WEBMASTER's NOTE: This is a rather interesting general article on railroads in the civil war. The biobiography portion of the article has been omitted but may be obtained by purchasing a back-copy of this edition of the NRHS Bulletin from the NRHS.

Although the Georgia Railroad's roundhouse in Atlanta was destroyed during the Civil War, the property appears busy in this circa 1868 photo. At least six George and Atlanta & West Point locomotives may be seen on and around the surviving turntable. Beyond the walls of the building is the site of the former trainshed, which had been burned by Union troops under General William T. Sherman.. (Louisville & Nashville Collection, National Archives)

The mid-19th century was a banner period for American railroads. the 1850s saw unprecedented growth across the face of the continent. During that decade every state east of the Mississippi was served by an ever-expanding rail network. By 1860 this iron network resulted in over 30,000 miles of track, compared to the slim 9,000 that opened the '50s. While the 1850s made the railroads, the 1860s broke the majority of Southern railroads during our nation's greatest conflict.

Often called the first "modern war", the American Civil War proved to be the pivotal epoch for mid-19th century Americans. The conflict played host to a number of technological innovations: ironclad ships, submarines and torpedoes (mines), while more recent innovations (e.g. the telegraph and rifled weaponry) were put to the test through four years of grim warfare. But the key elements to victory ultimately lay with the railroads, and their use in the movement of troops, munitioins, and supplies.

Two-thirds of the nation's railroads were in the northern states in 1861 - largely due the industrial centers therein. From the start the South was disadvanted with its rail network: gaps in the lines within and between states were numerous; tracks of differing gauge (five feet was the dominant gauge) caused problems in transferring passengers and cargo between rail lines. Furthermore, the South had less rolling stock, while track materials and locomotive factories were scarce. In fact, the Confederacy couldn't muster as many locomotives as could be found on the New York Central, the Pennsylvania and the Erie, combined.

The South was further hampered by the Confederate administration which was reluctant to forgo "states' rights" to gain control of the railroads for the war effort. As the war raged on, maintaining Confederate-help railroads became increasingly difficult. There was a dearth of ties, rails, and fuel, while even the scant sources iron were quickly exhausted. The Confederate Navy Department, for example, commandeered over 1,000 tons of rail belonging to the Atlantic & Gulf line in Georgia to be used for ship armor in June 1862. Abandoned or seldom used southern railways were ripped up and used as replacements for vital lines following frequenty Union attacks.

Some of the fiercest fighting of the war was concentrated around the chief rail centers of the South: Richmond, Va (the Confederate capital), Atlanta, Ga. and Chatanooga, Tenn. Two of the mose massive movements of troops by rail were accomplished during the Chagtanooga Campaign of the fall of 1863. Gen. James Longstreet's 1st Corps was detached from Lee's Army of Northern Virginia that September. Some 12,000 Confederate soldiers were moved over a dozen railroads 900 miles in ten days to reach Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee station south of Chattanooga. The movement resulted in a rare outnumbering of the Union by its foe. The subsequent defeat of William Rosecran's army at the Battle of Chickamauga led to the Union Army being all but bottled up in the beseiged rail hub. To offset the balance of Southern troops in the area, Lincoln reinforced Rosecrans beleagured men with the 11th and 12th Corps of the Army of the Potomac (numbering some 23,000 men). Moving through Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, these easterners reached Chattanooga in an astounding nine days--no small feat considering the distance and the number of troops involved. For both sides the railroads were the chief means of moving men and material along the often tenuous supply lines.

While the North used the railroads to greater advantage in the war, its lines were no less vulnerable to attacks by roving armies, calvary raiders or bands of guerillas. Like their Confederate counterparts, the Union favored the American-type locomovie with a swiveled four-wheel truck in front accompanied by four drives, cowcatcher, balloon stack and a large headlamp. This type of engine (the 4-4-0) used names rather than numbers for identification (e.g., the General of Andrews Raid fame.) Typically these engines cost between $8,000-$10,000 new; weighed 15 to 25 tons and burned wood or coal for fuel. The Federals soon shifted to coal for fuel, while the South relied heavily on cord wood.

The North did have another strong advantage over the South in regards to the use of the railroads: the Railways & Telegraph act of 1862. This Congressional act allowed Lincoln to impress any railroad or telegraph for military purposes, and empowered him to create regulations for the security and maintenance of the same. Similarly, the act also placed all officers and employees of railroad and telegraph companies under military authority. Lincoln appointed the former New York & Erie general supervisor Daniel McCallum as directory and superintendent of U. S. railroads, which formerly established the U.S. Military Railroads.

The Union also received much needed assistance from the USMRR's chief of construction and maintenance, Gen. Herman Haupt. A West Pointer trained in civil engineering and the construction of civilian railroads, Haupt's expertise and able leadership led to the laying or rebuilding of over 600 miles of track, along with some 26 miles of bridges by war's end.

One of the most celebrated eipsodes of the war was the legendary Andrews Raild of 1862, more popularly known as the Great Locomotive Chase. Led by Federal spy James J. Andrews, the 24 raiders' chief goals were to seize a train and drive it some 100-200 miles, burning bridges, cutting telegraph lines and destroying railroad tracks along the way. Heisting a train (headed by the General) from Big Shanty, GA., the rain soaked bridges along the way prevented much of the anticipated destruction, and with southern railworkers fast on their heels, the raiders could do little in the way of significant damage. Only 18 mile shy of Chattanooga the train ran out of fuel and was abandoned by the fleeing conspirators. All were captured shortly thereafter. Because they were out of uniform, the Union soldiers were tried and convicted as spies. Andrews and seven others were executed, while eight others escaped. The rest were held as prisoners-of-war until they were exchanged. The raid, though daring in design and execution, was a failure. In March 1863, nonetheless, six of Andrews raiders would become the recipients of the Medal of Honor.

Even though daring railroad escapades by both sides didn't end there, by the fall of 1864 much of the southern railways were in the hands of Union operators. Shermans's infamous March to the Sea further broke the resolve of the southerners to continue the war, while his roaming band of soldiers effectively destroy miles of railway along the way. From Georgia, through South Carolina, Sherman's bummers" placed rails atop piles of ripped up ties and set them on fire. Nicknamed "Sherman's neckties" or Sherman's hairpins", the heated rails were summarily bent around trees or poles excluding them from future use.

By the spring of 1865 the Civil War had destroyed most of the South's railroads, leaving a pall of burnt ties, twisted rails, and demolished bridges in its wake. Many southern lines were inoperative for months, but with the generous aid of the Federal government most rail lines were able to offer some kind of service by the Christmas of 1865.

...

The retreating Confedraates burned the Markham & Schofield rolling mill along the Georgia Railroad near Atlanta on September 2, 1864. In addition, two trains totalling 81 cars of ammunition and supplies were torched to prevent their capture by Union forces. The now famous General was damanged in this conflagration. (Louisville & Nashville Collection, National Archives)