The General- Confederate Locomotive Great Locomotive Chase Grouping Georgia

  

THE GENERAL - CONFEDERATE LOCOMOTIVE "GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE" GROUPING -GEORGIA! This is a group of items related to the famous Confederate Western & Atlantic Railroad locomotive "THE GENERAL".

The grouping includes the following. An 18-1/2" X 11" (frame size is 25" X 18") vintage color print of the General, professionally framed and matted. The print itself is very old, probably from around 1900 - it's not dated so that's a guess because around that time they were having fund drives to preserve the General. The framing I had done about 20 years ago. The General is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive, built in 1855 by the firm of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in Paterson N. This print has some age to it but this image has been printed and re-printed many times over since the 1890's so I can't say just how old it is as it's not dated. Print and frame are in excellent condition with just a few small nicks to the back paper cover. An original THE WESTERN & ATLANTIC R. Cancelled 25 cent change note dated March 15th 1862, signed by the Treasurer and a representative of the Superintendent. Now you can capture some of the excitement of this spectacular raid by owning this 25-cent note which could have actually been on. The notes are even more scarce than other Confederate issues because unlike the others, they were redeemed by the State of Georgia in 1872 and most were destroyed. Don't miss your chance to grab this genuine piece of Civil War history! The note itself measures 5" X 2".

And is professionally framed and matted, the frame measures 9-1/2" X 7-1/2". A 9-1/2" cut section of "U-RAIL relic railroad rail from the WESTERN & ATLANTIC R. Along with a 4 long 3/8' diameter spike from the subject rail.

These two pieces are rusty and in relic condition as shown but are rare and from the rails that the General rode on. The rails were torn up and destroyed by Union forces during the war. If you're reading this listing you probably already know the story.

If you aren't I'll give a brief rundown of it - I encourage you to look it up on the web - there's a lot of info out there about it, far more than I have space or time to enter here. TheGeneral is on display in Kennesaw at the Southern Museum of Civil War andLocomotive History. TheCivil War spy story and military raid that came to be known as "The GreatLocomotive Chase" which took place on April 12, 1862 lasted less than a day and covered only about 87 miles, butit inspired books and popular movies and led to hangings by one side and theaward of some of the first Congressional Medals of Honor by the other. Nowthe two steam engines involved in the chase are on display at separate metroAtlanta museums. In1862, as Union forces prepared to move on Chattanooga, Tenn.

A group ofvolunteers led by James J. Andrews took off on a daring mission behind enemylines to try to separate Confederate forces in Tennessee from support fromAtlanta. OnApril 12, two dozen raiders stole a train pulled by the locomotive "TheGeneral" from a railway station in Big Shanty, a community now known asKennesaw. They planned to damage or destroy telegraph wires and Western &Atlanta Railroad tracks connecting Atlanta and Chattanooga. They chose BigShanty for the theft because the station had no telegraph office.

AsAndrews and his men raced north, Confederate forces took off in hot pursuit. They gave chase by foot, by hand car and eventually using a steam enginecalled The Texas. " Andrews' Raiders finally abandoned "TheGeneral about 18 miles south of Chattanooga. Mostof the two dozen Union soldiers and civilians involved in the raid and chaseeventually were caught by the Confederates. Andrews, a civilian, and severalothers were hanged as spies. Other raiders escaped or were exchanged inprisoner swaps. Nineteen soldiers who took part in the raid were awardedCongressional Medals of Honor.

Andrews and other civilians involved in the raiddid not qualify for the award. Thestory of the locomotive chase inspired two movies. The first, made in 1926, wasa silent film comedy by Buster Keaton called The General. " Thesecond, a 1956 adventure film starring Fess Parker and called "The GreatLocomotive Chase, was made by Walt Disney Pictures. Bothengines now are on display in museums in metro Atlanta.

"The General" isthe centerpiece of the Southern Museum of Civil War and RailroadHistory in downtown Kennesaw. The museum also offers exhibits on railroadsduring the Civil War and on the Glover Machine Works, which built steam enginesin Marietta. DenaBush, director of operations at the Kennesaw museum, said about 40,000 peoplecome to see "The General" each year.

Most are Civil War or trainbuffs. Some remember the trains because of the movies.

"It's an interestingstory from that time period that's not that well known, " she said. THE SECTION OF RAIL ITSELF WEIGHS 11 LBS.