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Many of the accounts of Jackson's hauling the Baltimore
& Ohio RR locomotives south (Jackson and the Locomotive Haul)
open with a statement that Jackson had
earlier hauled 4 (or 2) small locomotives south earlier. What is the
basis for this statement and which locomotives are supposed to have
been moved?
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Edward Hungerford, in the centennial
history of the Baltimore & Ohio RR, states that the 4 were
B&O RR locomotives. I have the list of locomotives lost to the B&O,
as detailed by their Master of Machinery, and all were lost to Jackson/Sharp. Sharp was
not yet in the area and no mention of this movement was made to him
when he was assigned to move the real haul.
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| The Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire
RR had three or four locomotives that Lee wanted saved to the south (OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 858,
OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 866,
OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 917).
Two of those locomotives were captured when Alexandria was taken in
June, 1861 (NP, RD 6-6-61).
Thomas Sharp started moving 2 of the locomotives from Leesburg (the
western terminus of the road) toward Rectortown Station on the
Manassas Gap RR (Diary of Thomas R. Sharp 1861)
on July 30, well after the
B&O RR locomotives had been captured. The
3 certain AL&H RR locomotives were 23-ton locomotives, not
"small" when the standard locomotive weighed 24 or 25
tons. |
| The Winchester & Potomac RR had 5 locomotives, all of which were "small," weighing 8
to 16 tons. However, the W&P RR was in operation throughout the
summer of 1861 supporting the troops at and near Harper's Ferry (NA,
VAF 5-1A-61, OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 470,
OR Series 1, Vol. 51, Part 2, Page 139),
in the later half of 1861, hauling B&O RR locomotives and other
material from Halltown to Winchester (NA, W&P 12-31-61)
and from December through early February moving flour from the mills
to Winchester. |
| When the
Confederates abandoned Winchester, in early 1862, at least two
locomotives were captured by the Union. Both President and
"Ancient" are mentioned as having been used by the Union
Military Railroad during the rest of the war and are noted as having
been captured from the Winchester & Potomac RR. |
| There are, therefore, three locomotives
unaccounted for which could have been hauled south by Jackson before
the B&O RR operation. However, I have found no mention of this
activity in contemporary records and no mention of the missing
locomotives being used on any other railroad. I am, therefore, forced to the conclusion that
the movement of 4 small locomotives, before the capture and removal
of the B&O RR locomotives, did not take place. |
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