During the afternoon, the pickets on the Charles City road discovered A. P. Hill's troops filing off from the road, west of Frazier's farm, toward the south. They went across the fields, and through the woods to the Newmarket road. While the main body was thus taking position, a small body of infantry and a battery opened fire upon Slocum; but he had cut down the forest in his front, forming an impassable barrier, so that he was secure from attack. General McCall formed his division of six thousand men, with Meade's brigade, north of the road, Seymour's south of it, and Reynolds's,--commanded in this battle by Colonel Simmons,--in reserve. He had five batteries,--Randall's on the right, Kerns's and Cooper's in the center, and Dietrich's and Kanerhun's on the left,--all in front of his infantry, looking down a gentle slope upon an open field; on the west there was a brook, fringed with a forest growth, with the farm of Mr. Frazier beyond. It was half past two before Hill was ready to make the attack. He threw out two regiments as skirmishers, which advanced to feel of McCall's lines; but they were repulsed by the Seventh and Twelfth Pennsylvania Reserves. Hill had twelve brigades, six of his own and six of Longstreet's. Magruder and Huger had not arrived. His plan was to strike with all his force at once. Brigade after brigade advanced, but recoiled before the direct fire of the batteries, sustained by the infantry. "The thunder of the cannon, the cracking of the musketry, from thousands of combatants, mingled with screams from the wounded and dying, were terrific to the ear and to the imagination," says a correspondent of the Cologne Gazette. [Illustration: BATTLE OF GLENDALE. 1 Smith and Richardson. 2 Slocum. 3 Kearney. 4 Sumner. 5 Hooker. 6 McCall. A Jackson, Ewell, and D. H. Hill. B A. P. Hill and Longstreet. C Newmarket road. D Quaker road. ] "Volleys upon volleys streamed across our front in such quick succession that it seemed impossible for any human being to live under it,"[42] writes a Rebel officer. [Footnote 42: Battle-Fields of the South, p. 170.] Five o'clock! The battle has raged two hours and a half, sustained wholly by McCall, and Hill has not driven him an inch. The Rebels desist from their direct attack in front, and throw all their force upon Seymour's left, south of the road. McCall sends over the Fifth and Eighth Regiments from his second line. "Change front with the infantry and artillery," is his order. Hill is pushing along his left flank to gain his rear. McCall orders a charge, and it is executed with a promptness and vigor sufficient to check the advancing troops. But his line has become disordered by the charge. Hill improves the opportunity, and hurries up his reserve brigades, which fire while advancing.