BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Monocacy Natl Battlefield -- Visitor Center -- Special Exhibit: The Return of Special Orders 191

MD -- Monocacy Natl Battlefield -- Visitor Center -- Special Exhibit: The Return of Special Orders 191:

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1. MONOOR_120803_002.JPG: The Return of Special Orders 191 August 1 - October 31, 2012 In commemoration of the 1862 Maryland Campaign, for the first time in 150 years, the famous lost copy of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Special Orders 191 is returning to the site where it was originally written. Join us for these special events where we will unravel the mysteries surrounding the Orders and learn why it was so important to the history of the Civil War.
2. MONOOR_120803_016.JPG: Lee Issues Special Orders 191: Lee's army camped on the Best Farm from September 6-10, 1862. Here, Lee learned that the Federal garrisons at Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry had failed to evacuate as he had hoped, so he formulated a plan to force them to surrender. Lee would divide his army, a dangerous move especially in enemy territory. His plan, laid out in Special Orders 191, was written and distributed by his Assistant Adjutant-General Robert Hall Chilton on September 9. These orders directed the movements of the Confederate army over the next several days -- September 10-12, 1862. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was tasked with recrossing the Potomac to capture Union forces at Martinsburg and cut off the escape of the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry. General Lafayette McLaws was ordered to take Maryland Heights, and General John G. Walker was to take possession of Loudoun Heights, both of which loomed over Harpers Ferry. Together they would force the surrender of the garrison and capture any Federals who attempted to flee. While the three detached Confederate forces closed in on Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, General James Longstreet moved to Boonsboro with the rest of the army. General Daniel Harvey (D.H.) Hill formed the rear guard as they left Frederick, with General James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart's cavalry covering the rear and watching for the Union army. After finishing their assignments, the entire army was to regroup in either Boonsboro or Hagerstown. From there, Lee planned to march the army north into Pennsylvania and draw McClellan into battle. Special Orders 191 Lost: Before the orders were written, D.H. Hill fell under the command of Jackson. As such, he received his orders directly from Jackson. Special Orders 191 gave Hill a new role as an independent commander and Chilton took it upon himself to pencil Hill a copy of the orders. Hill was sent the orders from Jackson, which he kept, and also from Chilton, which he said never made it to his camp. The "Lost Order" was the copy Chilton sent to Hill.
3. MONOOR_120803_021.JPG: Special Orders 191 Discovered by Union Soldiers: On September 13, 1862, as the Union army moved into the Frederick area, McClellan remained uncertain of Lee's intentions and whereabouts. Soldiers on a skirmish line from Company F, 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, XII Corps, found Special Orders 191 as they were resting from their early morning march. Finding the copy of Special Orders 191 was an intelligence coup because it described the locations of Lee's army. "Moved forward out to discover no enemy and halted near the city limits in a meadow; it was a warm morning and when we halted we threw ourselves on the ground to rest." -- Private William H. Hostetter, Company A, 27th Indiana McClellan received the copy of the orders by noon. At 3:00 pm, he sent the orders to his cavalry chief, General Alfred Pleasanton instructing him to verify to what extent they had been followed. Armed with information on the Confederate army's location and Lee's intentions, McClellan planned to isolate the fragmented Confederate army and destroy it. Lee was surprised that the Union army moved more quickly than usual. Upon learning about the lost orders after the campaign, Lee understand the change saying, "to discover my whereabouts... caused him to act as to force a battle on me before I was ready for it. I would have had all my troops reconcentrated... stragglers up, men rested and intended then to attack." The delay at Harpers Ferry, which fell three days behind schedule, was critical to the relevance of the information in Special Orders 191. If Jackson had been on schedule, the finding of the orders would have been "old news" and of limited value to McClellan. The fact that the operation was still active made the information invaluable and forced Lee into battles at South Mountain and Antietam. Rangers have used Ezra Carman's annotated maps of the 1862 MD campaign, Edmond Brown's The Twenty-Sixth Indiana Volunteers regimental history, along with soldiers' interviews and letters to reconstruct the route of the 27th Indiana Volunteers as they entered into Frederick and found the lost orders. "I have the whole rebel force in front of me, but am confident, and no time shall be lost... I think Lee has made a gross mistake and that he will be severely punished for it... I hope for a great success if the plans of the Rebels remain unchanged... I have all the plans of the Rebels and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency..." -- Message from McClellan to Lincoln After the War: In post war years, soldiers' memories faded and the identities of the persons credited with finding the orders changed several times. However, Sergeant John M. Bloss, commander of the skirmish line, wrote a letter thirteen days later, containing a few details about finding the orders. In this unpublished letter, Bloss said Corporal Barton Mitchell found the orders in a wheat field, under a locust tree, with two cigars.
