Two of the seven men pursuing the General are killed during the first skirmish, but they reappear unharmed a moment later.
When the stage leaves, there are two riders behind it. When it is attacked by the gun thugs, the riders have disappeared.
When the men on horseback pursuing the stage appear on the trail, they are approximately 100 yards behind the stage, and they begin shooting at it while closing in. During the next scene the stage comes to a stop to let the passengers out to escape, and the men following them are nowhere in sight. The passengers get out and discuss their plight for a moment before the stage resumes its journey without them, and a few moments later the gang reappears behind the stage again. There was no explanation how the stage got so far ahead of the men on horseback when they were so close in the previous scene.
Talking about the gun thugs pursuing them, the general says when they come within range, open fire. He then begins firing well before they are in range, giving them the opportunity to seek cover. None are hit. Contrast this ineptitude with the leadership of Captain Winters in Crossroads (2001) who assigned a unique target to each of his men, resulting in the deaths of all enemies with no friendly loss.