37. The Lost Orders Save the Union
The fortuitously-found Special Orders No. 191 were rocketed up the chain of command, until they reached General George B. McClellan, the Union commander. McClellan was pleasantly surprised to discover that Lee’s army was spread out, and that the Union had a golden opportunity to defeat the rebels’ scattered units one by one, before they had a chance to concentrate. Unfortunately, McClellan was not that good at seizing golden opportunities.
Lee concentrated his army, just in time to fight a major battle at Antietam Creek on September 17th, 1862. The result was the bloodiest day in American history, with a combined tally of over 22,000 dead, wounded, and missing. McClellan had a chance to finish off Lee’s army, but failed to do. Nonetheless, the horrific casualties ended Lee’s Maryland Campaign, and forced him to withdraw to Virginia. The Confederates never came as close again to winning the war as they did that September of 1862.