The Great Locomotive Chase

by Gordon Rottman

  Running at over 50mph, the Texas charged up the track with Fuller hanging off the tender’s side to give him more of a view around curves. They slowed enough at Calhoun to pass word of the situation and took aboard Edward Henderson, the Dalton telegraph operator who had come down on the Catoosa searching for the apparent wire break. They also took on Fleming Cox as a second fireman. The Catoosa followed the Texas out of Calhoun after dropping its cars. Piling on to the tender were Capt W.J. Whitsitt and ten troopers of the 1st Georgia Infantry. They had been bound south and had convinced engineer Joe Renard at gunpoint to join them. Thus the final phase of the Great Locomotive Chase commenced.

  The great chase

  The General halted 1½ miles north of Calhoun, where the raiders cut the wire, loosened a rail, and loaded crossties for bridge-burning fuel. The freshly-oiled General was still in top running order, but low on wood and water. As they struggled with the rail, they again heard a train whistle and saw the Texas barreling toward them in reverse. Leaving the wedged-up bent rail they frantically boarded and flew off, but detached a boxcar around the curve in hopes of causing a collision. It was a mystery to the raiders where the train came from or how they had been alerted with the rail and wire cut. This was the first point at which Andrews could have ambushed his pursuers, but chose not to – he was, after all, more used to talking his way out of trouble rather than shooting his way out.

  Ahead Fuller saw his train for the first time since its theft and he was surprised to see so many Yankees scrambling aboard. The Texas was able to creep across the loosened rail but their slow speed prevented them from ramming the boxcar, which was un-braked, undamaged, and loaded with ties and brush – obviously bridge-burning fuel. The near-level grade here did not give the kicked-back boxcar enough speed to be dangerous. Coupling it to the tender with Fuller on top as lookout and brakeman, they sped on.

  THE TEXAS

  The Texas, the main locomotive participating in the great chase, was also an American Standard and a 4-4-0. In fact she and the General were quite similar in design and capabilities. The Texas was built in Paterson, New Jersey as was the General. The Texas, however, was built by Danforth, Cooke and Company for $9,050 in 1856 and it too had 5ft driver wheels. The Texas suffered no damage during the chase and saw further service for several years afterwards. In 1863 she was sent to Virginia to exchange firewood for much-needed salt, which was scarce in Georgia, and was returned to the W&A in 1866. She was renamed the Cincinnati in 1880 and was leased by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis RR in 1890 until, at nearly fifty years old, the warhorse was finally taken out of service in 1903.

  The retired Texas was a much different locomotive than the pursuer of the General. Her boilers had been replaced twice, she was converted to a coal burner in the early 1870s like the General, and in 1886 the 60in drive wheels were replaced by 56in wheels to provide a little more traction power. The locomotive was deteriorating on a yard siding and a campaign commenced in 1907 to save the Texas from the scrapyard. She was moved to Grant Park in Atlanta in 1911, and finally moved into the Cyclorama Building in the park. In 1936 she was finally restored to much as she appeared when she was acquired by the W&A, although the smaller drivers were retained. 1973 saw the Texas entered on the National Register of Historic Places and she remains on public display in the Cyclorama Building (commemorating the Battle for Atlanta).

  Road Numbering: It should be noted that some depictions of the General and Texas during the chase show them bearing locomotive numbers on their boiler sandboxes. Road numbers were not assigned to W&A locomotives until 1866. The General was assigned “39” and then “3” in about 1882. The Texas was numbered “49” and then “12” when she was renamed the Cincinnati in 1880. In 1890 she was renumbered “212.” The first numbers assigned were in the order that the locomotives were acquired by the W&A. At the time of the chase they were identified only by nameplates on the sides of their boilers.

