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. The novels detail the consequences of this up
until 1945 in the alternate world. In our 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 h