noon
The brave and skillful Tyler reluctantly gave the order to retreat , and when Harry saw the blue line go back he shouted with joy . Then the rebel yell , thrilling , vast and triumphant , swelled along the whole line , which lifted up itself and rushed at the enemy , the cavalry charging fiercely on the flanks . Shields got up fresh troops , but it was too late . The men in gray were pouring forward , victorious at every point , and sweeping everything before them , while the army of Fremont , arriving at the river at noon , saw burned bridges , the terrible battlefield on the other side strewn with the fallen , and the Southern legions thundering northward in pursuit of the second army , superior in numbers to their own , that they had defeated in two days . Every pulse in Harry beat with excitement . His soul sprang up at once from the depths to the stars . This , when hope seemed wholly gone , was the crowning and culminating victory .