12 noon.

Without making the slightest attempt to verify, by personal observation, the conclusions at which his subordinates had arrived, at midday, to the dismay of his best officers, his army being now in position, he issued orders for his troops to be “immediately thrown forward in pursuit of the enemy, and to press him vigorously.”

Porter and Reynolds formed the left of the Federal army.  These generals, alive to the necessity of examining the woods, deployed a strong skirmish line before them as they formed for action.  Further evidence of Pope’s hallucination was at once forthcoming.  The moment Reynolds moved forward against Stuart’s Hill he found his front overlapped by long lines of infantry, and, riding back, he informed Pope that in so doing he had had to run the gauntlet of skirmishers who threatened his rear.  Porter, too, pushing his reconnaissance across the meadows west of Groveton, drew the fire of several batteries.  But at this juncture, unfortunately for the Federals, a Union prisoner, recaptured from Jackson, declared that he had “heard the rebel officers say that their army was retiring to unite with Longstreet.”  So positively did the indications before him contradict this statement, that Porter, on sending the man to Pope, wrote:  “In duty bound I send him, but I regard him as either a fool or designedly released to give a wrong impression.  No faith should be put in what he says.”  If Jackson employed this man to delude his enemy, the ruse was eminently successful.  Porter received the reply:  “General Pope believes that soldier, and directs you to attack;” Reynolds was dismissed with a message that cavalry would be sent to verify his report; and McDowell was ordered to put in the divisions of Hatch and Ricketts on Porter’s right.

During the whole morning the attention of the Confederates had been directed to the Groveton wood.  Beyond the timber rose the hill north-east, and on this hill three or four Federal batteries had come into action at an early hour, firing at intervals across the meadows.  The Confederate guns, save when the enemy’s skirmishers approached too close, hardly deigned to reply, reserving their ammunition for warmer work.  That such work was to come was hardly doubtful.  Troops had been constantly in motion near the hostile batteries, and the thickets below were evidently full of men.

12.15 P.M.

Shortly after noon the enemy’s skirmishers became aggressive, swarming over the meadows, and into the wood which had seen such heavy slaughter in the fight of yesterday.  As Jackson’s pickets, extended over a wide front, gave slowly back, his guns opened in earnest, and shell and shrapnel flew fast over the open space.  The strong force of skirmishers betrayed the presence of a line of battle not far in rear, and ignoring the fire of the artillery, the Confederate batteries concentrated on the covert behind which they knew the enemy’s masses were forming