MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON
MONDAY. APRIL 16. 19S2
SPIES STEAL TRAIN On April 12, 1862,
20 Federal spies stole the Chattanooga mail
train from the station at Big Shanty, Ga.
The Confederates gave chase in another
train and finally caught them. The 20 tried
to escape but were captured. Eight were
hanged and the others either escaped or
were exchanged. Here is an artist's drawing
of the Union spies running away from "The
General" as the chase ended. (UPI)
By MERTON T. AKERS
UPI Correspondent
The Chattanooga mail train
of the Georgia State railroad
topped for breakfast as usual
Saturday morning, April 12,
1862, at Big Shanty, Ga., eight
miles northwest of Marietta.
The crew and most of the
passengers piled out and dash
ed for the railroad cafe.
Twenty of the passengers
seemed to be in no hurry to
eat and loitered around the
train. '
Once the crew had disap
peared Into the cafe, the 20
went to work. Some uncou
pled the head of the train
locomotive, tender and three
box cars.
Five mounted the cab, 15
piled into the boxcars. The
wheels of the locomotive,
' called "The' General," spun as
the engineer pulled the throt
tle wide open and the train
started north toward Chatta
nooga, Tenn., about 100 miles
up the line.
A 'Confederate sentinel
stood a dozen paces away,
musket in hand, looking on
curiously but not attempting
to interfere.
The train crew rushed out
of the cafe when they heard
the engine start.
Union Spies
Then all was uproar and
confusion at the Big Shanty
station. (It is called Kenne
saw now.)
For the 20 men were Union
spies and they had stolen a
train in the heart of the Con
federacy. The object of the
daring enterprise was to
wreck the railroad and burn
the bridges from there to
Chattanooga and beyond into
Federal lines at Huntsville.
Ala., if possible.
With its communications to
the east wrecked, Chatta
nooga would fall easy prey to
Maj. Gen. Ormsby Mitchel
and his Federal troops who
already had cut the line west
of Chattanooga. At least, Mit
chel thought so.
The expedition, sanctioned
by General Mitchel, was led
by James J. Andrews, a Ken
tuckian and Union spy. The
others were soldiers from
Ohio regiments who had vol
unteered. All wore civilian
clothing, which automatically
made them spies if caught be
hind enemy lines. They had
been told that capture almost
certainly meant death.
Three of the original train
crew left standing at the sta
tion started after the fleeing
train on foot, much to the
amusement of the onlookers.
The conductor, W. A. Fuller;
his engineer, J. Cain and a
Winema Forest
Roads Are Closed
Klamath Falls-Many of the
roads in the new Winema Na
tional forest in the Klamath
Falls area are still closed by
snow, according to Earl
Karlinger, Klamath district
ranger.
Only road open in the Lake
of the Woods area is the Dead
Indian highway, he said. Re
mainder of the roads are still
closed by snow at an average
depth of 3Va feet, he added.
The west side Klamath lake
rd. has been plowed but, be
cause of deep ruts caused by
thaw, it is recommended that
cars not drive past Malone
Springs from the south and to
Threemile creek from the
north.
Travel should be limited to
surfaced roads until the spring
thaw is over, the ranger sug
gested. Travel during wet con
ditions causes heavy damage
to the forest road system, he
warned.
road superintendent, Anthony
Murphy, puffed three miles
up the track after the train.
Then they commandeered a
handcar from a track crew
and continued the backbreak-
ing chase for 20 miles to Eto
wah station, where they found
an old iron company engine
with steam up. They seized it
and renewed the pursuit.
The Union raiders stopped
frequently to tear up rails and
cut telegraph lines. Each time
Fuller and his crew stopped
also, tore up rails in the rear,
relaid them ahead in the dam
aged stretches and hastened
on.
At Kingston, Ga., about 25
miles from Big Shanty, they
were 20 minutes behind the
raiders.
Another 20 miles just
The Great Locomotive Chase
north of Calhoun, Ga. the
pursuing locomotive came
upon the raiders, who were
tearing up track and oiling
"The General."
