| From the New Orleans Times Picayune |
| |
| April 24, 1862 |
| |
| The Raid on the Georgia State Railroad |
| An unusual pressure of special
correspondence excluded from our columns hitherto the story of the
extraordinary raid of Lincolnites on the Georgia State, or Western
& Atlantic, Railroad, between Atlanta, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn.
This affair is, however, of such a character, so novel, and daring,
and attended with such interesting circumstances, that we give it a
place in the Picayune, even at this late day. The whole history of the
affair, from its inception to the capture of the last gang of the
desperadoes, will be found annexed: |
| The Augusta Constitutionalist,
of the 15th, says: |
| The bridge burners, for such
it appears they were, came to Atlanta on the Friday night train, and
desired to be waked up early next morning to go to Big Shanty. They
were eight in number, and, it is said, were sent by Gen. Mitchel, the
Federal commander at Shelbyville, Tenn., to destroy the railroad
bridges along the route, so as to prevent reinforcements being sent to
the Confederates in Tennessee. |
| On this point we have the
following additional from the Knoxville Register, of the 16th: |
| A number of Federal troops,
(Ohioans) had been detailed from Mitchel's command to go down into
Georgia, in disguise, burn railroad bridges and destroy telegraph
lines. They passed down the road one day last week, telling the
conductor that they were parties of two Tennessee companies who had
escaped from the fight at Fort Donelson; but as they were liberally
provided with funds, and did not claim the exemptions due to
Confederate soldiers traveling over our railroads, the conductor's suspicions
were excited, and when they returned on Saturday, he kept an eye on
the party. |
| As to the final disposition of
those fellows, we have the following from the Atlanta Intelligencer,
of the 17th: |
| Six of the Yankee spies and
bridge burners who had been engaged in running off with the engine on
the State Road last Saturday, and who had been in jail at Marietta,
were sent on yesterday to Chattanooga, well ironed and guarded, to the
care of Gen. Ledbetter, the Confederate officer now in command at that
point. |
| The Huntsville Advocate, of
the 16th, says: We learn from private sources that seventeen of the
steam engine stealers on the State Road, had been arrested within
twenty miles of Chattanooga. Two succeeded in escaping. |
| We thus condense the account
of adventures on railroad, as given in the Atlanta Confederacy of the
15th: |
| We will begin at the breakfast
table of the Big Shanty Hotel at Camp McDonald on the W. & A. R.
R., where several regiments of soldiers are now encamped. The morning
mail and passenger train left here at 4 A. M. on last Saturday morning
as usual, and had stopped there for breakfast. The conductor, Wm. A.
Fuller, the engineer, J. Cain -- both of this city -- and the
passengers were at the table when some eight men, having uncoupled the
engine and three empty box cars next to it from the passenger and
baggage cars, mounted the engine, pulled open the valve, put on all
steam, and left conductor, engineer, passengers, spectators, and the
soldiers in the camp hard by, all lost in amazement and dumbfounded at
the strange, startling and daring act. |
| The conductor, engineer and
the foreman of the wood department in the road shop, Mr. Anthony
Murphy, who happened to be on the train that morning, put out after
the flying train, on foot, amidst the shouts of laughter by the
crowd, who, though lost in amazement at the unexpected and daring act,
could not repress their risibility at seeing three men start after a
train on foot, which they had just witnessed depart at lightening
speed. They put on all their speed and ran along the track for three
miles, when they came across some track raisers who had a small truck
car. This truck and men were at once "impressed." They took
it by turns of two at a time to run behind this truck and push it
along all up grades and level portions of the road, and let it drive
at will on all the down grades. A little way further up the fugitives
adventurers had stopped, cut the telegraph wires and torn up the
track. Here the pursers were thrown off pell mell, truck and men, upon
the side of the road. Fortunately "nobody was hurt on our
side." The truck was soon placed on the road again; enough hands
were left to repair the track, and with all the power of determined
will and muscle, they pushed on to Etowah Station, some twenty miles
above. |
| Here, most fortunately, Major
Cooper's old coal engine was standing out, fired up. This locomotive
was immediately turned upon her old track, and made fine time to
Kingston. |
| The fugitives, not expecting
such early pursuit, quietly took in wood and water at Cass Station,
and borrowed a schedule from the tank tender upon the plausible plea
that they were running a pressed train, loaded with powder for
Beauregard. Mr. William Russell said he gave them his schedule, and
would have sent the shirt off his back to Beauregard, if it had been
asked for. When they arrived at Kingston they stopped, went to the
