nine o'clock at night
Pope rushed now in frantic haste to destroy Jackson before Lee 's army could reach him . Jackson was too quick for the eloquent commander . He slipped past his opponent and took a strong position west of the turnpike from Warrenton where he could easily unite with Longstreet 's advancing corps . Pope attempted to turn Jackson 's left with a division of his army and the wily Southerner fell on his moving columns with sudden savage energy , fought until nine o'clock at night and drove him back with heavy loss . When Pope moved to the attack next day at two o'clock Longstreet had reached Jackson 's side . The attack failed and his men fell back through pools of blood . The Federal Commander was still sending pompous messages to Washington announcing his marvelous achievements while his army had steadily retreated from Culpeper Court House beyond the Rappahannock , back to Manassas where the first battle of the war was fought .