4. MONOOR_120803_027.JPG: Lee Takes the War into the North: Intent on taking the war into the North after the crushing Confederate victory at Second Manassas, General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River into Maryland in September 1862. The Confederacy wanted to encourage European powers to recognize it as a separate nation, crush northern morale, and force President Abraham Lincoln to sue for peace. Lee hoped to isolate Washington, DC from the west by destroying railroads and opening communications south through the Shenandoah Valley by forcing the evacuation of Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry. Lee hoped these actions would draw the Army of the Potomac into battle on a field of his own choosing. Excerpt from an Editorial in the Richmond Dispatch, Sept. 17, 1862: "He [McClellan] has caused to us in Virginia a loss of at least thirty thousand negroes, the most valuable property a Virginian can own. They have no negroes in Pennsylvania. Retaliation must therefore fall upon something else, and let it fall upon everything that constitutes property. A Dutch farmer had no negroes but he has horses that can be seized, grain that can be confiscated, cattle that can be killed and houses that can be burnt." Confederates Arrive in Frederick: Lee's army was ragged, but after their victory at Manassas, they crossed into Maryland with high spirits believing that the Marylanders would rally to their flag. They were disappointed, however, with a cooler reception than they had anticipated; only 130 men were recruited. As word spread that Confederates were on their way toward Frederick; citizens began to prepare. Farmers drove their stock into Pennsylvania and many citizens left town. Confederate sympathizer Catherine Markell, remarked in her diary, "Rumors of the approach of the Confederate army -- Federals are burning their stores and skadaddling." Civil War Guessing Game: General George B. McClellan moved the Army of the Potomac away from Washington, uncertain if the Confederate army was marching on Washington, Baltimore, into Pennsylvania or re-crossing the Potomac. He advanced with three columns to cover all potential movements. His scouts could not penetrate the Confederate cavalry who masked Lee's movements. In addition, General Henry Halleck, Union General in Chief, feared Lee might draw McClellan and the army away from Washington, then turn and attack the city. "Never has the army been so dirty, ragged, and ill-provided-for as on this march." -- General J.R. Jones, Commander of Jackson's division "We were rather disappointed at our reception, which was decidedly cool, this wasn't what we expected." -- Alexander Hunter, with Colonel Bradley Jefferson and the 2nd Maryland, CSA
5. MONOOR_120803_072.JPG: Corporal Barton Mitchell mustered into the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry on September 1861 at the age of 45. He is credited with discovering Special Orders 191 while marching through Frederick MD. Mitchell was wounded at the Battle of Antietam and spent eight months recovering in a Philadelphia hospital before returning to his regiment. He mustered out of the army in September 1864, returning home to Hartville, Indiana, where he operated a sawmill until his death in January 1868. During the few years from the end of the Civil War until his death, Mitchell embarked on a writing campaign hoping to receive "remuneration from Congress" for his part in finding the famous lost orders. The following letters, exchanges between Mitchell and persons he hoped could assist in his cause, are some of the earliest primary sources related to the Orders and remain part of the Mitchell family collection. The letter from John McKnight Bloss to Mitchell, both soldiers in the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, is in response to a letter that Mitchell sent him in early 1867. Bloss indicates that Mitchell had inquired about Bloss's recollection of the contents of the orders. Mitchell was likely trying to document the importance of the orders. Also of interest is Bloss's reference to he and Mitchell being the only abolitionists in the