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The Historic "General" 
 
 A THRILLING EPISODE OF THE CIVIL WAR 
 
 Copyrighted 1904 
 RANDELL W. McBRYDE 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 MacGOWAIS & COOKE CO. 
 
 CHATTANOOGA. TENN. 
 
Two CoDles JTeceived 
 MAY 25 1904 
 ^ Copyright Entry 
 
 CLASS ^ XXc. No. 
 
 copy B 
 
 
 JAMES J. ANDREWS. 
 
 » • • 
 
 •.: • 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The historical facts of this narrative were gleaned from pub- 
 lished accounts of Mr. William Pittenger and other survivors of 
 the Andrews' Raid and from personal interviews with Captain 
 William A. Fuller, the leader of the pursuing party, Captain W. 
 J. Whitsitt, of Ringgold, Ga., a Confederate officer who assisted 
 in the pursuit, and other credible witnesses. 
 
 Care has been taken to record the facts accurately and im- 
 partially, and where the statements of the witnesses are at 
 variance, preference has been given to the one in best po3ition 
 to know. 
 
 To the credit of the participants on both sides, it should be 
 said there are very few discrepancies, and the gentlemen of the 
 opposing factions seem disposed to accord to each other that 
 large measure of praise which is due both to the Invaders and 
 the Defenders. 
 
 To Major Hiram A. Butler, of Kennesaw, (Big Shanty) Ga,, 
 for the past fifty-five years connected with the Western & At- 
 lantic Railroad and now General Road Master of that line, the 
 author is indebted for some heretofore unpublished incidents, 
 Acknowledgment is also made to Major J. L. McCollum, of At- 
 lanta, Ga., the present General Superintendent of the Western 
 & Atlantic Railroad, for valuable assistance and for courtesies 
 extended to the author in securing data and illustrations. Major 
 McCollum was a member of the original Raccoon Roughs, 
 organized by General John B. Gordon, and was at the close of 
 the war a staff officer under that Chevalier of the Southern Army 
 and typical American statesman. 
 
 For the artistic cover design, thanks are extended to Mr. L. 
 T. Dickinson, of Chattanooga, who was a private in the First 
 Maryland Cavalry and is now Adjutant of the N. B. Forrest 
 Camp of Confederate Veterans. 
 
 RANDELL W. McBRYDE. 
 
 Chattanooga, Tenn., 
 
 March 17, 1904. 
 
Comrades all, of either army— comrades are we all at last — 
 We who fought and we who suffered, let us ponder on the past. 
 With all trace of hatred banished, with all thought of strife removed 
 For the sake of these our brothers, whom we honored, whom we loved. 
 
 Say not then that "I am Northern" or that "I am of the South," 
 Let the older ones forget it, teach it not to happy Youth ; 
 Let us rather, as the shadows lengthen on our little span. 
 Glory only in the title of the true American. 
 
THE HISTORIC "GENERAL." 
 
 f^^^^^^ORE than forty years have passed, and with 
 ^ them the bitterness of that strife which di- 
 vided this great Nation. 
 Commencing with tlie generous words and 
 magnanimous deeds of that great soldier, Ulysses S. 
 Grant, seconded by the noble exami^le of Robert E. 
 Lee, great both in victory and defeat, and followed 
 in time by sucli patriots as Grover Cleveland, Henry 
 W. Grady, William McKinley and John B. Gordon, 
 the gospel of peace and good will has been preached 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land, until 
 tliere is "no North, no South, no East, and no West," 
 and the record of heroic deeds on both sides is read 
 with pride as the common heritage of a re-united 
 people. 
 
 The little old-fashioned engine "General" stands 
 in the Union Depot at Chattanooga, a silent witness 
 to the heroism of Americans of '62. You may, if you 
 like, sit on the engineer's box and pull the same 
 throttle that Knight pulled wide oi^en at Big Shanty 
 on the morning of April 12th, 1862, and you are 
 strangely lacking in patriotic enthusiasm if you do 
 not experience an accelerated surging of the Ameri- 
 can blood in your veins. Cold indeed is your heart 
 if it does not beat quicker with the memory of the 
 valor of your countrymen who manned this engine on 
 that memorable race. 
 
 At the be2:innin2: of the war the 
 
-7- 
 one of the latest products of the Rojiers Locomotive 
 Works and was reirarded as a fine type of strictly up- 
 to-date locomotive. As an evidence that she was 
 worthy of tliis name and reputation, it was claimed 
 the distance of nine miles between Adairsville and 
 Calhoun was covered in seven and one-half minutes 
 in the famous race, a speed which compares favor- 
 ably with that of engines of the present day and is 
 the more remarkable when it is remembered that the 
 track was in no way equal to the track of any first- 
 class road of today. 
 
 In order to properly appreciate tlie high estimation 
 in which such an engine was held in those days, the 
 fact should be recalled that each engine was named 
 and placed in cliarge of a regular engineer who soon 
 became greatly attached to her and regarded her with 
 positive affection. In this practical and progressive 
 age, engines are regarded only as any other import- 
 ant piece of machinery- they are classified and num- 
 bered and made to work to their capacity by sending 
 them out in turn as rapidly as possible, regardless of 
 the engineers who must have rest, or in technical 
 parlance, they are placed in the ''Chain Gang." 
 
 'the capture of the ''General" was one of the most 
 thrilling episodes of that great war which divided the 
 United states for four long, sad years. 
 
 Scout or spy, soldier or raider, call him what you 
 will, James J. Andrews was a hero Avho will live in 
 history as the man who conceived and undertook the 
 most original and daring adventure within the 
 enemy's lines during the war, and side by side with 
 the name of Andrews will live the name and fame of 
 
— 8- 
 William A. Fuller, the brave, resourceful and relent- 
 less pursuer who frustrated the great raider in one 
 of the best planned and so far as it was possible, one 
 of the best executed raids of history. 
 
 Both men suffered disappointment; Andrews 
 died and won — Fuller lived and lost. Both men 
 used their talents, their strength and their 
 sublime courage to the limit of endurance in 
 the discharge of duty. Andrews ''left his bones 
 in Dixie" as he said he would unless success crowned 
 his efforts and saw, as he had often wished, 
 "what was on the other side of Jordan." Fuller 
 lived to see a happy reunion of the Blue and the 
 Gray and to congratulate the survivors, and comfort 
 at least one widow who lived to battle with the world 
 alone as the result of ^hat famous raid for the capture 
 of a locomotive and the destruction of an important 
 railroad line.* 
 
 To understand clearly the importance and prol)- 
 able effect of the Andrews Raid, had it suc- 
 ceeded, it is necessary to consider the status of the 
 war at that time and the position of the Confederate 
 armies whose lines were invaded for a distance of 
 about two hundred miles by this brave little body of 
 men. 
 
 During the first year of the war, remarkable suc- 
 cess had followed the armies of the Confederacy 
 under General Robert E. Lee, which had the effect of 
 arousing the North to a better realization of the mag- 
 nitude of the task undertaken by the Federal army 
 and at the same time of stimulating; and encoura2;ini>; 
 
 Reference is made to the Grand Army Reunion at Columbus, Ohio, 1889. 
 
-9— 
 the officers and soldiers of the Confederacy. 
 
 In the spring of 1862 the Confederate line of de- 
 fense extended from Richmond, Virginia, to Corinth, 
 Mississippi, the army at Kichmond being under the 
 command of General Joseph E. Johnston, and at 
 Corinth under General G. T. Beauregard; the line of 
 railroad running from Memphis to Richmond through 
 Chattanooga, Knoxville and East Tennessee offered 
 the only means of rapid transit between the two 
 armies, and the Western & Atlantic Railroad running 
 south from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and connecting 
 with divergent lines to Charleston, Savannah, Mont- 
 gomery, Mobile and New Orleans was therefore of 
 supreme importance to the Confederacy for the trans- 
 portation of supplies and men. 
 
