Description:

DANIEL H. HILL
(1821 - 1889) Confederate lieutenant general, called 'D.H. Hill' to distinguish him from A.P. Hill, served with distinction in various campaigns of the war but was largely underutilized towards the end of the war due to political feuds with Robert E. Lee and Braxton Bragg. HILL SEARCHES FOR THE FAMOUS 'LOST ORDER' Historically important A.L.S. 'Husband', 2pp. 8vo., 'Near Chattanooga', Sep. 29, 1863 to his wife Isabella - whose own sister was married to Stonewall Jackson. Hill writes, in small part: '...We are lying here in consequence of not pushing the Yankees [we] will have another great battle to fight. Our[?] Chief is an imbecile.This must be a season of great anxiety to wives, who can see no faults in their liege lord. ...I am glad that you are not like some wives & I must sincerely hope that a disaster to me would only cause a passing pang...[?] that not another human being would shed a tear. It is better so...Surely I have abundant cause to be grateful to Almighty God...I hope that you will try to preserve my military papers from Yankee raiders. I wrote to you that some of the papers were saying that Lee's failure in Maryland was owing to my losing an order from him [?] at Frederick. Please look among my papers & see if it is not among them...' Two bits of mounting at pe at top margin on verso, else near fine. Just prior to the battle of Antietam, a Union corporal stumbled across an order from Lee wrapped about two cigars, found at the site of Hill's former camp. This 'Lost Order' order essentially laid out Lee's order of battle for Antietam. Luckily for the Confederates, the over-cautious McClellan failed to take full advantage of this vital information, but the battle still remained an overall Union victory. Adjutant Robert H. Chilton penned copies of the letter and endorsed them in Lee's name. In reality, staff officers had distributed copies to various Confederate generals. Jackson in turn copied the document for one of his subordinates, D. H. Hill, who was to exercise independent command as the rear guard. Hill said the only copy he received was the one from Jackson, and that no second order had been sent to him. Clearly here, a year later, Hill has no indication of the location of the Jackson (or Chilton!) orders.

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September 10, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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