The Great Train Caper (Article 91)

In April 1862, a small group of Union soldiers and spies commandeered a locomotive from a Southern train which was running north through Georgia toward Tennessee. A few Confederates took chase after the locomotive, which was named the “General” and, at times, the resulting affair resembled “Keystone Cops vs. Robbers” more than a military operation.

 But it was deadly serious and it became known in folklore as “The Great Locomotive Chase!” Or, to some, “Andrews’ Raid.”

 In the first year of the Civil War, there were battles which temporarily interrupted rail service, but in much of the North and the South, civilian built train systems continued to serve passengers, as well as the military. In the Northern states, the systems were better developed with more options for North/South and East/West connections between towns. On the other hand, the Southern railway systems were limited to a few short east/west routes, with only one link that could run from the Mississippi River eastward through Tennessee and other Southern states to the Atlantic Ocean. There were a few more Southern railways which ran North/South and linked major cities primarily for the transport of goods. The Western and Atlantic Railway Company ran one such line on a regular schedule between Atlanta, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee and it usually included at least one passenger car; however, on April 12, 1862, the train schedule was interrupted. Union operatives had decided to steal the locomotive!

 Actually, the engine was just a useful tool, and its theft was not the primary mission. The plan was to destroy telegraph lines and railroad tracks behind the locomotive as it was driven northward; and, if possible, to also destroy bridges and watering stations along the route. If successful, the destruction would render the rail line unusable by the Confederacy to move soldiers and heavy weapons to support their forces in Tennessee and Virginia.

 The idea was conceived by a Union scout (and spy) James Andrews who convinced Union Generals that his plan would aid the Union advances by depriving the Confederates of the ability to rapidly re-deploy forces into Tennessee battle areas. The destruction would be timed to coordinate with a strike by Union forces toward Chattanooga. While an alternative plan was discussed to simply send a few saboteurs to blow-up a bridge, Andrews believed more wide-spread destruction was necessary to prevent the Confederates from quickly reconnecting telegraph wires and reopening the rail line with a few track repairs. Assuming their plan worked, for which there were no guarantees, when the train neared Chattanooga after their destructive run north, the operatives would find their way back to Union lines. The proposed mission was certainly considered dangerous, but Andrews and General Ormsby Mitchell, who commanded the Union troops in Tennessee, believed it was possible. And, evidently, to them, it was worth the risk! Andrews was authorized to assemble a party of up to twenty-five volunteers, including soldiers from the Union Army. Leaving Union lines in middle Tennessee, the men scattered along different routes toward a planned rendezvous near a fuel and water stop few miles north of Atlanta. All of the operatives wore civilian clothes to blend in with the local populations who they might encounter along the way. It was agreed that even if a few of the volunteers failed to reach the destination by April 11, the remaining men would still execute their mission. As it turned out, only two did not make it in time to join their team.

 They chose to intercept the train at Big Shanty, where the train would take on water and fuel, and any passengers would also dis-embark from their railcar to get refreshments. Equally important, Big Shanty was the one stop with no telegraph operator!

When the train, pulled by the locomotive, General, came into Big Shanty, and, after the passengers entered the station, the raiders struck! They quickly uncoupled the passenger cars, and took off with the General, a tender, and three box cars. It is important to note that these trains could not go very fast, both by design limitations and due to the terrain, which was hilly and had many curves. The raiders were aware of the lack of speed on the route and did not foresee that as a problem. But they had not planned on one stubborn conductor! Irate at the theft of his train, William Fuller took off in a sprint after the train; and he was in good enough physical condition to stay within sight of the General. He later said that he was not certain what he would do if he caught it because he was aware there were numerous armed men now on board. But he continued to run behind the General, and was joined by two others. After about a mile, with the General still in sight, Fuller found a manual hand car on a short siding and he and his crew boarded it and continued to chase the General. Pumping the handles on the hand cart was not only much easier than running, it was also a bit faster.

 Decisions in wartime must be made on the fly and James Andrews faced his first decision, which was not part of the plan, when they encountered an older locomotive, the Yonah on another siding. He considered stopping to destroy that engine, but there were several workmen around and he did not want a firefight (yet) so he chose to continue north. In another stroke of bad luck, there had been a series of rain storms along the route and the wooden bridges, which Andrews had planned to set afire, were so wet that they would not burn. They even tried to burn one bridge by leaving one of the box cars on it, in which they had managed to start a small fire. However, the fire fizzled out and the pursuers easily pushed the box car aside. Andrews might have been able to start more combustible fires if he could have stopped to search for dry kindling, but he did not have the luxury of extra time. Unfortunately for Andrews, he needed to keep precisely to the train’s regular schedule; which might seem incongruous since he had just stolen it, but he had no choice!

 These train routes were single tracks which served both Northbound and Southbound traffic. Interspersed along the way were sidings where one train would be scheduled to pull over to let a train going the opposite direction pass on the main line. Pulling off on a siding was based on exacting timetables and missing a siding could lead to a head to head collision. Therefore, Andrews was forced to keep to the General’s published schedule. At each stop, Andrews told dispatchers and crews that they were Confederate contractors who were taking munitions and supplies to Southern forces defending Chattanooga. Since Andrews had cut telegraph lines along the way, the ruse worked because the dispatchers were not receiving any news of the raid from stations the General had already passed.

Sooner, not later, however, the Union raiders needed to begin to destroy the tracks behind them, which was their primary mission after all. But that meant stopping, which would disrupt the schedule; and they knew someone from Big Shanty was still following them.

