Lee was still amusing Hooker, but it was a grim amusement.
A long time passed.

Although the army could not move fast in the Wilderness, its march was steady.

The roar of Lee's attack had become subdued, but Harry knew that the effect was due only to distance.
His trained ear told him that the demonstration in Hooker's front, instead of decreasing, had increased in vigor.

It was assuming the proportions of a real battle, and with thickets and forests to obscure sight, Hooker might well believe that the whole Southern army was yet in front of him.
The onward march had become rhythmic now.

It was to Harry like the regular throbbing of a pulse.