camp, showing a former connection between the two comrades in addition to fighting together. Mitchell secured this "certification" as proof that he was the finder of Special Orders 191 to further substantiate his claim. Dated March 9, 1867 and signed by Colonel Silus Colgrove, Colonel of the 27th Indiana and F. Colgrove, a major in the 27th Indiana. On June 30, 1867, Mitchell wrote to James C. Wetmore, Ohio Military Agent in Washington, DC for assistance with his claim. The Washington office closed a month before Mitchell wrote this letter. Wetmore continued to process claims, but it is unknown if he forwarded Mitchell's claim to Congress. Barton Mitchell died on January 29, 1868. In 1870 his son William took up his fathers cause, corresponding with former Union General George B. McClellan and Colonel Colgrove. Here the trail goes cold, and Mitchell never received the commendation he had hoped for from Congress. Mitchell is, however, most often credited as the soldier who found the orders by historians writing about the 1862 Maryland Campaign.
6. MONOOR_120803_079.JPG: Mitchell secured this "certification" as proof that he was the finder of Special Orders 191 to further substantiate his claim. Dated March 9, 1867 and signed by Colonel Silus Colgrove, Colonel of the 27th Indiana and F. Colgrove, a major in the 27th Indiana.
7. MONOOR_120803_096.JPG: On June 30, 1867, Mitchell wrote to James C. Wetmore, Ohio Military Agent in Washington, DC for assistance with his claim. The Washington office closed a month before Mitchell wrote this letter. Wetmore continued to process claims, but it is unknown if he forwarded Mitchell's claim to Congress.
8. MONOOR_120803_106.JPG: The letter from John McKnight Bloss to Mitchell, both soldiers in the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, is in response to a letter that Mitchell sent him in early 1867. Bloss indicates that Mitchell had inquired about Bloss's recollection of the contents of the orders. Mitchell was likely trying to document the importance of the orders. Also of interest is Bloss's reference to he and Mitchell being the only abolitionists in the camp, showing a former connection between the two comrades in addition to fighting together.
9. MONOOR_120803_111.JPG: John McKnight Bloss enlisted in the 27th Indiana Volunteer Infantry on August 9, 1861, at the age of 22. During the 1862 Maryland Campaign, Bloss was Sergeant of the skirmishers from the 27th Indiana leading the march of the of XII Corps into Frederick, MD. Bloss was with Barton Mitchell when the later [sic] discovered Special Orders 191. Upon reading the orders, Bloss had the document sent up the chain of command. On September 25th, twelve days after the orders were found, Bloss wrote a letter from a field hospital after the Battle of Antietam. In this letter, Bloss provides several interesting observations about the orders. This unpublished letter is the closest primary source to the finding of the orders, and provided several interesting observations that resolves several "mysteries" that surround the lost orders. In this letter, Bloss clearly identifies Barton Mitchell as the finder of Lee's "plan of attack." Bloss says he was with Mitchell and was the first to read the orders and understood its importance. Bloss continued by saying, "he [McClellan] pushed the same day and I think his expedition [of] his movements kept [the] enemy from uniting at the point they had intended." Bloss also observed that the dispatch was found "in a wheat field, under a Locas Tree [locust tree], with two cigars." While not significant to the importance of the orders, it is significant to the circumstances surrounding the actual finding of the letter, which has intrigued both amateur and professional historians. Bloss resigned from the army on October 17, 1864 as a result of a serious wound he received at the Battle of Resaca in Georgia. He spent the rest Of [sic] his life as an educator, ultimately serving as President of the State Agricultural College of Oregon (now Oregon State University). Bloss returned to Indiana in 1896, and died on April 26, 1906 on his farm in Hamilton County.
