The Great Locomotive Chase or Andrews’ Raid was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army commandeered a train and took it northwards towards Chattanooga, Tennessee, doing as much damage as possible to the vital Western & Atlantic Railroad (W&A) from Atlanta, Georgia to Chattanooga as they went, pursued by other locomotives. As they had cut the telegraph wires Confederate forces along their route had no advance notice of their arrival. The raiders were eventually captured, and some were executed as spies. Some of Andrews’ Raiders became the first recipients of the Medal of Honor. — Wikipedia
Even though I am a Southerner, I have to give Andrews credit for his work. (Though I would like to point out that Fuller stayed hot on Andrews’ heels, including the points where he had to run after the locomotive…) The movie (with the late Fess Parker) is very good and decently accurate.
Oleg has pictures of a memorial to the raiders, and Andrews’ tombstone. I’ve always been saddened that Andrews (a civilian) couldn’t be awarded the Medal of Honor. If there’s a man who deserved it, it was Mr. Andrews.
