midnight
They like others rode all through the darkness carrying messages to the different commands , insuring exact cooperation . As the hours of the night passed the aspect of everything grew better . The river had fallen so fast that it would be fordable before morning . But after midnight the clouds gathered , thunder crashed , lightning played and the violent rain of a summer storm enveloped them again . Harry viewed it at first with dismay , and then he found consolation . The darkness and the storm would cover their retreat , as it had covered the retreat of their enemy , Hooker , after Chancellorsville . Harry and Dalton rode close behind Lee , who sat erect on his white horse , supervising the first movement of troops over the new and shaking bridge .