  Desperately low of wood fuel, the raiders began ripping wood from the remaining boxcar to stoke the General’s firebox. They also attempted to start a fire in the boxcar before dropping it off to block the Texas, an attempt that failed. (Pittenger)

  The raiders in the last of the two boxcars battered a hole through the end with a crosstie. They began tossing ties out to block the rail, but most bounced a considerable distance owing to their speed. This only slowed the Texas slightly as two men ran alongside clearing the ties. Andrews believed there were more than just the seven, mostly unarmed, men aboard his pursuer. They dropped the second boxcar just before a Chickamauga Creek bridge. Its brakes were not set, nor was it derailed as the chasers feared. One of the many myths surrounding the chase was that this car was set ablaze and left on a covered bridge. Many of the surviving raiders claimed this, but it was not so, though they may have attempted to fire it. The Texas simply coupled on the second boxcar and sped on. Another myth is that the pursuers fired on the fleeing General, but this too never occurred. There is debate about how adamantly the raiders pushed for Andrews to ambush the pursuers. Some claim they strongly urged it and that he may well have considered it, but apparently he felt the pursuers were present in well-armed numbers. The raiders, with every intention of firing the 840ft-long covered Oostanaula River Bridge (river 230ft wide), were forced to leave the rain-soaked structure undamaged as they roared through nearby Resaca. Fuller deposited the two boxcars on a siding there. From this point on the increasingly hilly terrain made the line even more winding and there were numerous covered bridges over Chickamauga Creek and its branches. This was the chase’s turning point – the Yankee raiders were now alarmed and in flight.

  Both engines shrieked northward on the rough winding track, throwing all caution and good judgment to the wind. More ties were hurled from the remaining boxcar and the Texas would alternately fall behind and then gain ground. Wood was running out aboard the General. “Alf” Wilson states, “We crammed the furnace with every combustible we could…” With wheels spinning in reverse, the General ran into Green’s Wood Station outside of Tilton and the men frantically tossed wood into the tender. At Tilton, water was poured into the tender and they sped off with it still gushing, as the Texas was almost atop them.

  The General had to slow down in the Dalton yard, ensuring they did not inadvertently switch on to the northeast branch line to Cleveland, Tennessee rather than head to Chattanooga. Andrews ran into the station making his customary demand and ensured the switch was correctly turned. The passage of the junction yard at high speed was a harrowing experience, with the boxcar almost overturning on a left turn.

  The Texas followed just minutes behind. Telegrapher Henderson leapt off at Dalton and hammered out Fuller’s handwritten message to Brig Gen Danville Leadbetter, the former catcher of bridge-burners, in Chattanooga: “My train was captured this a.m. at Big Shanty, evidently by federal soldiers in disguise. They are making rapidly for Chattanooga, possibly with the idea of burning RR bridges in their rear. If I do not capture them in the meantime, see that they do not pass Chattanooga.”

  At the same time the raiders tore down the wire 2 miles past the junction town. They were moments too late – Henderson’s message went through. The raiders would have found a hot reception 27 miles ahead. Leadbetter dispatched a company14 by train from Chattanooga to establish an ambush 11 miles south, just past Chickamauga Station. In a railroad cut they lifted rails and the company took up firing positions on both sides with a lookout posted ahead. No matter what happened now, the raiders’ fate was sealed.

  Chetoogeta Mountain loomed 8 miles ahead of the raiders. Tunnel Hill, lined with brick and limestone blocks, ran 1,447ft as it cut through the mountain. The General blasted through the dark tunnel at top speed. The soldiers being bounced around in the boxcar were hoping they would halt to set an ambuscade. Instead, Andrews pressed on.

  Fuller wisely slowed the Texas, concerned at just such an occurrence, and looked for obstructions. The dim light leaking from the far end caused the r
ails to reflect a shine, making it possible to detect crossties and breaks but there were none. Murphy noticed there was little heavy smoke hanging in the tunnel; the General was low on steam. Emerging into the open, the Texas poured on speed, passing through Tunnel Hill town.

