The opening battle scene breaches one of the conventions of film-making. The opening shot shows Union cavalry charging from the left of screen to the right. This is followed by shots of Confederate Infantry on the right of the screen firing to the left. There follow some other shots, some showing troops charging directly at the camera, others showing Union cavalry coming from the left of screen. The final shots of the battle show the Confederate infantry retreating to the left of screen pursued by Union infantry coming from the right. The convention would dictate that the Union troops should always come from the left, and that the Confederate troops should have retreated to the right of screen.