Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Special Order No. 191

Robert E. Lee issued Special Order 191 during the Maryland campaign, before the Battle of Antietam. A copy of the order having been lost, was recovered by Union soldiers of the 27th Indiana on the Best Farm in Maryland. The order provided the Union Army with valuable information concerning the Army of Northern Virginia’s movements and campaign plans. Upon receiving Lee’s “Lost Order”, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, leading the Union Army of the Potomac, would exclaim “Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.” The practical value of this intelligence, which was quickly growing obsolescent, continues to be the subject of much debate.