April 12, 2024, marks the 162th anniversary of The Great Locomotive Chase. It’s an epic story that began in Kennesaw and ended just outside of Ringgold, GA. In today’s environment, no major public commemorations mark the event for a variety of reasons, all of which we’ll choose to ignore for this blog.
Rather, after visits to the Southern Museum in Kennesaw and the Marietta History Center plus the purchase of Russell Bonds’ best-in-class book about the event, we’ll focus on where you can experience the story. And we’ll consider how the event became ingrained in the collective memory in books, songs, major Hollywood movies, festivals and history museums.
Some Essential Background
Early Saturday morning, April 12, 1862, a group of approximately two dozen passengers boarded a northbound passenger train in Marietta. The group’s leader, James J. Andrews, had planned a daring raid that would unfold over the coming hours.
Around 6 am, the train pulled into present-day Kennesaw (then known as Big Shanty) for a quick stop. The conductor, William A. Fuller, called out to passengers, “Big Shanty, 20 minutes for breakfast.” He then joined the engineer and others at the trackside Lacy’s Hotel.
As the unsuspecting train crew and passengers grabbed breakfast, Andrews and his raiders decoupled several cars. Then, they commandeered the engine and few remaining cars for what they expected would be a northbound journey of destruction in support of the Union Army.
The Marietta Starting Point
The historic Kennesaw House, one of Marietta’s oldest buildings, has served as a warehouse, hospital, morgue, and hotel. Today, it’s home to the Marietta History Center, a museum meant to “preserve and display the artifacts from Marietta and Cobb County and their role in world history.”
On the second floor, overlooking the railroad tracks and a small railroad engine built at the town’s Glover Machine Works, the Andrews Raider’s Room recreates an 1860s hotel suite. Authentic furnishings from the Kennesaw House set the period. A timeline outlines the story of Andrews planning and the later train theft. There’s even a bearded mannequin, in period clothing, peering out of the window, perhaps anticipating events at the next station.
If you’re not inspired to visit because of the link to the Great Locomotive Chase, the museum’s other collections focus on the general history of the area, the home life of area residents, and other military history of the area. If you’re a history lover and reader, plan to spend approximately 2 hours for a visit.
Breakfast at Big Shanty
If you’re looking for Big Shanty or the Lacy Hotel, you won’t find either. Used by both Union and Confederate forces, Union forces torched the hotel in 1864. And Big Shanty disappeared from maps in 1887, with the official founding of the city of Kennesaw.
Today, the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 12, 2022, occupies the approximate site of the Lacy Hotel. The museum opened in downtown Kennesaw as the Big Shanty Museum on April 12, 1972. Great fanfare accompanied the opening of the new museum, dedicated to documentation and retelling of the Great Locomotive Chase. The museum’s star attraction then and now: the restored General locomotive of chase fame.
Now a Smithsonian affiliate, the museum most often uses its shortened name, The Southern Museum. Walking through its galleries, visitors are taken back to the railroad times of the 1860s. The strategic importance of railroads as manufacturing, transportation and military resources is well-documented in the exhibits.
Then, artifacts from Marietta’s Glover Machine Works illustrate the operation of this historic railroad locomotive builder. Visitors can also see a film about The Great Locomotive Chase, which reflects a Southern-centric perspective of the story.
Finally, the restored General awaits, gleaming in bright red with brightly polished brass fittings. A second story viewing area provides a birds-eye perspective of the engine and its fuel car.
End of the Line
When the General ran out of fuel before reaching Chattanooga, some of the group escaped on foot. Andrews and most of the raiders were captured. Imprisoned in Atlanta and tried as spies, Andrews and his raiders received death sentences, then hanged in June 1862. Following the war, the group was reinterred in the Chattanooga National Cemetery. A memorial topped by a scale replica of the General, marks their burial sites, just inside the main gates.
Rescuing the Texas
Commandeered by conductor William Fuller near Calhoun, the Texas joined the chase. After its retirement in 1907, several women’s groups in Atlanta sought to have it restored. The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway donated the locomotive “to the ladies of Atlanta.” After restoration, the Texas resided on display in the basement of a building housing the Atlanta Cyclorama. The Texas now enjoys a new home at the Atlanta History Center’s railroad exhibit, which opened in 2018.
Retelling the Story Over Time
As our nation continues to grapple with how to understand and tell the story of this great period of national tragedy, its no surprise that the Great Locomotive Chase and its participants have received various treatments over the years. Depending on perspective, the Great Locomotive Chase has been – and continues to be – considered ALL of the following:
- A daring military operation meant to shorten a war.
- An ill-conceived plan conducted by poorly organized spies.
- The heroic story of a determined railroader foiling a dastardly scheme.
- A military footnote with no true strategic value.
While history buffs, sociologists and culture warriors may see all these perspectives differently, one fact is undebatable: the legend of the Great Locomotive Chase grew beyond any expectations. Consider that the tale has spawned:
- US Medal of Honor. Considered the highest military award in the country, Private Jacob Wilson Parrott, a Union soldier in the raid who was physically abused as a prisoner, received the first Medal of Honor in US history. Later, a total of 19 participants also received the Medal of Honor for their parts.
- Concert Music. Music of The Great Locomotive Chase by composer Robert W. Smith is often played by concert bands and symphonies. The piece “stages the train chase complete with fascinating textures and effects. Listeners become engulfed in the vivid sounds,” says program notes from the publisher.
- Multiple Books. The first, entitled The Great Locomotive Chase, was written by raid participant William Pittenger. Other well-known accounts are found in “Wild Train: The Story of The Andrews Raiders,” by Charles O’Neill and published in 1956; and “Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor,” by Marietta resident Russel S. Bonds in 2006.
- A Slapstick Silent Movie. Film legend Buster Keaton directed and starred in the 1926 feature film, The General. An ad for the movie described it as, “LAUGHS to the right of you- LAUGHS to the left of you- they volley and thunder. Join the LAUGH Brigade. Enlist for Fun with the Commander-in-Chief of LAUGHTER. See him and shriek!”
- A Disney Movie. This 1956 Hollywood version, starring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter, portrays the historic story made by the Walt Disney Company. Actors Harry Carey Jr. and Slim Pickens also appeared in the film. Major portions were filmed near Clayton and Tallulah Falls, GA. The movie is available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video.
- A Television Special. In 1961, the Disney re-edited the movie into a two-part feature for television’s “The Magical World of Disney.”
- Community Festivals. Both Adairsville, GA, and Cartersville, GA, celebrate Great Locomotive Chase festivals.
