Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders.

The action of this day was not a general or decisive one. The enemy appears to have had no settled plan of attack, and to have experimented on the strength of our lines. But whatever the significance of the action, success was plainly with the Confederates; they had driven the enemy, advanced their positions, and were now prepared for a renewal of the engagement on the scene of the first great battle of the war.

The decisive contest was yet to take place; although Pope, quick to boast, and unscrupulous in his official dispatches, had already telegraphed to Washington that he had won a great victory, and was master of the field. As the morning of the 30th broke, the Confederates were under arms; the pickets of the two armies were within a few hundred yards of each other; and cannonading along the lines betokened the approaching contest. The troops of Jackson and Longstreet maintained their positions of the previous day. Fitzhugh Lee, with three regiments of his cavalry, was posted on Jackson's left, and R. H. Anderson's division, which arrived during the forenoon, was held in reserve near the turnpike. The line of battle stretched for a distance of about five miles from Sudley Springs on the left to the Warrenton road, and thence in an oblique direction towards the southwest. The disposition of the enemy's forces was, Gen. Heintzelman on the extreme right, and Gen. McDowell on the extreme left, while the army corps of Gen. Fitz-John Porter and Sigel, and Reno's division of Gen. Burnside's army, were placed in the centre.

For a good part of the day, the action was fought principally with artillery. But about three o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy having massed his troops in front of Gen. Jackson, advanced against his position in strong force. His front line pushed forward until engaged at close quarters by Jackson's troops, when its progress was checked, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued. A second and third line, of great strength, moved up to support the first, but in doing so, came within easy range of a position a little in advance of Longstreet's left. He immediately ordered up two batteries, and two others being thrown forward about the same time by Col. S. D. Lee, under their well-directed and destructive fire the supporting lines were broken, and fell back in confusion. Their repeated efforts to rally were unavailing, and Jackson's troops being thus relieved from the pressure of overwhelming numbers, began to press steadily forward, driving the enemy before them. He retreated in confusion, suffering severely from our artillery, which advanced as he retired. Gen. Longstreet, anticipating the order for a general advance, now threw his whole command against the Federal centre and left. Hood's two brigades, followed by Evans, led the attack. R. H. Anderson's division came gallantly to the support of Hood, while the three brigades under Wilcox moved forward on his left, and those of Kemper on his right. D. R. Jones advanced

&n the extreme right, and the whole line swept steadily on.