agent there, told the powder story, readily got the switch key, went
on the upper turn-out, and waited for the down way freight train to
pass. To all inquiries they replied with the same powder story. When
the freight train had passed, they immediately proceeded on to the
next station -- Adairsville -- where they were to meet the regular
down freight train. At some point on the way they had taken on some
fifty cross-ties, and before reaching Adairsville they stopped on a
curve, tore up the rails, and put seven cross-ties on the track -- no
doubt intending to wreck this down freight train, which would be along
in a few minutes. They had out upon the engine a red handkerchief, as
a kind of flag or signal, which, in railroading, means another train
is behind, thereby indicating to all that the regular passenger train
would be along presently. They stopped a moment at Adairsville, and
said Fuller with the regular passenger train, was behind, and would
wait at Kingston for the freight train, and told the conductor thereon
to push ahead and meet him at that point. They passed on to Calhoun,
where they met the down passenger train, due here at 4:20 P. M., and
without making any stop, they proceeded on -- on, and on. |
| The pursuers, arriving at
Kingston, and learning the adventurers were but twenty minutes ahead,
they left the "Yonah" to blow off, while they mounted the engine
of the Rome branch road. A large party of gentlemen volunteered for
the chase, taking such arms as they could lay their hands on at the
moment; and with this fresh engine they set out with all speed. They
discovered this side of Adairsville three rails torn up and other
impediments in the way. They "took up" in time to prevent an
accident, but could proceed with the train no further. Fuller and
Murphy left the engine and again put out on foot alone! After
running two miles they met the down freight train, one mile out from
Adairsville. They immediately reversed the train and ran backwards to
Adairsville -- put the cars on the siding and pressed forward, making
fine time to Calhoun, where they met the regular down passenger train.
Here they halted a moment, took on board a telegraph operator, and a
number of men who again volunteered, taking their guns along, and
continued the chase. Mr. Fuller also took on here a company of track
hands to repair the track as they went along. A short distance above
Calhoun they flushed their game on a curve, where they doubtless
supposed themselves out of danger, and were quietly oiling the engine,
taking up the track, &c. Discovering that they were pursued, they
mounted and sped away, throwing out upon the track as they went along
the heavy cross-ties they had prepared themselves with. This was done
by breaking out the end of the hindmost box car, and pitching them
out. Thus, "nip and tuck," they passed with fearful speed
Resaca, Tilten, and on through Dalton. |
| At Dalton Fuller put off the
telegraph operator, with instructions to telegraph to Chattanooga to
have them stopped, in case he should fail to overhaul them. The daring
adventurers stopped just opposite and very near to where Colonel
Glenn's regiment is incamped, and cut the wires, but the operator at
Dalton had put the message through about two minutes before. They also
again tore up the track, cut down a telegraph pole, and placed the two
ends of it under the cross-ties, and the middle over the rail on the
track. The pursuers stopped again and got over this impediment, in the
same manner they did before -- taking up rails behind and laying them
down before. Once over this, they shot on, and passed through the
great tunnel, at Tunnel Hill, being there only five minutes behind.
The fugitives still finding themselves closely pursued, uncoupled two
of the box cars from the engine, to impede the progress of the
pursuers. Fuller hastily coupled them to the front of his engine, and
pushed them ahead of him, to the first turn-out or siding, where they
were left. |
| Thus the engine thieves passed
Ringgold, where they began to fag. They were out of wood, water and
oil. Their rapid running and inattention to the engine, had melted all
the brass from the journals, Fuller and his party soon came within 400
yards of them, when the fugitives jumped from the engine and left it
-- three on the north side and five on the south -- all fleeing
precipitately, and scattering through the thicket. Fuller and his
party also took to the woods after them. |
| Some gentlemen, also well
armed, took the engine and some cars of the down passenger train at
Calhoun, and followed up Fuller and Murphy and their party in the
chase but a short distance behind, and reached the place of the
stampede but a very few moments after the first pursuers did. A large
number of men were soon mounted, armed, and scouring the entire
country in search of them. Fortunately, there was a militia muster at
Ringgold. A great many countrymen were in town. Hearing of the chase,
they put out on foot and on horseback in every direction, in search of
the daring but now thoroughly frightened and fugitive men. |
| Six of them were soon
captured. |
|