ten o'clock
The pioneers were out in force , with the Engineering Corps , and many barricades of trees , logs , and brush were piled up , along with sods and loose rocks . The Confederates heard the ringing of axes and the crashing of timber as it came down , but could do nothing toward stopping the construction of these defences . Sunday morning dawned with a heavy fog filling the valleys -- a fog so dense that the mountains were shut out , giving the battle-ground , from every point of view , the appearance of a ghostly plain . This fog did not begin to lift until nine or ten o'clock . Bragg had given Polk orders to begin the battle , but minute after minute passed and the Confederate leader sat impatiently astride of his horse , waiting in vain for the sounds of the conflict . `` What is the matter with Polk , -- why in common sense does n't he do something ? '' General Bragg is reported to have said , and started off for the right wing personally .