 The plan conceived by Captain Andrews and sanc- 
 tioned by General O. M. Mitchell was to destroy 
 several bridges of the old-fashioned wooden covered 
 type, thereby cutting off communication between 
 Chattanooga and the South, and leaving Chattanooga, 
 which was at the time defended by a small force, 
 probably three thousand men, under General Led- 
 better, a comparatively easy prey to the Union Army. 
 
 James J. Andrews was a native of Hancock County 
 Virginia, but located in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, in 
 the year 1859 ; he w^as a young man and was seeking 
 a position as school teacher, but finding no opportun- 
 ity for employment of this kind in Flemingsburg and 
 liking the place and people, he began work as a house 
 and ornamental painter in which he was said to be 
 very skillful. He was also said to have had a beau- 
 tiful voice and taujiht singing-school in the evenings, 
 
—10— 
 
 buf. fate did not intend him for such a quiet, peace- 
 ful life and soon after the beginning: of the war, he 
 joined the Union forces as a scout. For this branch 
 of military service he was singularly well equipped 
 by nature ; a fine specimen of physical manhood with 
 (juick perception, good judgment, diplomacy, cool- 
 ness and unlimited courage. 
 
 The little company of twenty-one men who accom- 
 panied him on his dangerous mission w^ere selected 
 from various regiments and detailed to report to him 
 for orders, but their services Avere not accepted until 
 he had explained the character of the work to be un- 
 dertaken, the dangers to be encountered, and an op- 
 portunity was given to each man to return to his com- 
 pany without dishonor, if he preferred to do so. 
 
 They were all accepted by Andrews as volunteers 
 to penetrate the enemy's lines in citizen's clothes, 
 and Mr. Pittenger, one of tlie survivors, says An- 
 drews told them explicitly if they were detected 
 by the enemy while in disguise beyond the Federal 
 lines, tliey would in all probability be hung as spies. 
 
 The plan and object of tlie raid was explained to 
 them in detail at that memorable meeting in tlie 
 woods near Shelbyville, Tenn., INIonday night April 
 7tli., 1862. After this meeting, the men broke up 
 into squads of three or four, and made their way 
 through the Confederate lines to Marietta, Georgia, 
 to meet Andrews by appointment and start on their 
 return trip with the engine on Friday, April 11th. 
 They were unable to reach Marietta at the time ap- 
 pointed however, and being one day late did not 
 start back till Saturday morning April 12th. This 
 
—11— 
 
 delay, as they afterward learned, was very unfortu- 
 nate, as General Mitchell, who was to move onHunts- 
 ville, Alabama, on the same day, accomplished his 
 purpose and the raiders encountered several obstac- 
 les in the way of extra freight trains moving south 
 from Chattanooga with supplies. 
 
 The passenger train for Chattanooga left Atlanta 
 at 6 a. m. and at Marietta, Captain Andrews and his 
 party of nineteen men (two being accidentally left) 
 got on board in groups of three or four with tickets 
 to different destinations and scattered themselves 
 through the train. 
 
 There were three empty box cars next to the en- 
 gine and ahead of the coaches, a fortunate circum- 
 stance on which the raiders had not counted, but 
 which Andrews with his quick perception utilized. 
 
 Now^ came the beginning of the excitement— At 
 Big Shanty only seven miles away, the train would 
 stop for breakfast and the engine Avould be captured 
 or the expedition would fail. 
 
 The name of this station was unique and the stu- 
 dent of history Avill naturally regret the change to 
 the more euphonious "Kennesaw" of the present 
 time, because as "Big Shanty^' it became famous. 
 The name originated in the fact that at this point 
 were located shanties for the construction force un- 
 der Maj. H. A. Butler and being reached by a heavy 
 grade the railroad men called it first the "Big 
 Grade to the Shanties'' and finally, by an easy evolu- 
 tion, "Big Shanty Grade" and "Big Shanty." 
 
 There in sight of a Confederate camp, these tw enty 
 men from the Union Armv were to seize the engine 
 
 i.ofc. 
 
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 ii ^ 
 
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-13— 
 and make good their escape. Think of the odds 
 against them ; the desperate chances of life and death 
 and the marvelous coolness and self-possession of An- 
 drews, who was responsible and must answer for the 
 success or failure of the great undertaking and the 
 lives of nineteen brave men. None knew so well as 
 he the risks to be run but his men knew the plan and 
 could form a fair estimate of the danger. They 
 scarcely hoped to escape without some resistance. 
 They had reason to hope the plan would be executed 
 so quickly in the absence of the train crew and pas- 
 sengers they could overcome such resistance as might 
 be ottered, but a single encounter, a single shot would 
 arouse three thousand Confederates and even if they 
 escaped with the engine, there would be loss of life 
 and the fight begun one hundred and nine miles south 
 of Chattanooga with the whole intervening country 
 full of their enemies. 
 
 ''Big Shanty! Twenty minutes for breakfast." 
 Most of the passengers left the train, including 
 Andrews and Knight, the engineer, the remainder of 
 the party keeping their seats. Every member of the 
 train crew^ went to breakfast, leaving the engine and 
 train absolutely unprotected except for the presence 
 of a few passengers. Now was the crucial time, the 
 supreme moment. 
 
 Andrews quietly directed Knight to uncouple the 
 train back of the empty freight cars, thus providing 
 quarters for his company without disturbing or 
 alarming the regular passengers, then with as much 
 coolness and deliberation as if he were the regular 
 conductor, though with the greatest promptness 
 
—14— 
 and dispatch, loaded his men in the cars, while he, 
 with Knight, Wilson and Brown, mounted the engine 
 and sped away without a struggle — all of this between 
 the Confederate picket lines and in plain view of the 
 camp of recruits. 
 
 One precaution was omitted ; they failed to cut the 
 bell cord, and when it snapped with the parting of 
 the train the gong in the engine cab rang out loud 
 and clear. 
 
 There was no telegraph office at Big Shanty and 
 Andrews knew it; tlie nearest telegraph station was 
 
 TAOLU MARri THE SPOI AT WHICn Tn 
 
 LOCOMOTIVE 'GENERAL- 
 
 ANDREWS PARTY 
 
 Tablet at Big Shanty (Kennesaw,) Ga. 
 Marietta and before a message could possibly l)e sent 
 there the wires to Chattanooga would be cut. 
 
 They were off now in fine spirits and with excel- 
 lent prospects of success. Captain Andrews having 
 
—15— 
 
 posted himself as to schedules and meetiiii; points, 
 knew exactly what to expect in the ordinary course 
 of business and trusted to his nerve and diplomacy to 
 give a satisfactory account of himself and pass safely 
 the several danger points ahead of them. They had 
 barely left Big Shanty, however, when the "General," 
 which made such a brave start, commenced to run 
 slower and slower and finally came to a full stoi). 
 This was, of course, discouraging and somewhat 
 alarming, but the engineer found on inspection the 
 trouble Avas due to dampers having been closed by 
 the regular engineer at Big Shanty, and in his haste 
 to get away he had neglected to open tliem. This 
 only resulted in a very slight delay, which was 
 utilized in obstructing the track and cutting the 
 telegraph wires. 
 
 Andrews was now quite confident of success and 
 for the first time indicated some excitement, in his 
 enthusiasm going l)ack to the box car where the men 
 were, shaking hands with them and congratulating 
 them on their successful start and bright prospect. 
 
