The General (locomotive)
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 The General on display in Chattanooga, Tennessee circa 1907 |
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| Power type | Steam |
|---|---|
| Builder | Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor |
| Serial number | 631 |
| Build date | December 1855 |
| Configuration | 4-4-0 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) |
| Career | Western and Atlantic Railroad |
| Number | 3 |
| Official name | General |
| Current owner | Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History |
| Disposition | static display |
| The General | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Kennesaw, GA |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1855 |
| Architect: | Rogers,Ketchum & Grosvenor |
| Architectural style(s): | Other |
| Added to NRHP: | June 19, 1973 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73000617 [1] |
| Governing body: | State |
The General is a type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the subject of the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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[edit] Before the Civil War
Built in 1855 by Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in Paterson, New Jersey,[2] The General provided freight and passenger service between Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, before the Civil War on the Western and Atlantic Railroad[3]
[edit] Civil War
During the Civil War The General was stolen by Northern spies led by James J. Andrews at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw), Georgia, and abandoned north of Ringgold, after being pursued by William Allen Fuller and the Texas. Low on water and wood, the General eventually lost steam pressure and speed, and slowed to a halt two miles north of Ringgold, where Andrews and his raiders abandoned the locomotive and tried to flee.
Later, the General narrowly escaped destruction when General John Bell Hood ordered the ordnance depot destroyed as he left Atlanta on September 1, 1864.
[edit] Present-day
Housed at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
- ^ Moshein, Peter and Rothfus, Robert R. (1992). "Rogers locomotives: A brief history and construction list". Railroad History (167): pp 13-147.
- ^ Bonds, Russell S. (2007). Stealing the General; The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, pp 94-95. ISBN 1-59416-033-3.
