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Great Locomotive Chase

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Coordinates: 34°1′24″N 84°36′55″W / 34.02333°N 84.61528°W / 34.02333; -84.61528

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1862 raid during the American Civil War

For the 1956 film about the event, see The Great Locomotive Chase.

[[Danville Leadbetter]]"},"units1":{"wt":"[[2nd Ohio Infantry|2nd]], [[21st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry|21st]], and [[33rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment]]\n* ''[[The General (locomotive)|The General]]''"},"units2":{"wt":"[[Western and Atlantic Railroad]]\n* ''[[The Texas (locomotive)|The Texas]]''\n* ''[[The Yonah (locomotive)|The Yonah]]''"},"strength1":{"wt":"24"},"strength2":{"wt":"3 (At start)"},"casualties1":{"wt":"23{{POW}}(8 executed later)"},"casualties2":{"wt":"None"},"notes":{"wt":""},"campaignbox":{"wt":"{{Campaignbox Confederate Heartland Offensive}}"}},"i":0}}]}'>Great Locomotive ChasePart of the Western Theater of the American Civil War<br>The Andrews Raiders set a boxcar on fire to try to ignite a covered railway bridge and thwart Confederate pursuit.DateApril 12, 1862LocationWestern and Atlantic Railroad, Georgia<br>34°1′24″N 84°36′55″W / 34.02333°N 84.61528°W / 34.02333; -84.61528[[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]: {{#parsoid\u0000fragment:13}}[https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Great_Locomotive_Chase&params=34_1_24_N_84_36_55_W_ 34°1′24″N 84°36′55″W&#xfeff; / &#xfeff;34.02333°N 84.61528°W&#xfeff; / 34.02333; -84.61528][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"}}'/>Result<br>Confederate victory, The General recapturedBelligerents<br>United States (Union raiders)<br>Confederate States (Western and Atlantic Railroad)Commanders and leaders<br>James J. Andrews (Prisoner of war"}]]}'>POW)<br>William Fuller<br>Danville LeadbetterUnits involved<br>2nd, 21st, and 33rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The General

Western and Atlantic Railroad

The Texas

The Yonah<br>Strength<br>24<br>3 (At start)Casualties and losses<br>23 (Prisoner of war"}]]}'>POW)<br>(8 executed later)<br>None<br>Big Shanty (Kennesaw)

Adairsville, Georgia

Confederate Heartland Offensive<br>Kentucky Campaign

Great Locomotive Chase

Lebanon

1st Chattanooga

1st Murfreesboro

Cumberland Gap

Richmond

Cincinnati

Riggins Hill

Munfordville

Augusta

Perryville

The Great Locomotive Chase (a portion of the Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid ) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. Andrews, commandeered a steam locomotive, The General, and took it northward toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, doing as much damage as possible to the vital Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&A) line from Atlanta to Chattanooga as they went. They were pursued by Confederate forces at first on foot, and later on a succession of locomotives, including The Texas, for 87 miles (140 km).

Because the Union men had cut the telegraph wires, the Confederates could not send warnings ahead to forces along the railway. Confederates eventually captured the raiders and quickly executed some as spies, including Andrews; some others were able to flee. The surviving raiders were the first to be awarded the newly created Medal of Honor by the U.S. Congress for their actions. As a civilian, Andrews was not eligible.

Military background<br>[edit]

Further information: Western Theater of the American Civil War

The strategic situation in March and April 1862.<br>After the Union capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston withdrew his forces from central Tennessee to reorganize.[1] As part of this withdrawal, Johnston evacuated Nashville on February 23, surrendering this important industrial center to Union Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Department of the Ohio army and making it the first Confederate state capital to fall to the Union.[2][3][4][full citation needed] After taking Nashville, Buell showed little inclination for further offensive operations, especially towards the pro-Union region of East Tennessee. On March 11, Buell's army was merged into the new Department of the Mississippi under General Henry Halleck. In late March, Halleck ordered Buell southwest to reinforce Ulysses S. Grant's army near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Buell departed, leaving a 7,000-man garrison in Nashville along with Maj. Gen. Ormsby Mitchel's 10,000-man 3rd Division.[5] Mitchel had earlier assisted in the capture of Nashville and accepted the surrender of the city. With the withdrawal of both Confederate and Union forces towards western Tennessee, central Tennessee became an economy of force operation. Facing minimal Confederate resistance, Mitchel moved his division southeast out of Nashville on March 18 towards Murfreesboro,...