Lee’s Lost Order was a copy of Special Orders No. 191, issued by Confederate General Robert E. Lee on September 9, 1862, during the Maryland Campaign. The orders divided his army by sending six Confederate divisions south to attack the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry and three divisions north to Hagerstown on a foraging mission. Four days later, on September 13, two Union soldiers from the 27th Indiana found a copy of the order wrapped around cigars in an abandoned Confederate camp at Frederick, Maryland. This copy was meant for General D.H. Hill. The order was passed on to General George B. McClellan, who said, “Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.” McClellan responded by taking steps to prevent Lee from reuniting his forces.
- Maryland Campaign
- Battle of South Mountain
- Battle of Harpers Ferry
- Battle of Antietam
- Battle of Shepherdstown
AP US History
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