Railroads: On Location at Tunnel Hill
On this date in 1849, construction finished on the Western & Atlantic railroad tunnel, the last link connecting Atlanta and Chattanooga. In 1862, the tunnel played a role in the Great Locomotive Chase. Later, John Bell Hood, Patrick Cleburne, and William T. Sherman all had connections.
In March, I had the chance to go On Location in Tunnel Hill, Georgia. Check it out on the Emerging Civil War YouTube page!
Chris
Thanks for pointing out the continued existence of this historic tunnel (in remarkable condition.) I was not aware that the tunnel played a role in the Great Locomotive Chase until that fact was mentioned in your post. (For everyone else, the Great Locomotive Chase of April 1862 was an attempt by Andrew’s Raiders to cause mayhem and destruction along a significant stretch of Southern rail line. Unfortunately for the Raiders (making use of an engine named “The General”) they were pursued by a wily Confederate conductor (whose party chased after “The General” aboard their own engine, “The Texas.” ) Members of Andrew’s Raiders were among the first to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. And the two engines involved in the Great Locomotive Chase still exist: “The General” is on display at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, Kennesaw, GA and “The Texas” was on display at the Atlanta Cyclorama until recently (there was talk of putting that locomotive on display at Kennesaw, but the City of Atlanta owns The Texas; so it may be in temporary storage.)
Thanks again, Chris, for taking the time to produce the video.
Thanks, Mike, for taking the time to fill folks in on the Great Locomotive Chase. I’ll have an update on The General for folks in the next couple of days. 😉
I enjoyed the movie with Fess Parker as a child, though I didn’t realize most all of the Andrew’s Raiders were executed until years later. Also, the memorial in the Chattanoga National Cemetery is next to where my ancestor is buried. In my wife’s book, Aftermath of Battle, my ancestor’s gravesite is in the book. That’s pretty neat!
The Texas currently resides in a state of the art new building and exhibition at the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, GA. The Grand Opening is Saturday, November 17th, 2018. Y’all come now, ya hear!