What was Special Order 191?
Q: What was Special Order 191?
A: Special Order 191 was a handwritten order issued by Robert E. Lee in early September 1862, detailing his planned troop movements during his Maryland Campaign intended to win the American Civil War.
Q: What happened to the document?
A: The document was recovered by Union soldiers and passed on to Major general George B. McClellan.
Q: How did the intelligence affect McClellan's actions?
A: The intelligence gave McClellan details of how Lee had weakened his forces by splitting them up into several columns and laid out where each part of his army was to be at any given time. McClellan, usually very slow to act, moved his forces more quickly this time.
Q: What was Lee's reaction to McClellan's movements?
A: By the night of September 14, 1862, Lee was no longer following his plan of attack. He was now reacting to McClellan's troop movements.
Q: What was Lee's main problem after the intelligence was discovered?
A: Lee's main problem became how to keep his army from being destroyed.
Q: What made Special Order 191 particularly valuable intelligence?
A: Special Order 191 was particularly valuable intelligence because it gave rare, detailed information about a battle plan that few battle commanders would ever have access to.
Q: What was the significance of the Maryland Campaign in the American Civil War?
A: The Maryland Campaign was significant in the American Civil War because it gave the Union Army a critical victory at Antietam, which was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. The victory also gave President Lincoln the political capital he needed to announce the Emancipation Proclamation.
