Who Lost Special Order 191?

Who Lost Special Order 191

Suzanne Marsh

General Robert E. Lee sent for his Assistant Adjutant General, R. H. Chilton; Chilton arrived moments after being summoned. Chilton wrote as Lee dictated Special Order 191, General Lee’s Maryland Campaign. The document had eight recipients: Generals Jackson, Longstreet, Walker, Stuart, McLaws, Taylor, and DH Hill, and President Jefferson Davis. The question was, who lost Special Order 191?

9 September 1862, Best Farm, Maryland

“Hey, sergeant, looky what I found, some cigars with this here piece of paper wrapped around

them.” The sergeant took the cigars, then promptly read the dispatch, his eyes widening as he read it. He quickly sent the Confederate dispatch up the chain of command to Major General George B. McClellan. After being handed Special Order 191, McClellan read the order with amazement and joy. The order was the Battle Plan for Sharpsburg/Antietam. McClellan began to scrutinize the plan. The first several paragraphs had no real bearing on the plan; he then got to the crux of the message:

“3. The army will resume its march tomorrow, taking the Hagerstown road. General Jackson’s

command, will form the advance, and, after passing Middletown with such portion as he

may select, take the route toward Sharpsburg, and cross the Potomac at the most convenient

point, and by Friday morning, take possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, capture

such of them as may be at Martinsburg, and intercept such as may attempt to escape from

Harpers Ferry.

4. General Longstreet’s command will pursue the same road as far as Boonsborough, where it

will halt, with reserve, supply, and baggage trains of the army.

5. General McLaws, with his own division and that of General R. H. Anderson, will follow

General Longstreet. On reaching Middletown will take the route to Harpers Ferry, and by Friday

morning possess himself of the Maryland Heights and endeavor to capture the enemy at

Harpers Ferry and vicinity.

6. General Walker, with his division, after accomplishing the object in which he is now engaged,

will cross the Potomac at Cheek’s Ford, ascend its right bank to Lovettsville, and take possession

of Loudoun Heights, if practicable, by Friday morning, Key’s Ford on his left, and the road

between the end of the mountain and the Potomac on his right. He will, as far as practicable,

cooperate with Generals McLaws and Jackson, and intercept the retreat of the enemy.

7. General D.H. Hill’s division will form the rear guard of the army, pursuing the road taken by

the main body. The reserve artillery,, ordnance, and supply trains, &c., will precede Generals

Hill.

8. General Stuart will detach a squadron of cavalry to accompany the commands of Generals

Longstreet, Jackson, and McLaws, and, with the main body of cavalry, will cover the

The route of the army, bringing up all stragglers that may have been left behind.

9. The commands of General Jackson, McLaws, and Walker after accomplishing the objects

for which they have been detached, will join the main body of the army at Boonsborough or

Hagerstown.

10. Each regiment of the march will habitually carry its axes in the regimental ordnance wagons,

for the use of the men at their encampments, to procure wood &c.

By command of General R. E. Lee

R.H. Chilton, Assistant Adjutant General

McClellan, his eyes wide with excitement as he exclaimed:

“Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.”

McClellan, with the battle plan for the Maryland Campaign, could not understand how someone could lose such an important document. Robert E. Lee, when told about missing Special Order 191, was beside himself. Who was the careless courier who lost the order? There is still a great deal of debate as to how and why it happened. It was a victory for the Union and a disaster for the Confederacy. This was General Robert E. Lee’s first battle on Union soil.

McClellan began his pursuit of Lee into Maryland on September 1, 1862; Lee had the defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. McClellan sent General Joseph Hooker’s corp into the fray. Hooker mounted a powerful assault on Lee’s left flank. McClellan had the advantage of knowing the battle plan; it was a blow to Lee to have lost the battle.

Who actually lost Special Order 191? There were actually nine of the Special Order 191, “Stonewall Jackson sent a copy to General Daniel Harvey Hill, his brother-in-law, since Hill swore until the day he died that he had received only one copy and that was from Jackson. Was Hill’s copy the one that was found by the 27th Indiana? That is one possibility.

R. L. Chilton, the assistant adjutant to General R.E. Lee, states that he sent one of the Special Order 191 to D.H. Hill; that is the one that was believed to have been found and given to McClellan. Chilton suffered from memory loss as he got older; he could not remember which courier he had sent with the special order.

The last suspect is Henry Kyd Douglas, a courier whom Chilton might have used. Douglas smoked cigars. He appears to be the most likely candidate. Douglas had no idea he had misplaced the order. That does not say much for a man entrusted to carry information. Truthfully, Douglas was no doubt the courier who lost the order that was going to Daniel Harvey Hill.

One small mistake, one error in judgment, that was all that was required for the major Confederate loss at Sharpsburg. Lee should have realized when McClellan changed his tactics that something was wrong. McClellan was a decent General but he did not want to destroy the army he had built. He should have hit Lee at Sharpsburg with all the divisions, yes, the Union was victorious those few days.

Lee, did eventually plan an invasion of the North. Gettysburg, a small town in Pennsylvania, became the high-water mark of the Confederacy. The entire Confederate army was there; they lost the battle and eventually the war.

One small piece of paper, wrapped around some cigars, made a great deal of difference. It gave the Union a victory. President Lincoln replaced McClellan several times. Why? McClellan could not destroy the thing he loved most, the army he had built up. Robert E. Lee was willing to destroy the thing he loved most, the Army of Northern Virginia.