Group - Timeline-191

Timeline-191 is a fan name given to a series of Harry Turtledove alternate history novels, including How Few Remain as well as the Great War, American Empire, and Settling Accounts series. The name is derived from Robert E. Lee's Special Order 191, which detailed the Army of Northern Virginia's invasion of the Union in September 1862 during the American Civil War. The divergence occurs when Union forces do not find a copy of Special Order 191, on September 10, 1862. The novels detail the consequences of this up until 1944 in the alternate world. In reality, before the Battle of Antietam, Federal troops accidentally recovered a copy of Special Order 191 (used as wrapping around a number of cigars), which spelled out in detail Lee's plan for the invasion of Maryland. Using this intelligence, Federal forces, under George B. McClellan, moved north and forced the battle at Antietam, ending the invasion. In this alternate timeline, Lee's orders are recovered by trailing Confederate troops before they were allowed to fall into Union hands. The resulting Confederate advance catches McClellan and the U.S. by surprise. Instead of fighting at Antietam, General Lee forces McClellan into a battle on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and destroys the Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Camp Hill on October 1, 1862.