twelve o'clock
For two or three days we had been in a constant state of nervous expectancy . On the 18th the armed reconnaissance on Bull Run had brought more than our generals had counted on ; we had heard the combat , but had taken no part in it . Now the attack by the left had been abandoned . The early part of the night of the 20th had been spent in trying to get rations ; at twelve o'clock we had two days ' cooked rations in our haversacks . At about three o'clock the regiment turned south , into the road for Centreville . Willis said that we were to flank Beauregard 's left ; but nobody took the trouble to assent or deny . At Centreville there was a long and irksome halt ; some lay down -- in the road -- by the side of the road ; some kept their feet and moved about impatiently .