Robert H . Chilton Robert Hall Chilton ( February 25 , 1815 – February 18 , 1879 ) was an officer in the U . S . Army and then a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . He served as Chief of Staff for the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E . Lee for much of the war . Biography . Chilton was born in Loudoun County , Virginia , to a prominent family . He was the son of William and Sarah ( Powell ) Chilton . He secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy and graduated 48th out of 57 cadets in the Class of 1837 . Brevetted as a second lieutenant , he served in various administrative posts . On September 25 , 1845 , he married Laura Ann Thomson Mason ( 1829 – 1911 ) in New York City . The couple would have three children — Laura Mason , Emily Virginia , and Robert Lee Chilton . He was assigned to a regiment of dragoon s for western frontier duty and fought in a series of skirmishes with Osage Indians . He served in Kansas , Texas , and the Indian Territory . Chilton fought in the Mexican - American War , winning the brevet rank of major for gallantry in action at the Battle of Buena Vista . Under severe Mexican fire , he picked up the wounded Colonel Jefferson Davis and carried him to safety . Chilton was promoted to captain of the 1st U . S . Dragoons . He was assigned in 1854 to administrative duty as a paymaster with the rank of major , serving in various posts in Washington , D . C . , New York City , Detroit , Michigan , and San Antonio , Texas . Chilton was in Texas when he received word of the bombardment of Fort Sumter . He resigned his commission in the U . S . Army on April 29 , 1861 , and traveled home to Virginia . He enrolled in the Confederate service as an adjutant general with the rank of lieutenant colonel . He served on the staff of fellow Virginian Robert E . Lee , rising to Chief of Staff . He did not pen the famous Lost Order during the Maryland Campaign . The identity of the writer of the lost order McClellan received from the field is yet to be identified . ( See " Special Order 191 - Ruse of War " ) Although nominated for brigadier general in October 1862 and despite firm support from General Lee , Chilton ' s appointment was not officially confirmed by the Confederate Congress until February 16 , 1864 , most likely due to repeated clashes with the Confederate Senate and with fellow officers , most notably John B . Magruder . Following the Gettysburg Campaign , he served as Inspector General for the Army of Northern Virginia for the rest of the war , with his headquarters in Richmond , Virginia . He rarely led troops in the field , with the exception of a successful attack in May 1864 when he led a small force of Virginia troops in routing Federal troops from the Army of the James that were raiding the important Richmond & Petersburg Railroad . Following the cessation of hostilities in early 1865 , Chilton returned to civilian life . He moved to Columbus , Georgia , where he became president of a local manufacturing company . He died of apoplexy in Columbus in 1879 . He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond , Virginia . Honors . The Major Robert H . Chilton monument in Chilton Park in Dodge City , Kansas , was unveiled May 28 , 1931 .