10. MONOOR_120803_123.JPG: In this letter, Bloss clearly identifies Barton Mitchell as the finder of Lee's "plan of attack." Bloss says he was with Mitchell and was the first to read the orders and understood its importance. Bloss continued by saying, "he [McClellan] pushed the same day and I think his expedition [of] his movements kept [the] enemy from uniting at the point they had intended." Bloss also observed that the dispatch was found "in a wheat field, under a Locas Tree [locust tree], with two cigars." While not significant to the importance of the orders, it is significant to the circumstances surrounding the actual finding of the letter, which has intrigued both amateur and professional historians.
11. MONOOR_120803_137.JPG: Sword carried by John McKnight Bloss during the Civil War
12. MONOOR_120803_141.JPG: Who Lost the Orders? Written orders were delivered in envelopes that required a signature to be returned to headquarters as a receipt. However, when the envelope containing the copy of Special Orders 191 sent by Chilton directly to D.H. Hill was not returned, no alarm was raised at Lee's headquarters. D.H. Hill became the obvious scapegoat since his name was on the orders and he spent many years after the war defending himself against accusations that he lost them. Hill understood the sensitive nature of the orders and was able to produce his copy which he had pinned securely into his jacket. His Adjutant, Major James W. Richford, provided sword testimony that it was his duty to take custody of orders, and that no orders had been delivered to him except the one from Jackson. In 1874, Chilton responded to former Confederate President Jefferson Davis' questions about the loss of the orders saying, "That omission to deliver in his (the courier's) case so important an order w'd have been recollected as entailing the duty to advise its loss, to guard against its consequences, and to act as required... But I could not of course say positively that I had sent any particular courier to him (Hill) after such a lapse of time." He admitted that someone should have noticed that the orders were missing. Interestingly, both D.H. Hill and Walker understood the importance of the orders and pinned it in an inside pocket of their jackets. Longstreet said he thought about doing the same but decided instead to memorize the orders then "chewed it up."
13. MONOOR_120803_145.JPG: Interestingly, both D.H. Hill and Walker understood the importance of the orders and pinned it in an inside pocket of their jackets. Longstreet said he thought about doing the same but decided instead to memorize the orders then "chewed it up." When Did Lee Know about the Loss of Special Orders 191? A popular story contends that when McClellan received the orders he was meeting with a delegation of men from Frederick. Among these men was a sympathizer who told "Jeb" Stuart the orders had been found. Perhaps a civilian was present who saw that there was excitement in the Union camp, and that the army began to prepare to move; however, there is no conclusive evidence that the Confederates were alerted to the find. In a September 16, 1862 letter to President Davis, Lee gave no indication that he knew about the lost orders. There was also no mention of it in war time reports by Confederate generals. Lee's aide-de-camp, Colonel Charles Marshall noted in an 1867 letter to D.H. Hill, "I remember perfectly that until we saw that report (General McClellan's report of the campaign issued in 1863) General Lee frequently expressed his inability to understand the sudden change in McClellan's tactics after the Union army reached Frederick." How Did McClellan Know the Orders Were Genuine? The men of the 27th Indiana passed the orders up the Union chain of command. It came into the hands of Colonel Samuel E. Pittman, who authenticated the orders by identifying Chilton's signature. Prior to the war, Pittman had been a teller at Michigan State Bank in Detroit at the same time Chilton was the paymaster for the army stationed there. As paymaster, Chilton kept an account at the bank and Pittman was familiar with his signature on checks and account records. The Orders Today: At present there are three known original copies of Special Orders 191 in existence. D.H. Hill's copy resides at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The National Archives retains a copy. The Orders found by the Union Army stayed in General McClellan's possession for the remainder of his life. Between 1911 and 1916, his son, George B. McClellan, donated several collections of papers, including Special Orders 191, to the Library of Congress.
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2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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