One of the most famous incidents of the Civil War in our area was the Great Locomotive Chase – an episode in April 1862 in which Union raiders hijacked a train pulled by a steam locomotive, the “General,” with the intention of destroying bridges, track and telegraph wire between Chattanooga and Marietta, Ga.
A determined pursuit by Confederates frustrated the plan, and the General was abandoned by its captors just north of Ringgold.
Eight of the raiders were executed by Confederate authorities and the first Medals of Honor were awarded as a result of the raid. Years later, another battle was fought over the General, by men no less determined. The weapons were writs, motions and briefs and men styled as “raiders” were once more defeated.
The General survived the Civil War and eventually was returned to the Western and Atlantic Railroad, itself a property of the State of Georgia. The railroad and its rolling stock was leased, eventually to the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. An employee of that company found the engine, which was “condemned, value $1,500” on a siding in Vinings, Ga. It was rehabilitated for display and first appeared at a veterans reunion in Chattanooga in 1892.
The General remained on display in the old Union Station until 1961 except for brief intervals. A plaque at the station recounted the story of the engine. Several pamphlets and advertisements noted that Chattanooga was the permanent home of the General. For example, the General was temporarily taken to Chicago by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, where it was put on display at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933.