midnight
If the man in the old slouch hat had only been with Lee on Seminary Ridge it would now be the army of Meade retreating farther into the North , and they would be pursuing . That belief was destined to sink deep in the soul of the South , and remain there long after the Confederacy was but a name . The same thought was often in the mind of Harry Kenton , as he rode near the rear of the column , whence he had been sent by Lee to observe and then to report . It was far after midnight now , and the last of the Southern army could not leave Seminary Ridge before morning . But Harry could detect no sign of pursuit . Now and then , a distant gun boomed , and the thunder muttered on the horizon , as if in answer . But there was nothing to indicate that the Army of the Potomac was moving from Gettysburg in pursuit , although the President in Washington , his heart filled with bitterness , was vainly asking why his army would not reap the fruits of a victory won so hardly .