two
o'clock
A train pulled in from City Point with crowds of extra surgeons , their amputating tables and bandages ready . The wagons were loaded with picks and shovels to bury the dead quickly in the scorching heat of July . The men waited in impatience for the explosion . It had been set for two o'clock . For two hours they stood listening . Their hearts were beating high at first . The delay took the soul out of them .