te, though not before Lee had reached
the new Bull Run position the following day. The attack was consequently
made from the woods around Groveton not too long before dark. It
resulted in a desperate frontal fight, neither side knowing what
the other had in its rear or on its flanks. Again the Federals
were outnumbered: twenty-eight against forty-five hundred men in
action. But again they fought with the utmost resolution and drew
off in good order. The strategic advantage, however, was wholly
Confederate; for Pope, who thought Jackson must now be falling
back to the Gap, at once began confusedly trying to concentrate
for pursuit on the twenty-ninth--the very thing that suited Lee
and Jackson best.

Early that morning the two-days' Battle of Second Manassas (or
Second Bull Run) began with Pope's absurd attempt to pursue an
army drawn up in line of battle. Moreover, Jackson's position was
not only strong in itself but well adapted for giving attackers a
shattering surprise. The left rested on Bull Run at Sudley Ford.
The center occupied the edge of the flat-topped Stony Ridge. A
quarter-mile in front of it, and some way lower down, were the
embankments and cuttings of an unfinished railroad. On the right
was Stuart's Hill, where Lee was to join by sending Longstreet in.
The approaches in rear were hidden from the eyes of an enemy in
front. The cuttings and embankments made excellent field works for
the defense. And the forward edge of the Ridge was wooded enough
to let counter-attackers mass under cover and then run down to
surprise the attackers by manning the cuttings and embankments.

Sigel's Germans, supported by the splendid Pennsylvanians under
Reynolds, advanced from the Henry Hill to hold Jackson till Pope
could come up and finish him. The numbers were about even, with slight
odds in favor of Jackson. But the shock was delivered piecemeal.
Each part was roughly handled and driven back in disorder. And
by the time Reynolds had come to the front Lee's advanced guard
was arriving. Then eighteen thousand Federals marched in from
Centreville under Reno, Kearny, and "fighting Joe Hooker," of whom
we shall hear again. Pope came up in person with the rest of his
available command, rode along his line, and explained the situation
as founded on his ignorance and colored by his fancy. At this very
moment Longstreet came up on Jackson's right. Reynolds went into
action against what he thought was Jackson's extended right