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1862 order issued by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War

Special Order 191 (series 1862), also known as the "Lost Dispatch" and the "Lost Order", was a general movement order issued by Confederate ArmyGeneralRobert E.

Lee on about September 9, 1862, during the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. A lost copy of this order was recovered on September 13 by Union Army troops in Frederick County, Maryland, and read by McClellan, who changed the direction of his movement to conform to Lee's movements the document described.

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 GeneralStonewall Jackson was to move his command to Martinsburg while McLaws's command and