e a third and most desperate attack on Jackson's
line. The latter, repulsing it with difficulty, carried its counter-stroke
too far and was in turn repulsed by Grover's brigade of Hooker's division.
Grover then made a fourth assault, but was driven back with terrible loss.
The last assault, gallantly delivered by two divisions under Kearny and
Stevens, drove the Confederate left out of its position; but a Confederate
counter-attack, led by the brave Jubal Early, dislodged the assailants with
the bayonet.

In the meanwhile events had taken place near Groveton which were, for
twenty years after the war, the subject of controversy and recrimination
(see PORTER, FITZ-JOHN). When Porter's and part of McDowell's corps, acting
on various orders sent by Pope, approached Gainesville from the south-east,
Longstreet had already reached that place, and the Federals thus
encountered a force of unknown strength at the moment when Sigel's guns to
the northward showed him to be closely engaged with Jackson. The two
generals consulted, and McDowell marched off to join Sigel, while Porter
remained to hold the new enemy in check. In this he succeeded; Longstreet,
though far superior in numbers, made no forward move, and his advanced
guard alone came into action. On the night of the 29th Lee reunited the
wings of his army on the field of battle. He had forced Pope back many
miles from the Rappahannock, and expecting that the Federals would retire
to the line of Bull Run before giving battle, he now decided to wait for
the last divisions of Longstreet's corps, which were still distant. But
Pope, still sanguine, ordered a "general pursuit" of Jackson for the 30th.
There was some ground for his suppositions, for Jackson had retired a short
distance and Longstreet's advanced guard had also fallen back. McDowell,
however, who was in general charge of the Federal right on the 30th, soon
saw that Jackson was not retreating and stopped the "pursuit," and the
attack on Jackson's right, which Pope had ordered Porter to make, was
repulsed by Longstreet's overwhelming forces. Then Lee's whole line, 4 m.
long, made its grand counter-stroke (4 P.M.). There was now no hesitation
in Longstreet's attack; the Federal left was driven successively from every
position it took up, and Longstreet finally captured Bald Hill. Jackson,
though opposed by the greater part of Pope's forces, advanced to the
Matthews hill, and his artillery threatened the Stone Bridge. Th