Today is a notable anniversary date in the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, especially for railfans.
One hundred and fifty years ago today, on the morning of April 12, 1862, a small group of Union soldiers in civilian dress, led by a spy and blockade runner named James Andrews, stole a northbound train on the rail line from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennesee. Their mission was to cripple the rail line by burning bridges to prevent Confederate reinforcements from Atlanta from reaching Chattanooga so that Union forces could capture the Tennessee city.
The Andrews raiders failed in their mission. They were closely pursued by a group of Southerners led by William Fuller, the conductor of the train the raiders had stolen. Fuller, who started out on foot after his stolen train, was eventually able to commandeer a locomotive to pursue the raiders, and thus the event came to be known as "The Great Locomotive Chase." The locomotive stolen by the Andrews raiders was named the "General," and the locomotive used by Fuller in his pursuit was named the "Texas." The "General" is preserved in a museum at Kennesaw, Georgia, and the "Texas" is preserved in Atlanta.
The raiders had to abandon their mission when the "General" ran out of fuel and water north of Dalton, Georgia. The raiders were captured, and Andrews and several others were eventually hanged by Confederate authorities in Atlanta. Others of the raiders became the first recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Two movies have been made of the Great Locomotive Chase, a silent film starring Buster Keaton in the 1920s and a Disney movie starring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter in the 1950s.
