Confederate Railroads-- Part 3: Three Major Operations

The  central Confederate government encountered problems dealing with the states throughout the war inn regards to railroads.

Another problem was that existing tracks and rolling stock were so often cannibalized for iron to put on naval ironclads

It took the Confederate government two years to get some semblance of a plan worked out for its railroads.  1863.  Railroads became under de facto control of the military, but there was no record that this ever became so.

Mr. Banks talked quite a bit about the Confederate use of railroads during the First battle of Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign as well as the Great Locomotive Chase and the moving of Longstreet's Corps to Bragg in the Chickamauga/Chattanooga Campaign.

Longstreet's soldiers experienced quite a series of rerouting and ended up going through North and South Carolina and Georgia to get there.

By 1865, the Confederacy's railroads were in ruins, however, they recovered very quickly as it was important to rebuild the South.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Railroads-- Part 2: Did Stonewall Steal the Locomotives?

Charlie Banks gave the presentation.

Strap rails were the most dangerous ones.  Steel rails were better than iron ones.

The North outproduced the South by a 9 to 1 margin in rail tonnage.

The cost of an engine was $10,000.

Two Confederate officers were somewhat in charge of the country's railroads:   Abraham Myers and Lucius Bellinger Northrup.

There is still a question as to whether Stonewall Jackson moved Baltimore& Ohio rolling stock, including engines, from Harpers Ferry to places further in Virginian in Virginia.

--Old Secesh

The General Comes Home 45 Years Ago: Famous Andrews' Raiders Locomotive

From a reprint in the August 19, 2017, Panama City (Fla.) News-Herald.

They had a reproduction of their front page from Sunday, February 20, 1972.

There was a picture and a short article under it.

ON GUARD.

Civil War buff Denton Myers of Kennesaw. Georgia, stands guard over famed Civil War locomotive "General" after it reached its final resting place Friday.  The locomotive had been the focus of a five-year battle for possession between Georgia and Tennessee until the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Georgia.

The engine will be a special attraction in a museum in Kennesaw.

--Old Semotive