38. The Misplaced Papers That Changed the Course of the Civil War
The fall of 1862 was a low point for the US government and for the Union. The year had started promisingly enough, with a campaign that sought to capture Richmond, but a series of mistakes (see entry 16, below) turned that into a fiasco. Then the Confederates under Robert E. Lee dealt the federals a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Second Bull Run, and early in September, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia invaded Maryland.
Things were looking bleak, with Britain and France on the verge of recognizing the Confederates’ independence, when the Union caught a lucky break. On September 13th, as the Army of the Potomac hurried to catch up with the rebels, Union Corporal Barton Mitchell arrived at a campsite recently vacated by the enemy, and found an envelope with three cigars wrapped in some papers. The papers turned out to be Special Orders No. 191, in which Robert E. Lee spelled out the movements of his forces.