Great Locomotive Chase

The Great Locomotive Chase, a portion of the Andrews' Raid or Mitchel Raid, was a Union military raid carried out on 12 April 1862 in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army led by the civilian scout James J. Andrews seized the steam locomotive The General and ran it north toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, damaging as much as they could of the vital Western and Atlantic Railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga. Confederate pursuers followed first on foot and then on a series of locomotives, including The Texas, for 87 miles. Because the raiders had cut the telegraph wires, no warning could be sent ahead along the line. The Confederates captured the raiders and quickly executed some as spies, including Andrews, while others escaped. The surviving raiders were the first awarded the newly created Medal of Honor, which Andrews, as a civilian, could not receive.