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Special Orders 191
Special Orders # 191 History
Introduction
According to the records, the XII Corps, 1st Division of General Alpheus
Williams, was bivouacked about a mile southeast of Frederick, Maryland, on a meadow occupied the day before by Confederate
General D. H. Hill's command. Around 10 a.m. on the 13th of September, 1862, Private Barton W. Mitchell of the 27th Indiana,
along with Sergeant John M. Bloss, discovered an envelope containing three cigars wrapped in a piece of paper lying in the
grass. The document turned out to be a copy of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's orders for the Invasion of Maryland. The
dispatch was addressed to Confederate General Hill. Passed up through the chain of command, the captured order gave Union
General George B. McClellan advance notice of his enemy's movements. Holding the paper, McClellan exclaimed, "Here is
a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home." (Maryland Civil War History.)
| Lee's Special Orders |
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| (Map reflecting General Lee's "Special Order 191") |
SPECIAL ORDERS No. 191.
HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
September 9, 1862.
I. The citizens of Fredericktown being unwilling, while overrun by members
of his army, to open their stores, in order to give them confidence, and to secure to officers and men purchasing supplies
for benefit of this command, all officers and men of this army are strictly prohibited from visiting Fredericktown except
on business, in which case they will bear evidence of this in writing from division commanders. The provost-marshal in Fredericktown
will see that his guard rigidly enforces this order.
II. Major Taylor will proceed to Leesburg, Va., and arrange for transportation
of the sick and those unable to walk to Winchester, securing the transportation of the country for this purpose. The route
between this and Culpeper Court-House east of the mountains being unsafe will no longer be traveled. Those on the way to this
army already across the river will move up promptly; all others will proceed to Winchester collectively and under command
of officers, at which point, being the general depot of this army, its movements will be known and instructions given by commanding
officer regulating further movements.
III. 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, 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 Harper's
Ferry.
IV. General Longstreet's command will pursue the main road as far
as Boonsborough, where it will halt, with reserve, supply, and baggage trains of the army.
| Special Orders Number 191 Map |
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| Map of Maryland Civil War Battles |
V. 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 Harper's Ferry, and by Friday morning possess himself of the Maryland Heights and endeavor to capture the enemy
at Harper's Ferry and vicinity.
VI. 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,
take possession of Loudoun Heights, if practicable, by Friday morning, Keys' 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, co-operate with Generals McLaws and Jackson,
and intercept retreat of the enemy.
VII. 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 General Hill.
VIII. General Stuart will detach a squadron
of cavalry to accompany the commands of Generals Longstreet, Jackson, and McLaws, and, with the main body of the cavalry,
will cover the route of the army, bringing up all stragglers that may have been left behind.
IX. The commands of Generals 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.
X. Each regiment on the march will habitually
carry its axes in the regimental ordnance wagons, for use of the men at their encampments, to procure wood, &c.
By command of General R. E. Lee:
R. H. CHILTON,
Assistant
Adjutant-General.
Sources: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; National
Park Service; National Archives and Records Administration; Library of Congress.
Recommended Reading: Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam
(Pivotal Moments in American History) (Hardcover).
Description: The bloodiest day in United States history was September 17, 1862, when, during the Civil War battle at Antietam, approximately 6,500 soldiers were killed or mortally wounded, while more than 15,000 were
seriously wounded. James M. McPherson states in Crossroads of Freedom
the concise chronicle of America’s
bloodiest day and that it may well have been the pivotal moment of the war, as well as the young republic itself. Continued
below...
The South, after a series of setbacks in the spring of 1862, had reversed the war's momentum during the
summer, and was on the "brink of military victory" and about to achieve diplomatic recognition by European nations, most notably
England
and France. Though the bulk of his book
concerns itself with the details--and incredible carnage--of the battle, McPherson raises it above typical military histories
by placing it in its socio-political context: The victory prodded Abraham Lincoln to announce his "preliminary" Emancipation
Proclamation, freeing slaves. England and France deferred their economic alliance with the battered secessionists. Most importantly,
it kept Lincoln's party, the Republicans, in control of Congress.
McPherson's account is accessible, elegant, and economical. Also available in paperback:
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam (Pivotal Moments in American
History)
Recommended
Reading: The Antietam Campaign (Military Campaigns of the Civil War).
Description: The Maryland
campaign of September 1862 ranks among the most important military operations of the American Civil War. Crucial political,
diplomatic, and military issues were at stake as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan maneuvered and fought in the western
part of the state. The climactic clash came on September 17 at the battle of Antietam, where
more than 23,000 men fell in the single bloodiest day of the war. Continued below...
Approaching
topics related to Lee's and McClellan's operations from a variety of perspectives, numerous contributors to this volume explore
questions regarding military leadership, strategy, and tactics, the impact of the fighting on officers and soldiers in both
armies, and the ways in which participants and people behind the lines interpreted and remembered the campaign. They also
discuss the performance of untried military units and offer a look at how the United States Army used the Antietam battlefield
as an outdoor classroom for its officers in the early twentieth century. Also available in paperback: The Antietam Campaign (Military Campaigns of the Civil War)
Recommended Reading: General Lee's
Army: From Victory to Collapse. Review: You cannot say that University of North Carolina
professor Glatthaar (Partners in Command) did not do his homework in this massive examination of the Civil War–era lives
of the men in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Glatthaar spent nearly 20 years examining and ordering primary source
material to ferret out why Lee's men fought, how they lived during the war, how they came close to winning, and why they lost.
