Confederate General Robert E. Lee letter to the President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis 1862

We already have in the documents the viewer can see, the copy of order 191 (labeled 190) that was enclosed with the 9/12/62 letter to Davis. Up until now I had assumed that Marshall wrote for Lee both documents, the letter and the order. I assumed this because of the issue of Lee's hand or hands being somehow injured. However, as you can see from the comparison files attached, it is very clear that Marshall did not write both the letter and the order. The words "Potomac" and "Harper's Ferry" appear in both documents, yet plainly you can see they were written by different hands. Which takes me back to the issue of Lee being able to write at the time. I think that the letter to Davis is in Lee's hand. Comparing it to the letter he wrote to Hill in 1868 may establish this statement as fact.

Collected by Joseph Ryan

Supporting Exhibits

Sharpsburg Campaign: Photo Album

Lee's Ruse of War: Special Order 191

American Civil War Exhibits