The next morning Confederate infantry advanced and drove back the Union cavalry, reopening the road, but eight Union brigades, including two of the United States Colored Troops, arrived after a march of more than 30 miles the previous day, formed a battle line, and struck the Confederate line beyond the wood line. Trapped on three sides, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered.