Special Orders 191

Always amazed at how the tides of history can change due to one minor incident. Lee was pressing north towards Pennsylvania and DC. He believed that Confederate victory on northern soil and the presence of his army near the Capitol so close to the election of 1862 might sway war weary voters to press for peace.
Stonewall Jackson successfully captured Harper's Ferry after several days of fighting but it was there that the Civil War arguably turned against the Confederacy. Someone found Lee's Special Orders 191 wrapped around some cigars on the battlefield.
They revealed Lee's strategy to move north with his divided forces and gave McClellan the chance to strike Lee near Sharpsburg, MD, or Antietam. The day would prove to be the bloodiest in our history. Only the arrival of reinforcements from Harper's Ferry saved Lee's army from total defeat and while history calls the battle a draw the losses were so significant Lee was forced to abandon his planned invasion of the north.

Antietam

Although hardly a military victory, Lincoln used Lee's withdrawal to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and change the focus of the war effort. The combination of being thwarted at Antietam and the Proclamation effectively ended any chance of foreign support for the Confederacy.
All found wrapped around some smokes. And what soldier wouldn't pick up a bundle of cigars?