Lee was ready.  Hill had promptly marched, and his corps was coming into position on the right of Ewell.  Receiving intelligence of the enemy’s movement only upon the preceding day, Lee had seemed to move the divisions of Hill, far back toward Charlottesville, as by the wave of his hand.  The army was concentrated; the line of defence occupied; and General Meade’s attempt to surprise his adversary, by interposing between his widely-separated wings, had resulted in decisive failure.  If he fought now, the battle must be one of army against army; and, what was worst of all, it was Lee who held all the advantages of position.

We have spoken of Mine Run:  it is a strong defensive position, on its right bank and on its left.  Flowing generally between hills, and with densely-wooded banks, it is difficult to cross from either side in face of an opposing force; and it was Lee’s good fortune to occupy the attitude of the party to be assailed.  He seemed to feel that he had nothing to fear, and was in excellent spirits, as were the men; an eye-witness describes them as “gay, lively, laughing, magnificent.”  In front of his left wing he had already erected works; his centre and right were as yet undefended, but the task of strengthening the line at these points was rapidly prosecuted.  Lee superintended in person the establishment of his order of battle, and it was plain to those who saw him thus engaged that the department of military engineering was a favorite one with him.  Riding along the western bank of the water-course, a large part of which was densely clothed in oak, chestnut, and hickory, he selected, with the quick eye of the trained engineer, the best position for his line—­promptly moved it when it had been established on bad ground—­pointed out the positions for artillery; and, as he thus rode slowly along, the works which he had directed seemed to spring up behind him as though by magic.  As the troops of Hill came up and halted in the wood, the men seized axes, attacked the large trees, which soon fell in every direction, and the heavy logs were dragged without loss of time to the prescribed line, where they were piled upon each other in double walls, which were filled in rapidly with earth; and thus, in an inconceivably short space of time the men had defences breast-high which would turn a cannon-shot.  In front, for some distance, too, the timber had been felled and an abatis thus formed.  A few hours after the arrival of the troops on the line marked out by Lee, they were rooted behind excellent breastworks, with forest, stream, and abatis in front, to delay the assailing force under the fire of small-arms and cannon.