nine
o'clock
They alarmed him more than the huge cannon thundering away from the other side of the river . But the fog , although thin , was still enough to make the aim of the skirmishers bad , and General Jackson and his staff went on their way unhurt . They reached a little hill near the middle of the Southern bent bow . It had no name then , but it is called Lee 's Hill now , because at nine o'clock that morning General Lee , mounted on his white horse , was upon its crest awaiting his generals , to give them his last instructions . Longstreet was already there , and , just as Jackson came , the fog thinned away entirely and the sun began to blaze with a heat almost like that of summer , rapidly thawing the hard earth . The young officers on the different staffs reined back , while their chiefs drew together . Yet for a few moments no one said anything .