Historian Fred Folger Relates Civil War Story Of Andrews’ Raiders And Locomotive Chase
BY BECKY JACOBS — MIRROR REPORTER
Local historian, former teacher and lecturer Fred Folger discussed Andrews’ Raiders and “The Great Locomotive Chase” at the February 11 local history lecture presented by the Wolcott Museum Guild and the Maumee Branch Library.
Folger is considered an authority on Civil War battlefields and has visited and recorded each of the battlefields east of the Mississippi.
The Civil War was the first war in which the railroad played a major role.
James Andrews, a civilian and Union spy, had the idea to burn the wooden trestle bridges along the railway to cut off Confederate supply lines from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tenn.
He formed a group of 24 volunteers, whose plan was to meet in Marietta, Ga., to hijack the main locomotive The General and burn the bridges as they advanced to Chattanooga.
The men had very little briefing prior to their arrival behind enemy lines in Marietta, a small city just north of Atlanta.
They were to purchase train tickets for the Confederate train, then take control of the train and travel north to Chattanooga, which was approximately 100 miles away.
Their plans to burn the bridges would have stopped Confederate troop movement north. They also planned to cut telegraph communication lines.
On April 12, 1862, shortly after they left Marietta, minus two volunteers (who, for unknown reasons, missed the train), the train made a breakfast stop in Big Shanty.
The volunteers stayed back and quickly separated boxcars from the engine. Privates Wilson Brown and William Knight, both engineers, took their place at the controls. It was a shock to the legitimate train crew when they noticed the The General leaving without them.
The volunteer crew was courageous, but this was nothing compared to the determination of the train conductor, William Fuller. He and a couple of other men took off on foot, chasing the train. After a couple of miles they found a handcar at Moon’s Station to continue the pursuit.
The men in The General were gaining time, so they took time to stop to remove rails, throw them in a rail car and continue on.
As they passed the Etowah River, they ignored an old steam engine, which was boarded by the Confederate group to use in the pursuit.
Following a delay due to train traffic along the way, Andrews continued the journey north. The two groups were now minutes apart.
The pursuers then traded their steam engine for another, but were stopped because of the missing rails taken up by the raiders.
Fuller’s group again began chasing on foot. At Adairsville the men spotted a southbound train pulled by The Texas, another well-known engine. After releasing its cars, The Texas ran its pursuit toward The General in reverse. The southbound train had arrived into a Y- shaped train junction and could not make a turn.
Further down the track, the raiders again attempted to remove tracks when they spotted their pursuers. At this point The General was given full throttle.
No matter what they did, including cutting loose two boxcars, the Great Locomotive Chase continued.
As they approached a covered bridge over the Oostanaula River, the raiders set fire to the remaining car, the coal tender, in an attempt to burn the bridge. However, due to recent rains, the wooden bridge was waterlogged and refused to burn.
It became obvious the raiders would not make Chattanooga as planned. One by one, they jumped the train and ran for cover.
Fuel was low and at Ringgold, just a few miles from the Tennessee border, The General ran out of steam.
Within a week, Andrews and his raiders, including the ones who failed to make the trip, were captured.
In Atlanta, Andrews was tried and convicted as a spy. He and eight of the raiders were hung.
The others were imprisoned. Four months later they executed an escape. Eight were successful, but the others were severely punished and then exchanged for Confederate prisoners.
The General has been restored and has a permanent home at the Kennesaw Civil War Museum in Georgia.
But, before it was put to rest the locomotive was taken on tour for the Civil War Centennial in 1963. During that tour it paid a visit to Toledo.
Many of Andrews’ Raiders were from Northwest Ohio. Six of the men were the first recipients of the Medal of Honor, given by then-Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Eventually all of the raiders – except James Andrews and William Campbell, who as civilians were not eligible – received the medal, including some who received it posthumously.
The first medal went to the youngest of the group, Pvt. Jacob Parrot, of Kenton, a teenager. Others included John A. “Alf” Wilson, who is buried in Union Hill Cemetery, near Bowling Green. He also was honored by a historical marker on Findlay Street (SR 64) in Haskins.
Other area men included Wilson W. Brown of Dowling, Elihu Mason of Pemberville, John Porter of McComb and Mark Wood, who enlisted in Portage.
A member of the Masons, Wood is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Each of the men has been honored with a historical marker and many are remembered with special monuments.