 According to his calculations, tliere was only one 
 train likely to give them troul)le ; that was the south 
 bound local freight which he knew might be met at 
 any point between Big Shanty and Kingston. A red 
 flag was placed in proper position on the train to in- 
 dicate another section following, and to assist him in 
 explanations which might be required of his running 
 on the time of the passenger train. Being slightly 
 ahead of time on account of their unceremonious 
 departure from Big Shanty before waiting for the 
 passengers to hnish breakfast, they now traveled 
 
—16— 
 
 leisurely, not having the slightest fear of pursuit from 
 that station and calculating that any pursuit which 
 might be made, would be from Atlanta after report 
 had been made from Marietta, seven miles south. 
 
 At Moon's Station, they found some section men at 
 work and secured tools for use in tearing up rails. 
 The engineers were naturally inclined to try the 
 speed of the "General," but Andrews cautioned them 
 to go slow, the schedule time being only about 
 twenty-five miles per hour, the road being full of 
 short curves and laid with light iron rails.* 
 
 They ran through Acworth and Allatoona and then 
 stopped again to cut the wires and obstruct the 
 track. There also for the first time they tore up one 
 or more rails from the track with the aid of the tools 
 they had captured at Moons ; this proved quite a dif- 
 ficult undertaking, but they had, as they thought, 
 time to spare, and accomplished their purpose with- 
 out being disturbed. The rails, so torn up, were car- 
 ried away with them so as to make sure the track 
 could not be quickly repaired, and this gave them a 
 feeling of absolute security as to pursuit from the 
 south. Stopping every now and then to cut w4res, 
 obstruct the track or tear up a rail, they at length 
 reached Etowah, seventeen miles north of Big Shanty. 
 
 The traveler of today, crossing the Etowah River 
 on a modern steel bridge may scarcely notice the 
 small stream, so swiftly does it pass in the panorama 
 of peach orchards and corn fields seen from the car 
 window, but the mountain on the north side, rising 
 
 * Major Butler, Road Master of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, states the 
 track was laid with 45 lb. iron rail at that time and there was no such thing as 
 ballast. It is now laid with 80 lb. steel rail and ballasted with stone. 
 
-17- 
 abruptly almost, from the river bank, pleases the eye 
 of the lover of nature and if he is familiar with the 
 story of the "General" he will notice a narrow, red 
 line between the river and the mountain, which 
 marks the track of an abandoned railroad. This was 
 the private line of the Cooper Iron Works, and here, 
 standing on a siding. Captain Andrews was surprised 
 to see a locomotive under steam. This was the 
 "Yonah" and Mr. Knight suggested that she be dis- 
 abled and the long, wooden bridge over the river de- 
 stroyed, but after some discussion. Captain Andrews 
 decided this would be unnecessary and wishing to 
 avoid giving any alarm or exciting suspicion so 
 early in the race and so far from home, passed on. 
 
 His plan was to burn the Oostanaula bridge at Ke- 
 saca, thirty-six miles north and he had no fear of pur- 
 suit from the south on account of the track having 
 been obstructed and torn up. This he afterwards 
 learned was a fatal mistake. 
 
 Passing through Cartersville, just beyond, without 
 stopping, they smiled at the surprised and disappoint- 
 ed passengers waiting at the station and proceeded 
 to Cass, four miles north, where they stopped for 
 wood. Here it became necessary for Captain An- 
 drews to give an account of himself to William Rus- 
 sell, agent of the Eailroad Company, which he did 
 in a most skillful and satisfactory manner. He told 
 him he had been sent by General Beauregard, who 
 was in desperate straits for ammunition, to bring 
 a train load of powder through to him at Corinth. 
 Had it been necessary, he could no doubt have veri- 
 fied this statement by exhibiting f>asses issued b^? 
 
uaoYce 
 
 MAP OF THE 
 
 WESTERN^^ ATLANTIC 
 F^AI L ROAD 
 
-19- 
 General Beaurei>ard himself whom he had met some 
 time before in Nashville and from wliom passes had 
 been secured as a southern blockade runner to l)ring 
 goods from the north through the lines, but Mr. Rus- 
 sell did not appear to doubt his story in the least, 
 the commanding appearance and self-possessed man- 
 ners of Captain Andrews carrying conviction easily 
 before him. 
 
 While the Avood was being loaded, Captain Andrews 
 conversed freely with Mr. Russell and asked him for 
 a time card which was readily furnished, Mr. Russell 
 remarking he would ''send his shirt to Beauregard'' 
 if the letter wanted it. 
 
 Captain Andrews' feeling of security was now en- 
 hanced by the possession of an official time card of 
 the road, which, upon inspection, showed Kingston, 
 seven miles away, to be the meeting point for the 
 local freight they were expecting, and the confidence 
 of the luen was also strengthened by the cordial 
 reception of. the Beauregard story at Cass. 
 
 They reached Kingston ahead of schedule time and 
 seeing at a glance the local freight had not ar- 
 rived. Captain Andrews immediately ran his train 
 past the st£|tion and ordered the switch tender to 
 throw the switch and let them in on the side track, 
 which was promptly done. This action, indicating a 
 knowledge of the time card and railroad rules, 
 undoubtedly saved him some embarrasing questions 
 which might have given serious trouble. . . 
 
 So far everything had gone remarkably well with 
 the Raiders and they had abundant reason to anticir 
 pate clear jailing for the rest of the way and the 
 
-20— 
 triumphant success of their undertaking, but ''the 
 best laid phms of mice and men gang aft aglee." 
 
 How about the men left at Big Shanty? Was noth- 
 ing being done to stop them in their career? Fortu- 
 nately for the Confederacy the passenger train pulled 
 by the "General" from Atlanta that morning was in 
 charge of a conductor who had rare ([ualities for meet- 
 ing this extraordinary emergency, and when William 
 A. Fuller heard the gong on his engine ring and saw 
 through the window of the eating house, as he sat at 
 breakfast, his engine and three cars disappearing, he 
 immediately ran out and commenced pursuit on foot 
 followed by Mr. Anthony Murphy, Master Mechanic 
 of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and Mr. Jeff 
 Cain, engineer; Mr Murphy having first dispatched 
 William Kendrick on horseback to Marietta to notify 
 the Atlanta office by wire. However absurd the pur- 
 suit of a locomotive on foot may have appeared to the 
 ordinary spectator, it was soon evident that Captain 
 Fuller's prompt effort with the only means at hand, 
 was not entirely due to impulse, but to a distinct 
 plan of pursuit instantly conceived and executed. 
 Neither he nor his comrades, however, knew at this 
 time who had captured the engine, and did not imagine 
 these men were Federal soldiers in disguise ; the first 
 idea being that the engine had been taken by some 
 fugitive southern soldiers who had deserted and were 
 trying to escape. 
 
 Captain Fuller ran at the very limit of his speed for 
 two and one-half miles to Moon's Station, where he 
 met Jack Bond, section foreman, and a gang of men, 
 from whom he learned the men who passed on the 
 
-21- 
 "General" numbered twenty-four or twenty-five; this^ 
 was quite a surprise, as it liad heen reported at the 
 station tliere were only four men, the remainder of 
 the party having entered a box car without attract- 
 ing any particuhir attention and concealed themselves. 
 He was also informed these men had seized the tools 
 of the section men, cut the telegraph wires and car- 
 
 A Modern Railroad — View Looking North From the Tunnel- 
 Village of Tunnel Hill in the distance. 
 
 ried away about one hundred yards of the wire. This 
 convinced him they were Union soldiers in disguise, 
 or, quoting his own language, he ''knew at once it 
 was a Yankee trick," and fired his zeal to pursue and 
 capture them. 
 
 So swiftly had he run that Mr. Murphy and Mr. 
 
