two o'clock before
Jackson , Longstreet and Early with sudden rush of tigers sprang at the throats of the Union lines in front . The men had scarcely gripped their guns to receive the assault when from the rear rose the unearthly yell of the new army swooping down on their unprotected flank . It was too much for the raw recruits of the North . They had marched and fought with dogged courage since two o'clock before day -- without pause for food or drink . It was now four in the afternoon and the blazing sun of July was pouring its merciless rays down on their dust-covered and smoke-grimed faces without mercy . McDowell 's right wing was crumpled like an eggshell between the combined charges front and rear . It broke and rushed back in confusion on his center .