Company F Private William McGuffage was ramming a round down his Springfield musket when the piece discharged, sending ramrod and bullet through his right hand. McGuffage's first sergeant, George Mitchell, was knocked off his feet by a Minié bullet that smashed through his haversack, a slab of salt pork, a tin plate and his morning report book before lodging in the pages of his diary. Thankful to be alive, Mitchell struggled to his feet and started for the rear. He would later write, 'I never in all my life had anything hurt me as much as that did.'

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On the far left of the regimental line, 2nd Lt. William Hoffman and the troops of Company I — one of two companies in the regiment armed with Sharps rifles — found the firepower of their breechloaders of little avail in stemming the Rebel onslaught. While the Hampton Legion and 18th Georgia struck Warren's front and right, the 5th Texas partially overlapped the left flank, enfilading the reserve companies of the 10th New York and flaying the left wing of the 5th with a vicious cross-fire. Soon after the opening volley, the Zouaves began to unravel from left to right while all along the line the newly arrived recruits began bolting for the rear. When he saw some of Company G's file-closers vainly trying to keep the terrified novices in ranks, Corporal Colin Van Gelder Forbes shouted: 'Let them go! Let them go!'

Recruit James Cathie stood his ground alongside Irish-born veteran James Patterson in the ranks of Company G. Grimly reloading amid the slaughter, Cathie turned to Patterson and said, 'Look out for Siss — .' A fatal bullet cut him down before he could finish. Another recruit, teenaged Private Eugene Geer, got off one round — his first and only shot of the war — and then crumpled with a bullet in the groin. One of the recruits in Company H was 15-year-old William H. Platt. 'We fired three volleys at them when the rebels charged on us,' Platt wrote. 'We broke and run [;] they shot us down by hundreds.' As he fled the field, Platt saw no need to haul his full knapsack and extra gear. As he later put it, 'On the retreat I chucked them all.'

Second Lieutenant Edward O. Wright of Company D fell to earth face-forward when a bullet passed through his left shoulder and lung and lodged against his spine. The officer raised himself on his hands and knees. 'Blood oozed from my mouth, my breath became short, and I bade good bye to father, mother and all kind friends,' Wright wrote from a hospital two weeks later, 'for the bullets were whistling over my head like hail, the secesh were coming on yelling like cats, and it was very likely I should receive a bullet from our men who were now retreating rapidly.'

Recognizing the hopelessness of his brigade's position, Colonel Warren determined to execute a fighting retreat before the line was entirely enveloped. But Warren's orders to retire went unheard above the din and chaos of battle. The commander of Company A, Captain and acting Major Carlile Boyd, tried to echo the command, as did the regimental adjutant, Frederick Sovereign. Struck in the arm, Adjutant Sovereign started for the rear, but he was soon dropped by a shot through both thighs. Arteries severed, the adjutant bled to death where he fell. As Captain Boyd ran along the line, a bullet ripped two fingers from his right hand. Within seconds other shots struck Boyd in the left arm, left leg and side before he fell, to be taken prisoner. Finally Warren spurred his horse alongside the embattled color guard, grasped at the flag and, by his gestures, indicated that he wanted the color-bearers to pull back down the slope.

As acting field officers, both Cleveland Winslow and Company D Captain Wilbur Lewis were mounted and conspicuous targets. Winslow's horse was struck seven times and sank beneath him, though Winslow himself escaped injury. Lewis was not as fortunate. Noticing that Lieutenant Wright of Company D had fallen, Lewis shouted to Sergeant John H. Reilly, 'You are in charge of the company — do the best you can with it!' Then, seeing the three companies to his left beginning to break, Lewis gave the command, 'Fall back and save the colors!' At that moment he was fatally wounded by a bullet, fell from the saddle and, with his foot stuck in the stirrup, was dragged over the field by the terrified animal. The captain's 19-year-old brother, Edward Lewis, a corporal in Company B, was also slain on the line of battle.

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