—22— 
 Caiu were considerably behind, and assisted by Mr. 
 Bond and tWc) of his men, he returned on a hand car 
 to ]3ick them up, resuming the chase under somewhat 
 better conditions. It should be remembered this was 
 not such a handcar or velocipede as is used by track 
 men of the present day. but was propelled by poles 
 or by hand. Two of the men ran on the ground and 
 pushed the car while the others rode, taking turns at 
 the pushing. Such a thing as a lever car was in those 
 days a luxury undreamed of, and the common prac- 
 tice of section men was to sit on the ends and propel 
 the cars by kicking the ties.* 
 
 Captain Fuller now explained his plan, which was 
 to push on as rapidly as possible and endeavor to 
 ireach Etowah before the Yonah left that station. 
 'They soon came to the break in the track and carried 
 'their car over. 
 
 1 At Acworth they secured double-barreled shot- 
 iguns, but Captain huller says he did not have time 
 all day to examine his to see whether or not it w^as 
 loaded. PresWiaig on, they came in sight of Etowah, 
 where, to theirHgreat delight, the Yonah was stand- 
 ing under steam, but at the same moment another 
 break in the track which they failed to see jn time, 
 threw them all pell-mell into the ditch. They were 
 too much elated at the sight of the engine to pay 
 much attention to so insignificant a catastrophe and 
 picking up themselves and the car, they again got on 
 the track and hurried on to Etowah. Here they se- 
 cured the engine immediately, with a coal car at- 
 
 * Major Butler says he has kicked a car in this manner many a mile on this 
 road. 
 
—23- 
 tacyhed, and took on six or eiiiht Confederate soldiers 
 who v^olimteered to assist in the chase. Captain Fid- 
 ler states the distance of fourteen miles from Etowah 
 to Kingston was run in fifteen minutes and hetreached 
 that station a few minutes after the departure of 
 Captain Andrews and the ''General." Here to their 
 great annoyance, they found several long freight 
 trains standing on the main line which had been run 
 past the station at the urgent demand of Captain An- 
 drew's to make way for his "train of powder for Gen- 
 eral Beauregard,'' and here again Captain Fuller dis- 
 played his wonderful ({uickness of perception and 
 natural resourcefulness. Abandoning the Yonah, he 
 ran again on foot, more than two miles to the north 
 end of the town to a point where the Kome Eailroad 
 intersected the Western & Atlantic. In this race he 
 lost his volunteers but found the Rome engine as he 
 had hoped, and renewed the pursuit, taking his stand 
 on the pih)t to look out for obstacles and give signals 
 to the engineer. 
 
 At Kingston, Captain Andrews and his company 
 were delayed one hour and five minutes, having had 
 to wait for the arrival of three freiglit trains instead 
 of one as he expected, the second and third sections 
 being extra trains, carrying provisions out of Chat- 
 tanooga, on account of the advance of General Mit- 
 chell to Huntsville the day before. Here also he was 
 subjected to a great deal of questioning and his 
 ''Beauregard powder story" excited some incredul- 
 ity on account of the movement of rolling stock and 
 goods out of Chattanooga to the South. To this he 
 responded, he did. not believe the story of the 
 
—24- 
 
 capture of Huntsville by General Mitchell, who was 
 not fool enough to run down there, but if he did, 
 Beauregard was more than a match for him. ''At 
 any rate," said he, *'I have my orders." 
 
 As the delay increased and Andrews was more and 
 more pressed, his men were warned to be ready to 
 jump out on signal and fight if necessary ; and weary 
 of the long suspense shut up in the box-car, they 
 would have welcomed an opportunity to fight, but the 
 coolness and diplomacy of their leader prevailed and 
 they finally made a safe start from Kingston, still 
 confident of success. They had no idea they were 
 being pursued, much less that their relentless pur- 
 suer Avas only four minutes behind them. 
 
 Soon after they left Kingston, they stopped to cut 
 the telegraph wires again and place a few obstruc- 
 tions on the track, and having done so, Captain An- 
 drews, weary of the delay, gave orders to his engine 
 crew, " push her, boys; push her!" This was wel- 
 come news to all, and they rushed on to Adairsville, 
 ten miles north, where they were to meet two trains 
 noAV over-due. It was considered necessary, how- 
 ever, in view of the several trains they had passed 
 and the suspicions which had been aroused, to stop 
 again and tear up a portion of track ; here also they 
 cut the wires and loaded up a large number of cross- 
 ties, as well as other wood, to be used as fuel and for 
 burning the Oostanaula bridge. While so engaged, 
 they heard for the first time the faint but unmistak- 
 able sound of the whistle of a locomotive in pursuit; 
 this, of course, made it more important than ever to 
 make a break in the track which they finally sue- 
 
—25- 
 ceeded in doing and carried off the rail with them. 
 
 Once more tliey were off with a full head of steam 
 and going at a mad rate of speed, anxious to meet 
 and pass the two trains at Adairsville as quickly as 
 possible, and uneasy too, because of the suspicion of 
 pursuit and uncertainty as to the character or num- 
 bers of their pursuers. 
 
 The men in the box-car were pitched from side to 
 side very roughly, but found the rapid motion exhil- 
 arating and enjoyed the consciousness of lengthening 
 the distance from their enemies and shortening the 
 distance to their friends in Tennessee. 
 
 As they came in sight of the station at Adairsville, 
 they rejoiced to find the freight train they had ex- 
 pected, standing on the siding, waiting for them. 
 Stopping on the main line opposite the station and 
 alongside of the freight train. Captain Andrews 
 again had to run the gauntlet of questions in regard 
 to his train and the regular passenger train whose 
 schedule he was representing. Here also he heard 
 news of General Mitchell's operations, some of the 
 reports, as might be expected, being greatly exagger- 
 ated, but it was quite* evident Chattanooga was panic 
 stricken. 
 
 He learned from the conductor of the south-bound 
 freight train that while the south-bound passenger 
 train Avas scheduled to pass him at this station, the 
 limit of time he was required to wait under the time- 
 card rules had exi^ired and he had determined to pull 
 out at once, leaving word for the passenger train to 
 pass him at Kingston. This suited Andrews exactly, 
 and he promptly expressed his approval and told the 
 
—26— 
 coiuliictor Fuller would probably: rwait for him at 
 Kingston, his idea evidently bein^' to wreck the train 
 wliere the rail had been lifted. Upon the conductor 
 suirgesting Andrews would of course remain at 
 Adairsville until the arrival of the south-bound pas- 
 senger train, he said "No,^' explaining that the fate 
 of Beauregard's army depended on his getting 
 through quickly with the powder. This aroused the 
 patriotism of the conductor who told him then to go 
 ahead by all means ])ut cautioned him to run very 
 slow and flag around every curve to avoid collision. 
 Andrews indicated his assent but immediately started 
 for the nine mile run to Calhoun with instructions to 
 his engineer to make the engine show her speed and 
 run as fast as possible. 
 
 In the mean time Captain Fuller left Kingston as 
 described, on the pilot of the Rome engine, running 
 as fast as possible wherever he found a clear track 
 but continually on the outlook for obstructions and 
 stopping every now and then to move cross-ties that 
 had been thrown out by the raiders until they came 
 to the point where the rail had been lifted and car- 
 ried away, which, of course, presented an impassable 
 barrier. Knowing the schedule of the road as he 
 did, and recalling instantly the fact that a south- 
 bound freight train was then due at Adairsville, 
 four miles north, he lost no time in considering 
 what Avas to be done, but unhesitatingly abandoned 
 the Rome engine and called for volunteers for an- 
 other foot-race. According to his own account, Mr. 
 Anthony Murphy was the only man who joined him, 
 and after a three-mile run over wet and slippery 
 
-27— 
 ii^round, they met the freight train, with twenty-one 
 cars. As soon as the engineer saw them, he reversed his 
 engine, being somewhat suspicious, after reflection, 
 of the strange actions of Andrews and the extraordi- 
 nary statement made by him at Adairsville, and 
 scarcely waiting for explanations, the freight train 
 was backed to Adairsville, the cars dropped on the 
 siding, and the pursuit renewed. 
 
