All the Plans of the Rebels: The Mystery of Special Orders #191, Part V

Offering battle along Antietam Creek may rank as the worst decision of Robert E. Lee's notable Civil War career. Badly outnumbered and with his back to the Potomac, the highly aggressive Confederate general was placing his army at extreme risk. Had a more confident general than McClellan led the opposing army, the result almost certainly would have been a disaster for the Confederates.

As it was, when McClellan finally launched his piecemeal attack after a two-day delay, Lee's desperately courageous army was pushed to the breaking point - and perhaps a bit beyond - but somehow survived.

In what would rank as the bloodiest day of America's bloodiest war, the two armies fought to a tactical standoff on September 17th. More than 20,000 human beings were shot that day, including over 3,500 who gazed upon their final sunrise; yet the carnage had resulted in a clear victory for neither side.

Incredibly, Lee did not retreat that night. The Rebel commander instead defiantly held his battered army in place the following day, offering battle once again. It was a suicidal choice, but fortunately for the Confederates the ever-cautious McClellan declined the invitation.

With his opponent apparently unwilling to renew the attack and Lee himself unable to do so, the only alternative left was retreat.

On the night of September 18th, the weary veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia re-crossed the Potomac onto Virginia soil, leaving the blood-soaked battlefield at Sharpsburg in possession of the enemy. Two event-filled weeks after it began, the Maryland Campaign was over.

Losing the Lost Order

The axis around which this entire, remarkable campaign revolved was Special Orders #191 - the famous Lost Order. How exactly was it lost, and who in the world lost it? These are questions that have never been completely answered

What we do know is this -

At the time Special Orders #191 was created, several copies were made - one copy for each of the commanders directly affected by the orders. Each of these copies was placed inside an envelope and sent to its respective destination by a courier.

Each courier was to deliver the document and return with a signed, empty envelope, which would act as a receipt. All but one of the envelopes were returned and signed as required.

And that's where the mystery begins.

One of the officers directly affected by Special Orders #191 was Daniel Harvey Hill, a division commander in the corps of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Hill's job, as outlined in his orders, was essentially to act as the army's rear guard, while the rest of Jackson's corps operated against Harper's Ferry and Martinsburg.

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