ten o'clock at night
He took every precaution for securing that no errors should take place as to the route to be followed in the dark , for the ground behind the position was intersected by stone walls and a number of intricate lanes . To mark the right tracks , bundles of straw were placed at intervals along the line , and officers appointed to guide the columns . All these precautions , however , were brought to naught by the ill-fortune that had dogged the general along the whole line of retreat . A tremendous storm of wind and rain set in , the night was pitch dark , the bundles of straw were whirled away by the wind , and when the army silently left their post at ten o'clock at night , the task before them was a difficult one indeed . All the columns lost their way , and one division alone recovered the main road ; the other two wandered about all night , buffeted by the wind , drenched by the rain , disheartened and weary . Some regiments entered what shelters they could find , the men soon scattered to plunder , stragglers fell out in hundreds , and at daybreak the remnants of the two divisions were still in Lugo . The moment the light afforded means of recovering their position , the columns resumed their march , the road behind them being thickly dotted by stragglers .