MAJOR-GENERAL BURNSIDE: GENERAL,--General Franklin's command is within one mile and a half of here. General McClellan desires you to open your attack. As soon as you shall have uncovered the upper stone bridge you will be supported, and, if necessary, on your own line of attack. So far all is going well. Respectfully, GEO. D. RUGGLES, Colonel, etc." This order appears in the supplementary volume of the Official Records, vol. li. pt. i. p. 844. From Pry's house, where McClellan's headquarters were that day, to Burnside's, was over two miles as the crow flies. This establishes the accuracy of the original reports of both, which stated the hour of receipt at ten o'clock. It corroborates also the time of Franklin's arrival on the field, and the connection of this with Burnside's advance.] If then we can determine whose troops we saw engaged, we shall know something of the time of day; for there has been a general agreement reached as to the hours of movement of Sumner's divisions during the forenoon on the right and right centre. The official map settles this. No lines of our troops were engaged in the direction of Bloody Lane and the Rullett farm-house, and between the latter and our station on the hill, till French's division made its attack. We saw them distinctly on the hither side of the farm buildings, upon the open ground, considerably nearer to us than the Dunker Church or the East Wood. In number we took them to be a corps. The place, the circumstances, all fix it beyond controversy that they were French's men or French's and Richardson's. No others fought on that part of the field until Franklin went to their assistance at noon or later. The incident of their advance and the explosion of the caisson was illustrated by the pencil of Mr. Forbes on the spot, and was placed by him at the time Franklin's head of column was approaching from the direction of Rohrersville, which was about ten o'clock. [Footnote: Forbes's sketch is reproduced in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War," vol. ii. p. 647, and is of historical importance in connection with the facts stated above.]