 Captain Fuller had taken his position on top of the 
 head car as the train backed into Adairsville, and 
 jumping off before they reached the switch, quickly 
 threw it to the siding, then uncoupling the cars from 
 the engine and throwing the switch back after they 
 •were safely on the siding, mounted the engine with- 
 out coming to a stop. 80 quickly was this done 
 the cars on the siding were still rolling when the 
 engine passed them on the start for Calhoun. 
 
 They now had the ''Texas," a Danforth & Cooke en- 
 gine, headed towards Atlanta and for the fir^t time 
 found it necessary to run backwards. It was also 
 evident that Andrews, with the "General," had 
 gained considera])ly ^)n them during the three-mile 
 foot race. 
 
 Captain Fuller now had with him, besides Mr. 
 Murphy, Peter .1. Bracken, engineer; Fleming Cox, 
 fireman; Alonzo Martin, wood-passer, and Henry 
 Haney, acting brakeman, the four last being the crew 
 of the "Texas." 
 
 The race was now on in earnest. Fuller, of course, 
 had learned of the movements of the raiders at each 
 station he had passed and knew about how far they 
 were ahead of him, while Andrews knew he was 
 
-28- 
 being closely pursued and was also in danger of a 
 head-on collision with the south-bound passenger 
 train, on whose time he was now running, taking des- 
 perate chances of reaching Calhoun before that train 
 left. It was important for Fuller to over-take them 
 as quickly as possible in order to prevent further 
 destruction of track or the burning of bridges which 
 would have barred his progress entirely. There was 
 but one more engine on the road besides the "Gen- 
 eral" between him and Chattanooga, and if Andrews 
 should succeed in tearing up the track or destroying 
 a bridge north of this engine the race would be his. 
 Both men evidently understood the situation thor- 
 oughly and the "General" and the "Texas" were 
 made to run as fast as wheels would turn between 
 Adairsville and Calhoun. Andrews noAv showed 
 great anxiety and is said to have stood with his watch 
 in his hand, urging his men to make the best speed 
 possible. Engineers William Knight and W. W. 
 Brown, and fireman J. A. Wilson responded bravely 
 and loyally, and even the "General" seemed to be in 
 sympathy with them and fairly flew over the track, 
 leaping and bounding like a thing of life, and reeling 
 from side to side as the rough places in the track 
 were struck and safely passed. The men on the 
 engine, of course, understood the dangers before and 
 behind as much as Andrews did, though none of tbem 
 knew who were their pursuers ; they knew the des- 
 perate chances of life and death they were taking 
 and enjoyed the excitement, but the men in the box 
 car were not so well posted and to them the situation 
 was most trvinjj. Thev were tossed from side to side 
 
-29- 
 in the car, and while tlie door was sometimes opened 
 for out look, they couhl only open it partially for 
 fear of beinji; pitched out head-long. It seemed the 
 car would certainly leave the track and a terrible 
 wreck was momentarily expected. Captain An- 
 drews stated the run of nine miles to Calhoun was 
 made in seven and a half minutes. Captain Fuller, 
 following him on the ''Texas,'' states they ran nearly 
 a mile a minute. 
 
 Coming in sight of Calhoun the crew of the " Gen- 
 eral," running at this terrific rate of speed, saw the 
 passenger train just starting to leave the station, but 
 the engineer of that train, hearing their loud whistle 
 and seeing them coming, quickly backed up north of 
 the switch, which he threw and turned Andrews' 
 train in on the siding. In backing up, however, he 
 had fouled the north switch, nuiking it impossible 
 for Andrews' train to proceed until his train moved 
 out of the way. The crew of the passenger train 
 now demanded an explanation, evidently alarmed at 
 the narrow escape they had made from a horrible 
 collision. Andrews would not have stopped to ex- 
 plain except that he could not get away until the 
 other train moved, and w as of course in great danger on 
 account of no wires having been cut between Adairs- 
 ville and Calhoun, nor any obstructions having been 
 placed on the track, but he calmly told the Beaure- 
 gard powdor story again. This conductor was not so 
 ready as others to accept his explanation of the mat- 
 ter and could by no means be induced to start south 
 to meet the north bound train at Adairsville; futher- 
 more, he was in no hurry to move his train down far 
 
—so- 
 enough to clear the north switch and let this wild 
 train out.. Captain Andrews, however, was equal to 
 the occasion, and after explaining the urgency of his 
 orders to get through with the powder, made a posi- 
 tive demand that his train be let out, which was 
 done. Here again a fight was narrowly averted, as 
 had the conductor remained obstinate, it w^ould have 
 been necessary to use force to avoid delay. 
 
 Again they were off with no more trains to pass 
 and the only thing to fear was the pursuing engine 
 they had heard the first and only time between 
 Kingston and Adairsville. It was only six miles to 
 the Oostanaula bridge at Resaca and if they couUl suc- 
 ceed in destroying this bridge, the race would l)e 
 won. Wires woukl be cut and other bridges burned, 
 and from the news they had heard along the line as to 
 the movements of General Mitchell and the condition 
 of affairs in Chattanooga, the prospects seemed ex- 
 cellent of getting through to the Northern lines. 
 
 At Calhoun, Captain Fuller recognized a boy, whom 
 he knew to be the telegraph operator from Dalton, 
 who had come this far looking for the break in the 
 wires, and slowing up as they passed the station, took 
 him by the hand and lifted him into the tender. As 
 they sped on their way he wrote a telegram to Gen- 
 eral Ledbetter at Chattanooga informing him of the 
 capture of the "General," and warning him to look 
 out for the captors wlio were evidently Federals in 
 disguise. 
 
 It was his intention to send this telegram from 
 Dalton, twenty-two miles north, and he hoped to fol- 
 low the " General " so closely as to prevent any fur- 
 
-31— 
 ther destruction of track or cutting of wires. 
 
 The train both Andrews and Fuller passed at Cal- 
 houn had as passengers Capt. W. J. Whitsitt, of the 
 First Georgia Confederate Volunteers, who with ten 
 armed soldiers, was returning to his command at 
 Mobile, in charge of a number of recruits from Ring- 
 gold and vicinity. Suspicion being already aroused 
 by the passing of Andrews, a brief explanation from 
 Fuller sufficed to give the alarm, and Capt. Whitsitt 
 with his ten regular soldiers, boarded the tender of 
 the engine and followed the '' Texas " closely in the 
 race the remainder of the distance. 
 
 Andrews ran at a good rate of speed for about two 
 and a half miles from Calhoun, when he stopped 
 again to cut the wires and tear up a rail, so as to 
 make sure of cutting off pursuit until they could de- 
 stroy the Oostanaula bridge, now just ahead of them, 
 according to the original plan. His men responded 
 quickly and cheerfully and Mr. 8cott, who had all 
 along been climbing the telegraph poles and cutting 
 wires, was more agile than ever. Animated by au 
 earnest desire for the success of their undertaking 
 and stimulated by knowledge of the danger, they put 
 forth their best efforts, knowing this would be the 
 last work of the kind they would be called upon to do, 
 for when once the Oostanaula bridge should be de- 
 stroyed, further pursuit by rail from the South would 
 be impossible, and they were confident no news had 
 gone to Chattanooga as yet to betray them. 
 
