midnight
He was not long before he came upon some Vendean outposts . These he charged , and drove in towards the town . No sooner did they arrive there than the bells of the churches pealed out . It was now midnight but , before the army could form into order , the Vendeans poured out upon them , guided by the shouts of the Republican officers , who were endeavouring to get their troops into order . The combat was desperate and sanguinary . The peasants , fighting with the fury of despair , threw themselves recklessly upon the Republican troops ; whose cannon were not yet in a position to come into action , and whose infantry , in the darkness , fired at random . Fighting in the dark , discipline availed but little .