Special Order 191

Special Order 191 (series 1862), also known as the "Lost Dispatch" and the "Lost Order", was a general movement order issued by Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee in September 1862, during the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. A discarded copy of this order was recovered several days later by Union Army troops in Frederick County, Maryland; it was passed to General George B. McClellan, who subsequently altered his own forces' movement and defeated Lee at the Battle of Antietam. Historians differ on how much the discovery contributed to McClellan's victory.

History

Drafting

The order was drafted on or about September 9, 1862, during the Maryland Campaign. It gave details of the movements of the Army of Northern Virginia during the early days of its invasion of Maryland. Lee divided his army, which he planned to regroup later; according to the precise text, Major General Stonewall Jackson was to move his command to Martinsburg while Lafayette McLaws's command and John George Walker's command "endeavored to capture Harpers Ferry." Major General James Longstreet was to move his command northward to Boonsborough. Major General D. H. Hill's division was to act as rear guard on the march from Frederick.

Lee delineated the routes and roads to be taken and the timing for the investment of Harpers Ferry. On September 12th, from Hagerstown, Lee sent the original order of the 9th to President Davis. AAG Robert Chilton signed this document.