 The crisis was now at hand ; one more supreme ef- 
 fort and the victory would be won. Everything was 
 soaking wet, however, and the burning of the bridge 
 
-32— 
 
 might be no easy matter, as in spite of the fact that 
 it was an old wooden structure, it might require more 
 time than they could spare. Here for the first time, 
 according to accounts given by the survivors, An- 
 drews showed real impatience ; it seemed the rail 
 would never come up. Tearing off his high hat and 
 cape, he snatched a tool from the hands of the man 
 who was wielding it and those who saw him said they 
 had never before seen blows rained with such precis- 
 ion and force. Just then they heard the loud and 
 clear whistle of the pursuing engine ; it was evidently 
 near and running at terrific speed; there was not a 
 moment to lose — every nerve and muscle was strain- 
 ed to its utmost tension, but only one end of the rail 
 was loosened ; not another moment could be spared, 
 so the loose end of the rail was propped up under a 
 fence-rail, the men leaped into the car and with a 
 bound that nearly threw them from their feet, the 
 '' General '^ was off again. 
 
 Now, for the first time, Capt. Fuller and his men 
 were in sight ; there were only seven in his party ; 
 Mr. Murphy, the four members of the crew^ of the 
 " Texas,'' and the operator picked up at Calhoun, but 
 they were armed with guns and no doubt presented a 
 formidable appearance as they dashed into view. 
 Andrews' men of course were only armed with pistols 
 and not prepared for a fight at long range. For- 
 tunately for Capt. Fuller, the " Texas " mounted and 
 pressed the displaced rail into position without 
 leaving the track, for it was impossible for him to 
 stop after this was observed and their escape from a 
 wreck at this time was certainly marvelous. All hope 
 
-33- 
 of burning the bridge being now gone, Andrews' last 
 hope was in some way to derail or disable the pur- 
 suing engine, and uncoupling his rear car and revers- 
 ing the engine, he undertook to hurl the car as a 
 projectile against the "Texas.'' This was unsuc- 
 cessful, as the "Texas" promptly slowed up, Capt. 
 Fuller coupled to the car and continued the pursuit. 
 
 The raiders had loaded their fuel for burning the 
 bridge in the last car and this Avas lost, but was now 
 of no consequence as they would certainly not be able 
 to accomplish their purpose. The cross-ties they had 
 picked up were in the second car and they now 
 punched out the rear end of this and commenced 
 dropping ties on the track with the hope of derailing 
 the "Texas." According to Mr. Pittenger, these 
 ties showed a perverse disposition to roll off the track 
 and though enough remained to increase the caution 
 and slacken the speed of their pursuers, the "Texas" 
 w^as keeping uncomfortably close to them and for the 
 first time the raiders began to feel despondent. Mis- 
 fortune seemed to have followed them from the start. 
 By diplomacy, courage, perseverance and hard work 
 they had so far overcome every obstacle in their way 
 and had repeatedly placed, as they hoped, insur- 
 mountable obstacles behind them, but their pursuers 
 had been equally fearless, equally resourceful and 
 were evidently tireless and relentless. Crossing the 
 trestle, just south of the bridge, they dropped their 
 second car, but unfortunately without any attempt to 
 derail it and it proved only a small obstacle to the 
 pursuers. 
 
 Andrews has been criticised for not derailing this 
 
—Si- 
 car, but it is Avell known to railroad men that while 
 cars are frequently derailed from apparently trifling- 
 causes, it is no easy matter to derail one on a straight 
 track without tools and without technical knowledge 
 of such matters, and when it is remembered how 
 closely he was being pursued by an armed party, 
 whose numbers he did not know, there is no room for 
 censure or reflection upon him for failure to take 
 more precautions to insure success. 
 
 Passing through Resaca, the "Texas" was in hot 
 pursuit, and dropping the two cars abandoned b}^ the 
 "General" on the side-track, the race was continued 
 with only the light engine. The two engines were 
 about evenly matched in size and capacity, and both 
 were being run at the utmost speed of which they 
 were capable, the "Texas" being under slight disad- 
 vantage on account of running backwards and in con- 
 stant danger of derailment from the ties which An- 
 drews' men were still dropping on the track. 
 
 After passing Resaca, Andrews stopped long enough 
 to cut the wires again, being uncertain as whether or 
 not there was a telegraph ofiice at that station, and, 
 having no time to undertake the tearing up a rail, 
 they took one they had previously lifted and loaded 
 on the car next to the engine and placed it diagonally 
 across the track, one end being under the rail on one 
 side andjthe other on top the rail at the other side. 
 Andrews evidently had strong hopes that this last 
 obstacle would surely derail the pursuing engine and 
 according to every rule and precedent, this should 
 have been the result. 
 
 This section of the country is quite hilly and the 
 
-35- 
 road is full of curves. At each little stretch of 
 straight track the "Texas'' would come in siglit only to 
 disappear again as the "General " rounded the liext 
 hill and was hid behind the green foliage of the beau- 
 tiful North Georgia forests. 
 
 Near Tilton, six miles north of Resaca, was a wood 
 station called Greens, and here in dire necessity 
 Andrews stopped for wood ; hurriedly, almost fran- 
 tically, working for their lives, a partial supply was 
 secured and the track obstructed as much as possible 
 so as to make a full stop necessary for their pursuers. 
 Captain Fuller and the "Texas" seemed to have 
 charmed lives; their pursuit was too rapid to stop, 
 where just around a curve the rail was laid diago- 
 nally across the track, until, in some miraculous 
 manner, the wheels of the tender mounted and passed 
 over without derailment. They succeeded in stop- 
 ping then, Captain Fuller pulled the rail off the 
 track between the engine and tender and the race 
 went on, only delayed now and again by the necessity 
 of removing crossties. 
 
 Captain Fuller all this time was riding on the end 
 of the tender and his Avonderful skill in jumping 
 down and removing the ties when necessary saved his 
 engine and won the race. 
 
 Passing Tilton safely Andrews reached the tank a 
 short distance north and was again compelled to stop 
 for water. An explanation being necessary, the same 
 old "pow^der story" was told, and notwithstanding the 
 battered condition of the one car attached to the en- 
 gine, it answered the purpose, and water was secured 
 Avithout resistance. While this was being done, a 
 
-36- 
 few of the men went back a short distance and ob- 
 structed the track, to insure another full stop, of the 
 '' Texas " out of gun shot range. 
 
 Off again with water and wood and a good head of 
 steam, they iDlaced obstacles on the track at frequent 
 intervals and selected a i)lace to stop for a permanent 
 break ; again the wires were cut and ties heaped on 
 the track, while the remainder of the men set to work 
 with all their might to tear up a rail. It was at this 
 time one of the men suggested an attack on the pur- 
 suers from ambush, but while Andrews was consider- 
 ing the plan, again came the ominous sound of the 
 whistle of the pursuing engine and both the effort to 
 tear up the rail and the plan to attack their pursuers 
 were abandoned and the race renewed. The fugitives 
 and pursuers were now frequently in sight of each 
 other, but never in range for the guns of that day. 
 With the aid of additional obstacles on the track, 
 Andrews managed to increase the distance from his 
 pursuers sufficiently to gain time to get through the 
 next station which was Dalton, and that being a 
 junction point with numerous sidings, it was of course 
 necessary to stop long enough to make sure SAvitches 
 were properly set. Here he made his explanations 
 very briefly and escaped safely. 
 
 Captain Fuller reached Dalton a few minutes later 
 and thanks to the precaution of writing his telegram 
 to General Ledbetter in advance and the efficiency 
 of his boy operator, Edward Henderson, dispatched 
 the message without delay, but not a moment too 
 soon, for as the last word was recorded and before 
 Chattanooga had acknowledged it with the customary 
 
—37- 
 O. K., tlie wire went down, havin*i' been cut by the 
 active and alert Scott about two miles north. 
 
