noon
`` They shut their trap down upon us , but we 're breaking that trap all to pieces , '' he heard Pennington say . `` Looks as if we might win a victory , '' said the cooler Warner . Then he heard no more , as they were once again upon the enemy who received them almost hand to hand , and the battle swelled anew . It was now long past noon , and in that prodigious canopy of dust and fire and smoke it seemed for a while that the Union army in truth had shattered the trap . The men in gray were borne back by the courage and weight of their opponents . Hooker , Kearney , Reynolds and all the gallant generals of the North continually urged on their troops . Confidence in victory at last passed through all the army , and incited it to greater efforts .