Civil War Technology-- Part 6: All About Railroads

**  At the beginning of the war, the Confederacy had 1/3 of the rolling freight, 1/5 of the locomotives and 1/10 of the telegraph stations.

**  Neither the Union or Confederate railroads were ready for war.

**  Rails at the time were made of iron, not steel.  This caused frequent derailments.

**  The Wilmington & Weldon Railroad was one of the longest continuous ones in the country.

**  A major problem facing war railroads was the differing gauges of railroad tracks (how far apart they were).  In 1986, the U.S. adopted a standard railroad gauge.

**  Gauge was based on the standard distance that Roman chariot wheels were apart.

**  Then, there were Sherman's Neckties.

--Old Secesh

Sherman's March to the Sea-- Part 11: "Sherman's Neckties"

One letter home from his army described the spoils that a team of designated foragers returned to camp with one night: "Pumpkins, chickens, cabbages" for the evening meal, but also "a looking-glass, an Italian harp..., a peacock, a rocking chair," and more.

Much destruction was formally ordered.  Whatever might benefit the Confederacy--  cotton gins, barns, factories, Confederate leaders' homes-- could be set ablaze.  Teams were assigned to wreck rail lines made bonfires of torn-up ties, heated the iron rails red hot and then twisted them around trees.  these were known as "Sherman's neckties."

Resistance could trigger instant punitive wreckage.  Sherman's men torched towns that harbored snipers and guerrillas hindering his advance.

--Old Secesh