in july, maj. gen john pope was placed in command of the newly-formed army of virginia, which consisted of the commands of banks, irvin mcdowell, and franz sigel. by early august this force was in culpeper county. pope gave banks an ambiguous series of orders, directing him south of culpeper to determine enemy strength, hold a fortified defensive position, and to engage the enemy. banks showed none of the caution he had displayed against stonewall jackson in the valley campaign, and moved to meet a larger force. confederates he faced were numerically stronger and held, particularly around cedar mountain, the high ground. after an artillery duel began the august 9 battle of cedar mountain he ordered a flanking maneuver on the confederate right. bank's bold attack seemed close to breaking in the confederate line, and might have given him a victory if he had committed his reserves in a timely manner. only excellent commanding by the confederates at the crucial moment of the battle and the fortuitous arrival of hill allowed their numerical superiority to tell. banks thought the battle one of the "best fought"; one of his officers thought it an act of folly by an incompetent general."