At this hour, sunset, on August 29th, Kearny, Hooker, and Reno are pushing west, north of the turnpike, close upon the heels of Jackson. King's division of McDowell's corps is moving west along the turnpike past Dogan's house, to attack what has been Jackson's right center, but which is now the left center of the united forces of Jackson and Longstreet. Sigel's brigades have been shattered, and are merely holding their ground south of the turnpike. O, if Porter with his twelve thousand fresh troops was only there to fall on Jackson's right flank! But he is not in sight. Nothing has been heard from him. He has had all day to march five miles over an unobstructed road. He has had his imperative orders,--has heard the roar of battle. He is an officer in the Regular service, and knows that it is the first requisite of an officer or a soldier to obey orders. [Illustration: BATTLE OF GROVETON. 1 Hooker. 2 Kearny. 3 Reno. 4 Porter. 5 McDowell. 6 Sigel. A Rebel left wing, commanded by Jackson. B Rebel right wing, commanded by Longstreet. C Stone Bridge. D Dogan's House. RR Unfinished Railroad.] Longstreet is too late upon the ground to make an attack with his whole force. The sun goes down and darkness comes on. The contest for the day is over. Jackson has been driven on his right, and Heintzelman's corps holds the ground. Both armies sleep on their arms. The auspicious moment for crushing Jackson had passed. The most that Pope could hope for was to hold his ground till Franklin and Sumner, who had landed at Alexandria, could join him. Thus far the battle had been in his favor. He wished to save his wagons which were at Manassas. If he retreated across Bull Run and made that his line of defense, he must abandon his trains at Manassas. If he did this, Banks would be cut off. He hoped, with Porter's magnificent corps holding his left flank, to defeat Lee. The morning of the 30th dawned. The pickets of the two armies were within a hundred yards of each other. The air was calm, the sky clear, and the morning as bright and beautiful as that Sabbath when the first great battle of the war was fought. The Rebel line was crescent-shaped. Its left under Jackson reached from Sudley Springs to a point near the turnpike, about a mile and a half west of Groveton. Longstreet commanded the right wing, which extended from Jackson's command far to the southwest, stretching beyond the Manassas Gap Railroad. This point was the center of the Rebel line. It was a high knoll or ridge of land which commanded two thirds of Lee's front. Here were forty-eight pieces of artillery. It was a very strong position. From this knoll eastward, the Rebel artillerymen looked down a long slope broken by undulations, the ground partitioned by fences, dividing it into fields, pastures, and wooded hills and hollows.