
When it comes to history, and you see the outcome of what actually happened, did you ever wonder, or have you ever asked the question... What if it had happened another way? What if this outcome, or that outcome, had occurred differently? The implications of these outcomes are enormous, for there are a number of points in actual history where if this situation had not happened, or had happened in another way, the course of history as we know it could have been very different. For instance...
1. In 1753, at 21 years old, young George Washington was sent on a diplomatic mission to Fort Le Boeuf in the Ohio Valley. On the perilous return to Virginia, Washington and his guide, Christopher Gist, were abruptly turned upon by a Native American guide who had appeared trustworthy. The man suddenly fired a pistol at them from point-blank range, the bullet narrowly missing Washington's head. This was the first of no less than five known occasions where Washington narrowly escaped death. The question then has to be asked... What if any of these situations had in fact happened, the history of America as we know it, may have been quite different.
2. In 1862, while resting in a field near Frederick, Maryland, two Union soldiers happened to notice three cigars wrapped in paper lying on the ground. On the paper was written Special Order 131, the detailed plans of southern troop movements, signed by General Robert E. Lee himself. The loss of the cigars and note are a mystery to this day, and the implications of their loss are enormous. Lee was well into his first invasion of the North, the war up to this point was going extremely bad for the Union, and it was surmised by the Confederate Government that if they could finally secure a smashing victory against the North on the North's own soil, the South could finally be able to secure the official recognition of the European powers, England and France, thus ensuring that these great powers might be able to force the Union to the negotiating table with calls for peace favorable to the Confederacy thus securing a victorious conclusion for the Confederate States.