  The General remained in the lead but her engine crew were exhausted. There was barely any wood or water left and they were out of oil. Wood scraps, caps, even Andrews’ saddlebags went into the firebox. The men in the boxcar had jettisoned their last tie. They attempted to fire the remaining boxcar with a shovel of coals. The rain-wet car refused to blaze and the smoke drove the men on to the tender. They rumbled through Ringgold 7 miles up the line and then made it around a curve another 1.3 miles before the General gave out on an up-grade. The Texas was barreling at them, but reduced speed when it became apparent the chase was slowing as they feared the Yankees might reverse the engine into them. Andrews hastily discussed options with the engine crew and then directed, “Scatter in small parties and escape the best way you can.” Rather than the stand and fight to the death promised by Andrews six days earlier, it was now every man for himself.

  THE GEORGIA MILITIA

  The various state military forces went though a convoluted series of reorganizations and call-ups for Confederate active service. A bewildering array of different organizations was formed through the war. Much of the turmoil was due to Governor Joseph E. Brown’s meddling and disputes with Jefferson Davis’ government on the right of states to raise and control armed forces. These forces came to be known as “Joe Brown’s Pets.”

  The first such state troops, the Georgia Army or “Secession Regiments” and then the 4th Brigade, Georgia Volunteers, were called up and eventually placed under Confederate control. The Georgia State Troops were established next, mainly for coastal defense.

  In early 1862 the 14 counties in extreme northwest Georgia comprised the 12th Division of the Georgia Militia. It was divided, by county, into 1st and 2nd Brigades. This is where most of the fleeing raiders were captured. Militia divisions and brigades were purely administrative organizations and were nowhere close to those formations in strength and capabilities, essentially being collections of town companies. Counties were divided into militia districts in which a 63-man company was supposed to be raised from able members enrolled by appointed captains. These companies could, in reality, be much smaller or larger. They were to be organized into battalions and regiments, but these existed only on paper.

  The militiamen chasing the raiders through the Georgia hills were part-time volunteers, what would today be called “weekend warriors.” They typically met on a Saturday once a month where it was doubtful that much military instruction took place. This day was selected as men brought their families into town and attended church the next day. If called up for state duty, such as chasing bridge-burners or guarding bridges, they might be given “agricultural leave” during planting and harvest seasons.

  Other than possibly the elected officers, few if any of the militiamen possessed uniforms, wearing only homespun garb. There were no cavalry units, but some men in a given unit possessed horses. They provided their own weapons, which were mostly muzzle-loading double-barreled shotguns, squirrel guns, and deer rifles of varied makes. Walt Disney’s image of gray-coated cavalrymen in all their gallant splendor chasing the raiders as they fled the General was purely imagined glamour.

  The 840ft long covered Oostanaula River Bridge was of timber trestle construction in 1862. It was much later replaced by a modern concrete bridge, but the original south end abutments are still an integral portion of the bridge. (Allen Shoppe)

  It was just before 12.30pm – the 88-mile chase had lasted a little over six hours.

  The end of the line

  Fuller charged into the woods after the locomotive thieves, shotgun in hand. Murphy raced to the General. He found it virtually undamaged but out of wood and what little was left still smoldering in the firebox. The Catoosa soon arrived and the soldiers rushed into the trees amid the drizzle. They soon found themselves dead-ended on a ridge, where one accidentally shot himself – the only shot fired and the single casualty of the entire affair. About half an hour after being abandoned, the Texas coupled on the General’s boxcar and towed the locomotive back home.

  The stone- and brick-lined confines of the original tunnel are shown here in this southward-looking view from just inside the north portal. Fuller was concerned about an ambush awaiting him at this end or that crossties may have been dropped on the track. There was no time to stop and light the headlamp. (Allen Shoppe)

  It did not take long for word to spread that Yankee train-stealers and spies were running loose in the hills, most heading northwest and others northeast. Andrews’ one-day delay meant that this Saturday was drill day for the militia. Hundreds of part-time soldiers and civilians armed with their own weapons spread out through the countryside with the aim of becoming heroes. Most were afoot, others on plow horses and mules. They loosed their dogs and were bent on revenge and sport.

