Brian Klaas

And it turned out that Pittman had seen Chilton's signature literally thousands of times before the war broke out. So he happens to be the one person in the Union Army who can look at the signature and say, yes, that's actually the right guy. This is a real set of orders and so on. And so he conveys this information. The Union Army changes its mind and moves and meets at the Battle of Antietam.

Again, this huge showdown. Now, the Battle of Antietam is not a decisive Union victory, but it stops the Confederate momentum. It's a critical moment in the war. And because of it, a lot of historians will argue that Antietam is sort of the thing that was the catalyst for the Emancipation Proclamation, that Lincoln felt, you know, more emboldened to do this. But more, even more critically...

Again, this huge showdown. Now, the Battle of Antietam is not a decisive Union victory, but it stops the Confederate momentum. It's a critical moment in the war. And because of it, a lot of historians will argue that Antietam is sort of the thing that was the catalyst for the Emancipation Proclamation, that Lincoln felt, you know, more emboldened to do this. But more, even more critically...

Again, this huge showdown. Now, the Battle of Antietam is not a decisive Union victory, but it stops the Confederate momentum. It's a critical moment in the war. And because of it, a lot of historians will argue that Antietam is sort of the thing that was the catalyst for the Emancipation Proclamation, that Lincoln felt, you know, more emboldened to do this. But more, even more critically...

There's a relatively good argument you can make that the Confederates were about to get recognized or that the British government was thinking about recognizing the Confederacy because of the momentum they had in the war. And it sort of gave the British government pause. Right.

There's a relatively good argument you can make that the Confederates were about to get recognized or that the British government was thinking about recognizing the Confederacy because of the momentum they had in the war. And it sort of gave the British government pause. Right.

There's a relatively good argument you can make that the Confederates were about to get recognized or that the British government was thinking about recognizing the Confederacy because of the momentum they had in the war. And it sort of gave the British government pause. Right.

They said, let's wait and see, because this battle seems to suggest that this is not going to be a decisive Confederate victory in the war. Of course, they wanted the cotton and so on.

They said, let's wait and see, because this battle seems to suggest that this is not going to be a decisive Confederate victory in the war. Of course, they wanted the cotton and so on.

They said, let's wait and see, because this battle seems to suggest that this is not going to be a decisive Confederate victory in the war. Of course, they wanted the cotton and so on.

So it's one of those aspects where when you think about this, it's this critical moment where if Antietam or something like it had been another really decisive Confederate victory, you know, how different the world could be. I mean, imagine that this had led to a cascade in which the Confederates actually won. It's not impossible to imagine that.

So it's one of those aspects where when you think about this, it's this critical moment where if Antietam or something like it had been another really decisive Confederate victory, you know, how different the world could be. I mean, imagine that this had led to a cascade in which the Confederates actually won. It's not impossible to imagine that.

So it's one of those aspects where when you think about this, it's this critical moment where if Antietam or something like it had been another really decisive Confederate victory, you know, how different the world could be. I mean, imagine that this had led to a cascade in which the Confederates actually won. It's not impossible to imagine that.

And of course, everything about history would differ. Because you'd have two countries. I mean, there's so many things that would be different. I mean, World War I would maybe not have happened the same way. World War II would not have happened the same way. So you start to think about this stuff and it's really seductive.

And of course, everything about history would differ. Because you'd have two countries. I mean, there's so many things that would be different. I mean, World War I would maybe not have happened the same way. World War II would not have happened the same way. So you start to think about this stuff and it's really seductive.

And of course, everything about history would differ. Because you'd have two countries. I mean, there's so many things that would be different. I mean, World War I would maybe not have happened the same way. World War II would not have happened the same way. So you start to think about this stuff and it's really seductive.

Yes. Yeah. And it all pivots on these three cigars and the guy taking a rest at just the right time. I mean, it's an amazing, amazing story.

Yes. Yeah. And it all pivots on these three cigars and the guy taking a rest at just the right time. I mean, it's an amazing, amazing story.

Yes. Yeah. And it all pivots on these three cigars and the guy taking a rest at just the right time. I mean, it's an amazing, amazing story.

Yeah, I mean, this is one of those stories that I think it really makes clear that when we tell history, we always focus on the sort of obvious factors. And this one is really not obvious. So Henry Stimson goes on vacation. He's a U.S. government official at the time. He goes on vacation, basically, in this tour of Asia to Kyoto, Japan in 1926.