The Great Locomotive Chase was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. Andrews, commandeered a train, The General, and took it northward toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, doing as much damage as possible to the vital Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&A) line from Atlanta to Chattanooga as they went. They were pursued by Confederate forces at first on foot, and later on a succession of locomotives, including The Texas, for 87 miles (140 km).
The Andrews Raiders set a train car on fire to try to ignite a covered railway bridge and thwart Confederate pursuit.
James J. Andrews
This section of the Norfolk Southern Railway was originally part of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad
Illustration of nineteen men involved in the Great Locomotive Chase—seventeen Union soldiers and two railroad employees who chased them
Western and Atlantic Railroad
The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
One of the W&A's famous locomotives, The General, on display in the railroad's Union Depot in Chattanooga
CSXT 8029 is waiting for another train at the siding at Tunnel Hill, Georgia, on the Western & Atlantic Sub.
Western & Atlantic RR 25¢ bearer certificate, March, 1862
Battle of Allatoona Pass, 1864, for control of the line
