Sometimes the course of human history is latered by the actions of men and women that are well-known to us, and then
Copy of Lost Order displayed at Crampton’s Gap, Maryland.
sometimes the person is someone who no one knows or little remembers. On September 13, 1862 Corporal Barton W. Mitchell,of the 27th Indiana Volunteers, part of the Union XII Corps, became one of the later. On that date, Mitchell discovered an envelope with three cigars wrapped in a piece of paper at a campground recently vacated by Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill, a subordinate of Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Mitchell realized the significance of the find and gave it to his Sargent John M Bloss. The papers went up the chain of command along the way an aide to Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams….
…. recognized the signature of R. H. Chilton, the assistant adjutant-general who had signed the order. Williams forwarded the dispatch to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, the commander of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan was overcome with glee at learning planned Confederate troop movements and reportedly exclaimed, “Now I know what to do!” He confided to a subordinate, “Here is a paper with which, if I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home!
The orders that Mitchell found Special Order 191 were general movement order issued by Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee, during his Maryland Campaign, a planned invasion of the north. The subsequent military intelligence gained by the Union commanders, from the finding of the orders, played an important role in the Battle of South Mountain and Battle of Antietam!
The Battle of Antietam was fought nine days later on September 22nd, and while McClellan was able to stop Lee’s planned invasion of the north many military historians speculate that he failed to exploit the advantages obtained from the finding of the orders! As he had done, McCellan may have out thought himself, either through concerns about a possible trap (as postulated by Maj. Gen, Henry W. Halleck) or by a gross overestimation of the strength of Lee’s Army. (that sounds familiar can you say the Peninsula Campaign)!
Both armies suffered heavy loses and Lee’s Army retreated. On September 22nd President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. In November of 1862 McCellan was relieved of his command. This was followed in December by Lee’s victory at Fredricksburg … and the war raged on!!
In his Southern Victory series of alternative history novels Harry Turtledove creates a scenario were the orders are not discovered by Mitchell, but rather a Confederate soldier. Without the intelligence McCellan can’t find Lee’s army and the Battle of Antietam isn’t fought. From Wikipedia:
…Lee reaches Philadelphia and forces McClellan to fight in an unfavorable position. The Confederate States of America is able to crush the Army of the Potomac at Camp Hill, securing with the win support from Britain and France, so the Emancipation Proclamation never occurs, and the Union is forced to give the Confederate states independence.
So what became of this soldier who may have saved the Union….Corporal Mitchell was wounded in the leg at Antietam. Chronic infections resulting from the wound resulted in Mitchell’s discharge in 1864 and death in 1868 at the age of 52.
So on this day when Mitchell’s discovery may have saved the Union, we extend a hearty thanks to an unsung hero!!