  The renegades stood little chance. They had not eaten since the evening before, were unprovisioned, unequipped, and had no idea where they were. The local hunters were familiar with the rugged terrain and, in spite of the rain, wildly enthusiastic. Some of the evaders linked up in larger groups. All were tired, soaked, and lost. The track may have run north but, as winding as it was, striking out perpendicular from a given point did not mean one was traveling west. The terrain was so broken and densely wooded that in order to make any headway the evaders eventually had to take to trails and roads and this is where most were caught wandering aimlessly. Some intentionally fled in the “wrong” direction hoping to elude pursuers and then find the Tennessee River and follow it west to Union lines. Even though the alarm had been raised, some men were able to beg shelter and food from remote locals.

  Andrews, who had a compass, traveling with Marion Ross and John Wollam, almost made it to friendly territory, being captured just 12 miles from Union-occupied Bridgeport. “Alf” Wilson and Mark Wood, traveling part-way by stolen boat on the Tennessee, were picked up near Stevenson, which had by then been abandoned by the Federals. Every raider was captured within days.

  When captured, many gave the Kentucky regiment story, saying they were from Flemingsburg, Kentucky. Word of the story had spread, and repeating it gave them away. They were not treated any more roughly than expected, although this was harsh enough, with mobs screaming for their lynching. Jacob Parrott, however, was severely whipped. All were clapped in irons when caught. Most were taken to Ringgold, then Camp McDonald, where the chase had begun, and all ended up in the Marietta jail.

  The two late sleepers, Martin Hawkins and John Porter, were still outside Marietta. Considering their position and that the train had been stolen, they decided to walk to Camp McDonald and enlist. They were voted into the 9th Georgia Infantry Battalion, but their service under “Stars and Bars” was brief. Apparently a captured raider revealed that two men had been left in Marietta and then word circulated of the Kentucky story. They were questioned, arrested, and, after calls for their lynching, joined their comrades in irons.

  Ringgold Depot today serves as the town’s museum. It was rebuilt after the war having been destroyed by Union troops during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. The original stone walls can be seen. It was here that the first militiamen, attending their Saturday drill, were dispatched to hunt down the fleeing raiders. Most were first brought here after their capture. (Allen Shoppe)

  After 88 miles of cutting rails and wire, duping stationmasters and erecting barricades, the six-hour chase was over. Out of fuel and water, the 20 raiders abandoned the General just north of Ringgold, still many miles from their intended destination. It was every man for himself as they sprinted into the Georgia hills. The pursuing Texas slowed as William Fuller approached the stalled General, fearing that the Yankee raiders might attempt to reverse the locomotive into him, but there was no steam left for such an attempt. With the militia alert
ed and many enthusiastic civilians turning out to assist in the search for the engine thieves, the raiders were all rounded up within days.

  At Green’s Wood Station outside of Tilton the raiders frenziedly flung wood into the General’s tender knowing the Texas was not far behind. Despite the full load pictured here, they were only able to fill the tender with less than a quarter of its capacity before they were forced to move out. (Pittenger)

  The newspapers gloated over the foiled engine thieves’ plot and the capture of the spies, especially their leader, whom the Atlanta Daily Intelligencer described as: “a Yankee scoundrel, but reckless and daring.”

  Promoted to major general in recognition of his successes, even though he never took Chattanooga, Mitchel consolidated his position and his under-strength division was dispersed, occupying towns and guarding the rail line. Neither Buell nor Halleck provided reinforcements as they had their own objectives. Mitchel had to content himself with sitting still and fighting off Confederate cavalry raids. He made no official mention of the failed Chattanooga Railroad Expedition in dispatches, although he was aware of the raiders’ fate via smuggled Atlanta newspapers.

  The point 1.3 miles north of Ringgold, and 88 miles from Big Shanty, where the General ground to a halt after running out of steam and the raiders scattered in all directions. As on the day of the chase it was raining. The raiders’ names and units are included at the plaque’s bottom portion. (Allen Shoppe)

  8 Telegraph wire was uninsulated galvanized 6-gauge (0.1620in/4.115mm).

  9 The accounts of Fuller and Murphy in regard to the chase are often in conflict and they disagreed on many aspects to the end of their days.