McDowell is pleased with how well his attack has gone and is eager to make a final push that will “[end] the battle and the Confederacy both” (81). The battle changes course, however, after McDowell stops to reorganize his men. The Confederates now wreak carnage on McDowell’s men, who are exhausted and overheated. Confederate replacements arrive by train, and McDowell’s line of soldiers is demolished on the right side.

Toby loses his patience listening to the battle and thinking about how the soldiers will get “Yankee guns and medals and glory. And [...] scars to put on public display” (83). He slips away, determined to experience the battle for himself.

The Union soldiers begin to retreat and run away en masse, and James cannot believe how much the soldiers, who earlier in the day looked brave and heroic, have changed. He does not want to draw what he sees, picks up a fallen New York flag, and implores the others to rejoin the fight. No one joins him or stops running.