About the Book
The discovery of Robert E. Lee's Special Orders No. 191 outside of Frederick, Maryland, on September 13, 1862, is one of the most important and hotly disputed events of the American Civil War. For more than 150 years, historians have debated if George McClellan, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, dawdled upon receiving a copy of the orders before advancing to challenge Lee's forces at the Battle of South Mountain. In this detailed new study, authors Gene Thorp and Alexander Rossino exhaustively document how 'Little Mac' rapidly reorganized his army, advanced on Frederick with more speed than previously thought, and then moved with uncharacteristic energy to take advantage of Lee's divided forces. These actions enabled McClellan to strike a blow that wrecked Lee's plans for a decisive battle on his own terms and sent the Army of Northern Virginia reeling back toward the Potomac River. The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, the Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee's Lost Orders proposes a rich, new interpretation of the fate and impact of the Lost Orders on the history of the 1862 Maryland Campaign. AUTHORS: Born in Baltimore, Gene Thorp is a senior cartographer at the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Geographer. He spent 15 years as an award-winning graphics editor at The Washington Post covering daily stories from the 2000 Bush-Gore election to the rise and fall of the Islamic State. His custom maps can be found in numerous non-fiction books on the New York Times Best-Seller list and throughout museums and parks across America. Award-winning author and historian Alexander B. Rossino resides near Boonsboro, Maryland. He worked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (1994-2003) and is the author of Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity, an acclaimed history of the policies implemented by the Third Reich during its 1939 invasion of the Polish Republic, and more than a dozen scholarly articles and book reviews. Dr. Rossino is also the author of the deeply researched and beautifully written Six Days in September, a novel about Lee's Army in Maryland during the 1862 campaign, as well as Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862 (2021), a historical study of the same period. He is currently anticipating the release of The Guns of September: A Novel of McClellan's Army in Maryland, 1862, a companion to Six Days in September. 17 images, 7 maps
About the Author :
Born in Baltimore, Gene Thorp is a senior cartographer at the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Geographer. He spent 15 years as an award-winning graphics editor at The Washington Post covering daily stories from the 2000 Bush-Gore election to the rise and fall of the Islamic State. His custom maps can be found in numerous non-fiction books on the New York Times Best-Seller list and throughout museums and parks across America. Award-winning author and historian Alexander B. Rossino resides near Boonsboro, Maryland. He worked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (1994-2003) and is the author of Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity, an acclaimed history of the policies implemented by the Third Reich during its 1939 invasion of the Polish Republic, and more than a dozen scholarly articles and book reviews. Dr. Rossino is also the author of the deeply researched and beautifully written Six Days in September, a novel about Lee’s Army in Maryland during the 1862 campaign, as well as Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862 (2021), a historical study of the same period. He is currently anticipating the release of The Guns of September: A Novel of McClellan’s Army in Maryland, 1862, a companion to Six Days in September.
Review :
"...Thorp and Rossino offer readers a masterful summary of the period September 7-15. Clarity abounds in the narrative, but the book's dynamic and highly detailed maps (many of which are two-page spreads) provide what amounts to a daily military chessboard. In research, argumentation, and overall presentation, Thorp and Rossino's study shows how going about the process of changing minds influenced by generations of printed misinformation is properly done. Theirs is a refreshing and essential new addition to the 1862 Maryland Campaign literature."-- "Civil War Books and Authors"
"A clear, extremely well-researched study exploring when Lee's famous 'Lost Orders, ' S.O. 191, came into McClellan's possession and how he responded to them. It is good history and anyone with an interest in the 1862 Maryland Campaign will find it a fascinating and illuminating read."--D. Scott Hartwig, author of To Antietam Creek
"This well-documented and logical explanation of the controversial Lee's 'Lost Orders' debate finally puts the actions of General George McClellan in a proper context. Before a single Union soldier took a step in response to any order based on finding S.O. 191, Lee remarked that he found the Union army 'advancing more rapidly than convenient.' Now we know why."--Thomas G. Clemens, ed., The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Vols. 1-3
"Thorp and Rossino make a very persuasive case for McClellan having received the Lost Orders in mid-afternoon and sending his dispatch to Lincoln at midnight on September 13, 1862. If I were writing my Antietam book today, I would follow their account."--James M. McPherson, author of Crossroads of Freedom
"Who Lost the Lost Orders? is the greatest single mystery of the Civil War. But chasing its answer has frequently distracted attention from the larger mystery of what George B. McClellan did with the discovery of the Lost Orders. For almost a century-and-a-half, opinion has followed McClellan's legion of critics in blaming him for 'dawdling, ' even with the greatest intelligence coup of the war in his hands. Gene Thorp and Alexander Rossino beg, very pointedly, to differ. In The Tale Untwisted, they offer an alternative view, with McClellan in heated pursuit of the Confederate army, managing a badly demoralized and hastily improvised Army of the Potomac and deploring a lackluster surrender of Harpers Ferry that ought never to have occurred."--Allen C. Guelzo, author of Robert E. Lee: A Life and Gettysburg: The Last Invasion
"Thorpe and Rossino tell the story in a clear, engaging style, with numerous primary references, supported by many splendid maps. Their analysis lends depth and texture to our understanding of the role of the " Lost Orders" in the campaign. The Tale Untwisted, which is likely to prove contentious, is highly recommended, a "must have" for anyone interested in the Eastern Theatre, Antietam, or George McClellan."-- "The NYMAS Review"
