noon
The assault was made with dash and courage . For four hours the battle raged with fury . The shattered regiments that had been surprised and crushed the day before , yielded at one time before the onslaughts of the Confederates . By noon Beauregard had sent into the shambles his last brigade and reserves and shortly afterwards gave his first order to withdraw his army . Breckinridge 's division covered the retreat and there was no attempt at pursuit . Grant was only too glad to save his army . The first great battle of the war had been fought and won by the genius of the South 's commander and its results thrown away by the hero of Bull Run .