 The "Texas" had only slowed up to drop the oper- 
 ator, Capt. Fuller understanding thoroughly the dan- 
 ger of the fugitives burning bridges and otherwise 
 destroying the road between him and Chattanooga 
 and pushing on with all possible si)eed. Andrews 
 stopped, as it hapi)ened, quite near Col. Jesse (^lenn's 
 regiment of Confederate soldiers to cut wires and ob- 
 struct the track, but there was no time to seek a place 
 of greater safety and they proceeded as usual in a 
 desperate effort to lift a rail. They counted on their 
 pursuer stopping at Dalton to send a message and 
 hoped not only to intercept this message but to gain 
 time while he stopped. Here again they failed to 
 measure accurately the character of their enemy — 
 they did not know Fuller. While they struggled with 
 the rail, again the "Texas'' was upon them and the 
 race for life renewed. And such a race ! Think of 
 the best horse race you ever saw I Think of General 
 Wallace's magnificent and realistic description of the 
 Chariot Race of Ben Hur I Think of the strain and 
 tension of muscle and nerve you have witnessed and 
 experienced in merely observing such contests for 
 supremacy, and then imagine if you can how vastly 
 greater must have been the excitement of participa- 
 tion in this race of locomotives with the fate of men 
 and perhaps a nation, as the issue. Puffing and 
 snorting, liissing and screaming, leaping and bound- 
 ing, on the engines went, the men heedless of danger, 
 w^iile fire and smoke belched forth and sparks flew 
 from wheels and track. The fuiiitives looking back 
 
—38- 
 anxioiisly and watchiiii; the coininsi. foe, wliile strain- 
 iiiii, every nerve to increase their speed and racking 
 their brains for some new expedient to hinder or de- 
 stroy their pnrsners. Success, reputation and last 
 and perhaps least of all life, Avere the stakes. 
 
 Those in the rear looking forward with strained 
 vision and exerting every energy to foil the daring 
 
 South entrance to tunnel. 
 enemy who for more than seventy miles had evaded 
 and escaped them. All thought of danger was gone 
 — ''Success — the goal of human ambition," was the 
 paramount consideration. Andrews, intent on burn- 
 ing the first Chickamauga bridge, twelve miles north 
 of Dalton, and Fuller determined to prevent him. 
 
—39— 
 Seven miles north of Dalton was a tunnel. Airain 
 Andrews' men thou2;ht of ambnsh, now apparently 
 the last resource. What an ideal place for ambush! 
 But no word came from the silent and anxious leader 
 and on the "Generar' sped through the tunnel and 
 past the little village of Tunnel Hill. 
 
 Nc rth nil ut!i of the tunnel. 
 
 As the "Texas'' approached the tunnel, Mr. Mur- 
 phy called attention to the danger of ambush, but 
 Fuller would not consent even to slacken speed and 
 into that smoke-filled hole in the ground they plunged 
 as into the bowels of the earth, reckless of what 
 might be within or beyond it. 
 
-40- 
 
 From the Southern standpoint, too much can not 
 be said for the faithful and coura2;eous engineer, 
 Peter J. Bracken, who so ably and fearlessly sup- 
 ported Captain Fuller from Adairsville to the end of 
 the race. The horrors of a wreck in a tunnel can be 
 imagined and the men on the "Texas" well knew the 
 danger of following so closely a desperate foe, who 
 had all along been obstructing the track. The only 
 exphmation of their taking: this fearful risk is that 
 they, like Andrews and his brave men, were ani- 
 mated in the highest degree by that wonderful Amer- 
 ican patriotism which knows uo fear. The light 
 shone clear at the north end and Peter Bracken ex- 
 claimed "Boys, we've got 'em now!" 
 
 And now came the last effort of the ill-fated An- 
 drews. He ordered his one remaining car fired as they 
 ran and the men obeyed with their usual zeal, using 
 the last wood they had, with splinters torn from the 
 walls of the car, to start the fire. This was slow work 
 on account of everything being wet, and some blazing 
 torches were taken from the engine and over the 
 tender. Finally the blaze started and the men crowded 
 on to the tender. At the first Ohickamauga bridge the 
 "General" came to a full stop, cut loose, and left the 
 burning car to consume it. Oh, for a few minutes 
 time! How anxiously they waited on the north side 
 to watch the result of their last effort. 
 
 But here comes the inexorable Fuller again, and 
 again the "General" files. Coupling to the burning 
 car. Fuller drops it on the side-track at Ringgold, just 
 beyond, and doggedly resumed the chase. At Ring- 
 gold the alarm is given to the local militia and hope 
 
—41— 
 
 is gone for the poor raiders. The anumiiiition of their 
 fight was spent — without wood there couhl he no 
 steam, and three miles beyond tlie race ended in the 
 scattered lliglit of the fugitives on foot. Abandon- 
 ing the "General," she was reversed with tlie hope of 
 wreckinir lierself and the "Texas," l)ut this, too, failed 
 
 Ringgold Depot — shelled from the heights in the background during 
 
 the war but not destroyed. 
 
 The stone walls are the same that stood then. 
 
 as the power of the grand ohl engine was spent, and 
 the "Texas,'' slowing up, ciuickly coupled to her and 
 towed her back to Ringgold. 
 
 The command given by Captain Andrews was, 
 "Scatter in small parties and escape tlie best you 
 can." 
 
—42— 
 
 This was a great disappointment to the soldiers who 
 had followed him so loyally to this moment and had 
 all along lioped for an opportunity to fight. 
 
 Mr. Andrews, while not lacking in courage, had no 
 military training, and was by nature more of a strat- 
 egist than a soldier, Avhile his followers were all men 
 from the ranks enlisted to fight and anxious to fight. 
 These men were soldiers 
 
 " Millin' and drillin' and made for killin', 
 Regular army men." 
 
 They scattered in various directions and some 
 nearly reached the Federal lines, but all were cap- 
 tured, including the two left at Marietta ; eight, in- 
 cluding Andrews, were executed in Atlanta, eight 
 escaped from x)rison and six were exchanged. 
 
 '* The boasts of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
 And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
 
 Await alike the inevitable hour, 
 
 The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 
 
Tablet near Ringgold. 
 
—44— 
 
 ^'^^HE Andrews raid was great in its conception, 
 %^ great in the accnracy of prearranged details, 
 and great in its execntion in spite of failure in 
 the results. 
 
 The plan was iDerfect, the selection of men as 
 nearly perfect as possible, and the conduct of the 
 affair admirable. 
 
 Every reasonable i^recaution was taken to insure 
 success and emergencies unforeseen were met with 
 rare judgment, tact and skill. 
 
 Not only did Captain Andrews command the expe- 
 dition skillfully, but every man of his little company 
 responded loyally and bravely at each step. There is 
 not the slightest evidence in the testimony of any 
 witness that courage failed or loyalty wavered in a 
 single man during any of the varied trials of that 
 perilous journey and marvelous race. 
 
 Post-bellum critics may find fault and wonder that 
 certain, now obvious, precautions were not taken, 
 but the greatest of human minds has its limitations 
 and taking all the conditions and circumstances into 
 consideration, the reader of this history who is fair 
 can only marvel that so much was remembered and 
 so little forgotten. 
 
 Failure was unquestionably due to the fact that on 
 that 12th day of April, 1862,' "Greek met Greek"— a 
 
—45— 
 brave American from Kentucky met a brave Ameri- 
 can from Georgia. It was the In-ain of Andrews 
 against the brain of Fuller— the courage of Andrews 
 against the courage of Fuller, and fortune favored 
 the Georgian. 
 
 Two years later the victorious army of General 
 Sherman passed south over the track of the "Gen- 
 eral " and retrieved the failure of the Andrews' Raid. 
 
