tion belt. The echoes from McDowell's signal cannon had hardly
died when, upon the wooded banks of Bull Run, the First Brigade stood in
arms.

Minutes passed. Mitchell's Ford marked the Confederate centre. Here, and
at Blackburn's Ford, were Bonham, Bee, Bartow, Longstreet, and Jackson.
Down the stream, at MacLean's Ford and Union Mills, Early and Ewell and
D. R. Jones held the right. To the left, up Bull Run, beyond Bee and
beyond Stuart, at the Island, Ball and Lewis fords, were Cocke's Brigade
and Hampton's Legion, and farther yet, at the Stone Bridge, Evans with a
small brigade. Upon the northern bank of the Run, in the thick woods
opposite Mitchell's and Blackburn's fords, was believed to be the mass
of the invaders. There had been a certitude that the battle would join
about these fords. Beauregard's plan was to cross at MacLean's and fall
upon the Federal left. Johnston had acceded, and with the first light
orders had gone to the brigadiers. "Hold yourselves in readiness to
cross and to attack."

Now suddenly from the extreme left, away in the direction of the Stone
Bridge, burst an unexpected sound both of musketry and artillery. It was
distant, it waxed and waned and waxed again. The First Brigade, nervous,
impatient, chilled by the dawn, peered across its own reach of misty
stream, and saw naught but the dream-like woods. Tyler's division was
over there, it knew. When would firing begin along this line? When would
the brigade have orders to move, when would it cross, when would things
begin to happen?

An hour passed. Ranks were broken and the men allowed to cook and eat a
hasty breakfast. How good, in the mist-drenched wood, tasted the
scalding coffee, how good the cornbread and the bacon! The last crumb
swallowed, they waited again, lying on the brown earth beneath the
pines. The mounted officers, advanced upon the bank of the stream and
seen through the mist, loomed larger, man and horse, than life. Jackson
sat very quiet upon Little Sorrel, his lips moving. Far up the stream
the firing continued. The 2d, 4th, 5th, 27th, 33d, and 65th Virginia
fidgeted, groaned, swore with impatience.

Suddenly the nearer echoes awoke. A Federal battery, posted on the
hills beyond the fringe of thick wood on the northern bank, opened a
slow and ineffective fire against the hills and woods across the stream.
The Confederates kept their position masked, made no reply. The shells
fell short, and did harm only to the forest