 But an unforeseen circumstance, not a tactical decision, finally forced Andrews to stop the General. They came upon a station master, who had received orders from Confederate Generals in Chattanooga to hold all northbound trains to allow the passage of several special southbound trains. As it turned out, these trains were used to evacuate men and materiel out of the Chattanooga area further south to better defensive positions across the Georgia state line. As a result, Andrews was forced to wait on a siding. In the meantime, the dogged Fuller and his crew were gaining on the General! Fuller was able to abandon their hand-car when they came upon the Yonah, which Andrews had decided to leave undamaged; and they were able to get that old locomotive on the main line and continued the chase.

 Just as Fuller was about to close on Andrews, the station master finally let the General back on the main line. Andrews had his men damage a rail soon after they pulled out and Fuller could not drive the Yonah over the broken track. Not ready to give up, he again set out running after General. He spotted another locomotive, the William Smith on a siding and, after getting it back on the main line, drove that engine in pursuit of the General. But Fuller soon encountered another section of track which Andrews had damaged; so, Fuller now had to abandon the William Smith, but the determined conductor still would not give up. He ran almost another mile until he found the southbound locomotive “Texas” on a siding. Andrews had earlier convinced the crew of the Texas to permit the General to pass, using, again, the story that they were taking needed arms to the Confederate Army. Although the Texas was pointed south, Fuller decided to run the engine in reverse, tender car first; and he also convinced several nearby Confederate soldiers to join him on the Texas.

The pursuit began again and the Great Locomotive Chase was on! Andrews now not only had a determined adversary, but the Texas engine speed could match the General’s. Andrews no longer had time to stop and damage rails. He needed to get his men closer to Chattanooga so that they could escape back to Union lines.

 One of the Union operatives, William Pittenger, wrote of the chase: “Thus we sped on, mile after mile, in this fearful chase, around curves and past stations in seemingly endless perspective. Whenever we lost sight of the enemy beyond a curve, we hoped that some of our obstructions had been effective in throwing him from the track and that we would see him no more; but at each long reach backward the smoke was again seen, and the shrill whistle was like the scream of a bird of prey.”

 Andrews knew he could no longer stop, and in fact, he could see that the Texas was now slowly gaining on the General. In a last chance to stop his pursuers, he hoped to derail the Texas by throwing one of the large wooden railroad ties, which were on board, onto the tracks. As the General rounded one very tight curve, Andrews believed that the crew of the Texas would not see the tie on the tracks in time to slow or stop the train. He had his men throw off a tie and it landed and settled across the tracks; in a perfect position which should derail the Texas. And, as Andrews hoped, the Texas could not stop in time and rammed into the tie. Fuller later wrote that, “It caused quite a jolt” and the tender (which was in the lead with the locomotive pushing), actually raised up off the tracks. But miraculously for Fuller and the Texas, the tender car came back down right on the tracks and the Texas was still in hot pursuit. Fuller also wrote that, after the “jolt”, the Confederate soldiers, who had joined him earlier, asked if they could get off the Texas and Fuller wrote that, “Their wishes were not gratified.” They were along for the ride, whether they liked it or not!

 Then, Fuller got another break, and Andrews’ bad luck continued. Fuller, noticed that he had not recently seen a downed telegraph line and, about twenty miles from Chattanooga, stopped the Texas long enough to send a telegraph message forward to a Confederate Army station. Word was now out that the General had been stolen and was travelling north on the main line; and still in the middle of Confederate held territory.

Since the General had passed up the last several water and fuel stations to stay ahead of the Texas (and Fuller), she simply ran out of steam and coasted to a stop.  Unfortunately, Andrews and his men were eighteen miles short of his planned escape route and far behind enemy lines.

 Andrews and his crew scattered, but they were too far from friendly forces and all were captured by Southern soldiers, even the two men who had missed the rendezvous back at Big Shanty. The raiders were tried in Confederate military courts and found guilty of unlawful belligerency.  The verdicts were swift and final! James Andrews was considered a spy and was sentenced to death along with seven others; and as was common with spies, they were all buried unceremoniously. The remaining raiders were considered prisoners of war, but several, who were worried they might also be hanged, managed to escape. Some made it back to Union lines but others were returned as prisoners. Finally, all of the surviving raiders were exchanged later in the war for Confederate prisoners, including Corporal Pittenger, who left us a first-hand account about the Great Chase. Later, the Union Army, as it advanced through Georgia, exhumed the bodies of those executed and they were eventually interred, with honors, at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. To show his respect for the men and the mission, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton awarded a newly authorized decoration for heroism, the Medal of Honor, to most of the soldiers, including posthumously to those executed. However, James Andrews, architect and leader of the raiders, was a civilian and, therefore, not considered eligible to receive his nation’s highest honor.

 In the end, Andrews’ Raid, or The Great Locomotive Chase, was only minimally successful in disrupting Confederate strategy, but no one can question the courage and dedication of the men involved. They all accepted that their mission was dangerous and that there might be deadly consequences; and they volunteered anyway.

And, no one can deny the persistence, tenacity, and courage of William A. Fuller, the dedicated conductor of the General! Certainly, if Fuller had not stayed on the tail of the General, Andrews would have had time to cause more permanent damage to the vital railway link. Fuller was hailed as a hero throughout the South and he remained connected to the Southern railway systems until he retired. And, for his dedication to his assigned task, he was revered by other railroaders (both North and South) for the rest of his life.