the Federal disjointedness. Consequently none of the eight fords
were strongly defended except at Union Mills on the extreme right
and the Stone Bridge on the extreme left, where the turnpike from
Centreville to Warrenton crossed the Run. Bull Run itself was a
considerable obstacle, having fairly high banks and running along
the Confederate front like the ditch of a fortress. Three miles
in rear stood Manassas Junction on a moderate plateau intersected
by several creeks. The most important of these creeks, Young's
Branch, joined Bull Run on the extreme left, near the Stone
Bridge and Warrenton turnpike, after flowing through the little
valley between the Henry Hill and Matthews Hill. Three miles in
front, across Bull Run, stood Centreville, the Federal camp and
field base during the battle.

Sunday, July 21, 1861, was a beautiful midsummer day. Both armies
were stirring soon after dawn. But a miscarriage of orders
delayed the Confederate offensive so much that the initiative of
attack passed to the Federals, who advanced against the Stone
Bridge shortly after six. This attack, however, though made by a
whole division against a single small brigade, was immediately
recognized as a mere feint when, two hours later, Evans,
commanding the Confederate brigade, saw dense clouds of dust
rising above the woods on his left front, where the road crossed
Sudley Springs, nearly two miles beyond his own left. Perceiving
that this new development must be a regular attempt to turn the
whole Confederate left by crossing Bull Run, he sent back word to
Beauregard, posted some men to hold the Stone Bridge, and marched
the rest to crown the Matthews Hill, facing Sudley Springs a mile
away. Meanwhile four of "Joe" Johnston's five Shenandoah
brigades--Bee's, Bartow's, Bonham's, and Jackson's--had been