- Date
- April 12, 1862
- Location
- Western and Atlantic Railroad, Georgia
- Result
- Confederate victory, The General recaptured
- Part of
- American Civil War
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
About the battle
The Great Locomotive Chase (a portion of the Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) 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 steam locomotive, 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). Because the Union men had cut the telegraph wires, the Confederates could not send warnings ahead to forces along the railway. Confederates eventually captured the raiders and quickly executed some as spies, including Andrews; some others were able to flee.
From the Wikipedia article “Great Locomotive Chase”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Result, date and location from the article’s infobox and Wikidata.