Glatthaar marshals convincing evidence to challenge the often-expressed notion that the war in the South was a rich man's
war and a poor man's fight and that support for slavery was concentrated among the Southern upper class. Continued below...
Lee's army
included the rich, poor and middle-class, according to the author, who contends that there was broad support for the war in
all economic strata of Confederate society. He also challenges the myth that because Union forces outnumbered and materially
outmatched the Confederates, the rebel cause was lost, and articulates Lee and his army's acumen and achievements in the face
of this overwhelming opposition. This well-written work provides much food for thought for all Civil War buffs.
Recommended
Reading:
ONE CONTINUOUS FIGHT: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863 (Hardcover) (June 2008). Description: The titanic three-day
battle of Gettysburg left 50,000 casualties in its wake, a
battered Southern army far from its base of supplies, and a rich historiographic legacy. Thousands of books and articles cover
nearly every aspect of the battle, but not a single volume focuses on the military aspects of the monumentally important movements
of the armies to and across the Potomac River. One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July
4-14, 1863 is the first detailed military history of Lee's retreat and the Union effort to catch and destroy the wounded Army
of Northern Virginia. Against steep odds and encumbered with thousands of casualties, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee's
post-battle task was to successfully withdraw his army across the Potomac River. Union commander George G. Meade's equally
difficult assignment was to intercept the effort and destroy his enemy. The responsibility for defending the exposed Southern
columns belonged to cavalry chieftain James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart. If Stuart fumbled his famous ride north to Gettysburg, his generalship during the retreat more than redeemed his
flagging reputation. The ten days of retreat triggered nearly two dozen skirmishes and major engagements, including fighting
at Granite Hill, Monterey Pass, Hagerstown, Williamsport, Funkstown,
Boonsboro, and Falling Waters. Continued below...
President Abraham
Lincoln was thankful for the early July battlefield victory, but disappointed that General Meade was unable to surround and
crush the Confederates before they found safety on the far side of the Potomac. Exactly what Meade did to try to intercept the fleeing Confederates, and how the
Southerners managed to defend their army and ponderous 17-mile long wagon train of wounded until crossing into western Virginia on the early morning of July 14, is the subject of this study.
One Continuous Fight draws upon a massive array of documents, letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and published primary
and secondary sources. These long-ignored foundational sources allow the authors, each widely known for their expertise in
Civil War cavalry operations, to describe carefully each engagement. The result is a rich and comprehensive study loaded with
incisive tactical commentary, new perspectives on the strategic role of the Southern and Northern cavalry, and fresh insights
on every engagement, large and small, fought during the retreat. The retreat from Gettysburg
was so punctuated with fighting that a soldier felt compelled to describe it as "One Continuous Fight." Until now, few students
fully realized the accuracy of that description. Complimented with 18 original maps, dozens of photos, and a complete driving
tour with GPS coordinates of the entire retreat, One Continuous Fight is an essential book for every student of the American
Civil War in general, and for the student of Gettysburg in
particular. About the Authors: Eric J. Wittenberg has written widely on Civil War cavalry operations. His books include Glory
Enough for All (2002), The Union Cavalry Comes of Age (2003), and The Battle of Monroe's Crossroads and the Civil War's Final
Campaign (2005). He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
J. David Petruzzi is the author of several magazine articles on Eastern Theater cavalry operations, conducts tours of cavalry
sites of the Gettysburg Campaign, and is the author of the popular "Buford's Boys." A long time student of the Gettysburg
Campaign, Michael Nugent is a retired US Army Armored Cavalry Officer and the descendant of a Civil War Cavalry soldier. He
has previously written for several military publications. Nugent lives in Wells, Maine.
Recommended Reading: Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox
(Civil War America). Description: Never
did so large a proportion of the American population leave home for an extended period and produce such a detailed record
of its experiences in the form of correspondence, diaries, and other papers as during the Civil War. Based on research in
more than 1,200 wartime letters and diaries by more than 400 Confederate officers and enlisted men, this book offers a compelling
social history of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during its final year, from May 1864 to April 1865. Continued
below…
Organized in a chronological framework, the book uses the words of the soldiers themselves to provide a
view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege--from the battles in the Wilderness to the
final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the
causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front, the debate over arming black men in the Confederacy, and the
causes of Confederate defeat. Remarkably rich and detailed, Lee's Miserables offers a fresh look at one of the most-studied
Civil War armies.
Recommended Reading: The Civil
War Battlefield Guide: The Definitive Guide, Completely Revised, with New Maps and More Than 300 Additional Battles
(Second Edition) (Hardcover). Description: This new
edition of the definitive guide to Civil War battlefields is really a completely new book. While the first edition covered
60 major battlefields, from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, the second covers all of the 384
designated as the "principal battlefields" in the American Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report. Continued
below.
As in the first edition, the essays are authoritative and concise, written by such leading Civil War
historians as James M. McPherson, Stephen W. Sears, Edwin C. Bearss, James I. Robinson, Jr., and Gary W. Gallager. The second
edition also features 83 new four-color maps covering the most important battles. The Civil War Battlefield Guide is an essential
reference for anyone interested in the Civil War. "Reading this book is like being
at the bloodiest battles of the war..."
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