General Lee, accompanied by General Longstreet, had ridden from his headquarters, on the Nine-mile road, to the scene of action, and now witnessed in person the fighting of the troops, who charged under his eye, closing in in a nearly hand-to-hand conflict with the enemy.

This was, no doubt, the first occasion on which a considerable portion of the men had seen him--certainly in battle--and that air of supreme calmness which always characterized him in action must have made a deep impression upon them.

He was clad simply, and wore scarcely any badges of rank.

A felt hat drooped low over the broad forehead, and the eyes beneath were calm and unclouded.

Add a voice of measured calmness, the air of immovable composure which marked the erect military figure, evidently at home in the saddle, and the reader will have a correct conception of General Lee's personal appearance in the first of the great battles of his career.
Hill attacked with that dash and obstinacy which from this time forward characterized him, but succeeded in making no impression on the Federal line.