 The " General " Avas under lire of the Federal bat- 
 teries during the great battle of Kennesaw Mountain, 
 June 27th, 1864, and was finally captured in Atlanta, 
 where she Avas abandoned by the retreating army 
 on account of some slight accident resulting in derail- 
 ment in the Western & Atlantic yards in that city. 
 
 Other motive power and equipment of the road^vas 
 moved further south at this time and the track behind 
 them destroyed by Major H. A. Butler, Avho relates 
 the final capture of the " General " as an interesting 
 coincidence. 
 
 The Western & Atlantic Road was then, as now, 
 the property of the State of Georgia, and the operat- 
 ing officials and men were regularly enlisted in the 
 Confederate service and assigned to their respective 
 duties subject to the military authority. 
 
 Major Butler says the engine Avas returned to the 
 State after the Avar in excellent condition, liaA^ing 
 been thoroughly overhauled in some Northern shop. 
 
 The "General" was on exhibition in Columbus, 
 Ohio, at the Grand Army Reunion in September,^ 
 1889, and has also been at several expositions, includ- 
 ing the World's Fair in 18.93. The old engine is 
 highly prized by the lessees of the Western and 
 
—46— 
 Atlantic Railroad, and is in charge of a custodian 
 employed by the railroad company in the Union 
 depot at Chattanooga, Tennessee. 
 
 By authority of the Congress of the United States, 
 gold medals were presented to each of the survivors 
 of the Andrews Raid, these being the first medals 
 given to private soldiers in tlie war. 
 
 Monument in National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tenn. 
 
 On a beautiful eastern slope in the National Cem- 
 etery at Chattanooga by the side of the drive-way 
 and near a graceful weeping willow, the eight graves 
 of Andrews and the other seven men who were exe- 
 cuted in Atlanta, are placed in a semi-circle in front 
 
—47— 
 of a handsome monument erected by the State of 
 Ohio in 1890. A bronze miniature of tlie engine 
 "General'- surmounts this monument and the front 
 of the die bears this inscription : 
 
 "Ohio's tribute to the Andrews Raiders, 1802. 
 erected 1890." 
 
 On the left of tlie die are the names of those who 
 were executed in Atlanta June 18th, 1862, as follows : 
 
 James J. Andrews, Flemingsburg, Ky. 
 
 Marion A. Ross, Co. A, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 George D. Wilson, Co. B, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 Perry G. Shadrack, Co. K, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 John W. Scott, Co. F, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 Samuel Slavens, Co. E, 33rd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 Samuel Robertson, Co. G, 33rd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 William H. Campbell, Salineville, Ohio. 
 
 On the right are the names of the eight who es- 
 caped from Atlanta October 16th, 1862, as follows : 
 James A. Wilson, Co. C, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 Mark Wood, Co. C, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 J. R. Porter, Co. C, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 W. W. Brown, Co. F, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 William Knight, Co. E, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 D. A. Dorsey, Co. H, 33rd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 Martin J. Hawkins, Co. A, 33rd Oliio Vol. Inf. 
 John Wollam, Co. C, 33rd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 On the rear are the names of those exchanged from 
 Libby Prison, March 18th, 1863, as follows : 
 William Pittenger, Co. G, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 Jacob Parrott, Co. K, 33rd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 William Roddick, Co. B, 33rd Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
—48- 
 Robert Butfum, Co. H, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 William Bensin^er, Co. G, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 Elisha H. Mason, Co. K, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. 
 
 This monument was unveiled May 80th, 1891, with 
 appropriate ceremonies, including an eloquent ora- 
 tion by Hon. J. B. Foraker. 
 
 AK, like surgery, is a painful and dangerous 
 remedy for human ills, but oftentimes the 
 most effective. This baptism of fire conse- 
 crated the sons and daughters of this great 
 nation to the advancement of Christian civilization 
 and the betterment of the condition of our fellow-men 
 less fortunately situated, so that we have grown 
 from "strength to strength." 
 
 "Instead of the thorn" has "come up the fir tree," 
 and "instead of the brier" has "come up the myrtle 
 tree." Let us hope we may with truth quote the re- 
 maining words of the Prophet Isaiah, "and it shall 
 be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign 
 that shall not be cut olf." 
 
 The fraternal ties so rudely severed in 1861 by the 
 firing on Fort Sumter were cemented in the blood of 
 brothers, and have grown stronger with the passing 
 years until, in the words of that immortal American, 
 Daniel Webster, the watch-word North and South, 
 East and West is — 
 
 " Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and 
 inseparable." 
 
Capt. William J. Whitsitt 
 1904 
 
—50— 
 SKETCH OF CAPT. W. J. WHITSITT. 
 
 The early life of William J. Whitsitt was well cal- 
 culated to prepare him for the hardships and priva- 
 tions of war, and this training, together with the 
 blood of a heroic American ancestry, made of him 
 the type of strong manhood he is today. 
 
 Any student of history and human nature who is 
 privileged to sit by his spacious fireside in winter or 
 on his broad verandah in summer, at his home in 
 Ringgold, Ga., cannot but be entertained and charmed 
 if he will persuade Captain Whitsitt to tell of his 
 early life among the Cherokee Indians and of his war- 
 time and subsequent life. In his retentive memory 
 there is material for a dozen romances full of humor- 
 ous and pathetic incidents, dramatic situations and 
 tragic climaxes. 
 
 He was born in Orange County, North. Carolina, 
 October 7th, 1831, and came to North Georgia when 
 three years old, with his father and mother, who 
 were on their way to Mississippi but stopped in the 
 Cherokee Indian Reservation, where his father died 
 and was buried. His mother, a woman of strong 
 character and remarkable intellect, remained with 
 her children, her slaves and other property, culti- 
 vating at first the lands of friendly Indians, and 
 finally acquired a large tract of her own by purchase, 
 when the Indians were removed. 
 
 He enlisted at the outbreak of the war as a private 
 in Company B, 1st Georgia Battalion, and soon rose 
 to the rank of Captain in the First Confederate 
 Georgia Regiment. 
 
 He has been honored by his fellow-citizens of Ca- 
 toosa County with the offices of Sheriff, County 
 Treasurer and Judge of the Inferior Court, and is 
 universally respected within his sphere of influence. 
 
-51- 
 
 SKETCH OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM A. FULLER. 
 
 William Allen Fuller was born in Henry County, 
 Georgia, April 15tb, 1836. 
 
 He traces his paternal ancestry to Gabriel Fuller, 
 who was born in Scotland, 1709, and settled in South 
 Carolina in 1740. His grandfather, John Fuller, 
 served under General Washington in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, and was in the battle of Camden under 
 General Gates. 
 
 On his mother's side Captain Fuller is descended 
 from the Allen family of Virginia, and related to 
 Ethen Allen of Revolutionary war fame. He left his 
 father's farm at the age of nineteen years and imme- 
 diately entered the service of the Western & Atlan- 
 tic Railroad, in which service he remained until many 
 years after the war. 
 
 He was commissioned Captain in 1863 by Governor 
 Joseph E. Brown in recognition of his services in 
 defeating the objects of the Andrews Raid. After 
 the war, he entered the mercantile business in At- 
 lanta, and retired a few years ago Avith a comfortable 
 fortune. His hospitable homo on Washington street, 
 in Atlanta, is a favorite rendezvous for veterans of 
 both sides, especially the survivors of the Andrews 
 Raid, with whom he delights in rehearsing the thrill- 
 ing incidents of that memorable event. The "sun- 
 set of life" finds him enjoying to an exceptional de- 
 gree the fruits of his labors, and he well deserves the 
 high es-teem in which he is held by the citizens of 
 Atlanta. 
 
Capt. William A. Fuller 
 From a daguerreotype taken in i860 
 
Capt. William A. Fuller 
 March, 1904 
 
MAY 25 1904 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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 013 701427 4Q 
 
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