United States Military Railroad

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United States Military Railroad 4-4-0 locomotive W.H. Whiton (built by William Mason in 1862) in January 1865 with Abraham Lincoln's presidential car, which later was used as his funeral car.

United States Military Railroad was an organization that ran railroads for the Union wherever they were needed. It was established in 1862 under General Herman Haupt.

[edit] Peterburg Campaign

The Petersburg siege was the final campaign in the Civil War. A specially built railroad was needed to bring supplies to the front. Based at City Point, Virginia, at the confluence of the Appomattox River with the James River and was an essential portion of Union General Ulysses S. Grant's Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War in 1864 -1865.

The United States Military Railroad supplied more than 100,000 troops and more than 65,000 horses and mules with food, equipment, and supplies from the waterfront docks on the navigable portion of the James River at City Point. Grant maintained his headquarters nearby on the grounds of Appomattox Manor.

The railroad began by assuming the eastern portion of the nine-mile long City Point Railroad, which extended to Petersburg. It branched off with new track and ran behind union lines, eventually extending 21 additional miles and partially encircling Petersburg. 25 steam locomotives and more than 275 pieces of rolling stock were used, operating a total of 2,300,000 miles.