Locomotive Btaring Down
Here the Rev. William Pit
tenger, 2nd Ohio Volunteers
and one of the raiders, takes
up the story:
". . . Not far behind we
heard the scream of a locomo
tive bearing down on us at
lightning speed! The men on
board were in plain sight and
well armed! Two minutes
perhaps one would have re
moved the rail at which we
were toiling . . , But the most
desperate efforts were in vain.
The rail was simply bent, and
we hurried to our engine and
darted away. , . .
"Now the contestants were
in clear view, and a most ex
citing race followed . . . we
dropped one car, and shortly
after, another; but they were
'picked up' and pushed ahead
to the Resaca station . , , We
broke out the end of our last
boxcar and dropped crossties
on the tracks as we ran, thus
checking their progress and
getting far enough ahead to
take on wood and water at
two separate stations . . ."
On through Dalton, Ga., the
race went.
"We made no attempt to
damage the long tunnel north
of Dalton," Pittenger wrote.
". . . the last hope of our raid
was now staked upon an ef
fort of a different kind . , .
The side and end boards of
the last car were torn in
sheds, all available fuel was
piled upon it, and blazing
brands brought back from the
engine. By the time we ap
proached the long covered
bridge the fire in the car was
fairly started. We uncoupled
it in the middle of the bridge
and with painful suspense
awaited the issue . . , Before
the bridge was extensively
fired the enemy was upon us.
They pushed right into the
smoke and drove the burning
car before them to the next
sidetrack . . ."
Out of Fual
The raiders were out of
fuel for their locomotive, too,
"Our situation was indeed
desperate," Pittenger wrote.
They stopped their engine
reversed it and took to the
woods, every man for him
self. The steam pressure in "The
General" was so low that the
pursuing engine easily re
versed in time to absorb the
bump.
There north of Ringgold,
Ga., 18 miles short of Chatta
noogo, "The Great Locomo
tive Chase" came to an end.
Militarily the raid was a
failure. But the daring of the
raiders caught the fancy .of
the North. Likewise the per
sistence of Fuller and Murphy
in running down the raiders
against odds stirred the South
to applause.
The 20 soon were captured.
A militia muster was being
held in Ringgold that. Satur
day and the militiamen de
ployed over the countryside
in the manhunt.
Judge Advocate General Jo
seph Holt reported the end of
the raid to Secretary of War
Edwin M. Stanton:
"The captives were thrust
into the Negro-jail at Chatta
nooga. They occupied a single
room, half underground, and
but 13 feet square; so that
there was not enough space
for them all to lie down to
gether , . , The only entrance
was through a trapdoor in the
ceiling , . . They were covered
with swarming vermin . . .
Add to this, they were all
handcuffed, and, with tce
chaines secured by padlocks
pa wmKmrmrvr
THIS
A 5
,1
CBflLSWAR
around their necks, were fas
tened to each other in compa
nies of twos and threes. Their
food, which was doled out' to
them twice a day, consisted of
a little flour wet with water
and baked in the form of
bread, and spoiled pickled
beef ..."
Leader Convictad
A court martial convicted
Andrews, the leader, and sev
en others as spices and sen
tenced them to death.
The hangings occurred at
Atlanta, June 18, 1862.
The eight who were hanged
were: Andrews; W il 1 1 a m
Campbell, a civilian who had
volunteered for the raid;
George D. Wilson, Co, B, 2d
Ohio; Marion A. Ross, Co. A,
Nothing
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IVERSON
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BLOSSOM BUCKS!
2d Ohio; Perry Shadrack, Co.
K. 2d Ohio; Samuel Slavens,
33rd Ohio; Samuel Robinson,
Co. G. 33rd Ohio; and John
Scott, Co. K, 21st Ohio.
The others either escaped
or were exchanged. Pittenger
was among those exchanged.
The first Medals of Honor,
the United States' highest
award for valor, were given
to the Andrews Raiders.
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