he soldiers were permitted
scant time for rest. Once more they were aroused while the stars were
bright; and, half awake, snatching what food they could, they
stumbled forward through the darkness.

August 26.

As the cool breath of the morning rose about them, the dark forests
of the Bull Run Mountains became gradually visible in the faint light
of the eastern sky, and the men at last discovered whither their
general was leading them. With the knowledge, which spread quickly
through the ranks, that they were making for the communications of
the boaster Pope, the regiments stepped out with renewed energy.
"There was no need for speech, no breath to spare if there had
been--only the shuffling tramp of marching feet, the rumbling of
wheels, the creak and clank of harness and accoutrements, with an
occasional order, uttered under the breath, and always the same:
"Close up, men! Close up!""* (* "Battles and Leaders volume 2 page
533.)

Through Thoroughfare Gap, a narrow gorge in the Bull Run range, with
high cliffs, covered with creepers and crowned with pines on either
hand, the column wound steadily upwards; and, gaining the higher
level, the troops looked down on the open country to the eastward.
Over a vast area of alternate field and forest, bounded by distant
uplands, the shadows of the clouds were slowly sailing. Issuing from
the mouth of the pass, and trending a little to the south-east, ran
the broad high-road, passing through two tiny hamlets, Haymarket and
Gainesville, and climbing by gentle gradients to a great bare
plateau, familiar to the soldiers of Bull Run under the name of
Manassas Plains. At Gainesville this road was crossed by another,
which, lost in dense woods, appeared once more on the open heights to
the far north-east, where the white buildings of Centreville
glistened in the sunshine. The second road was the Warrenton and
Alexandria highway, the direct line of communication between Pope's
army and Washington, and it is not difficult to divine the anxiety
with which it was scrutinised by Jackson. If his march had been
detected, a far superior force might already be moving to intercept
him. At any moment the news might come in that the Federal army was
rapidly approaching; and even were that not the case, it seemed
hardly possible that the Confederate column, betrayed by the dust,
could escape the observation of passing patrols or orderlies. But not
a solitary scout was visible; no movement was