A thumbs up on Trains for the excellent writings of the railroads role during the Civil War. This has to be perhaps the best ever article I have read and for a change was not a cookie cutter ho hum type of reading. Hope others enjoyed reading the work as much as I did.
Yes, well done to John Hankey for that great Civil War article! By the way, John mentions the Tredegar Iron Works of Richmond. Their proud claim was they could make anything, and so they could, but they couldn't make everything at the same time. Once they were totally committed to producing ordnance for the Confederacy they hadn't the time to produce anything for the southern railroads. By the way, some of the Tredegar buildings are still here to be seen in Richmond, particularly the old cannon foundry building. It's now a Civil War Center and well worth the visit.
I really enjoyed the article and map about the Civil War. I never knew much about it beyond what I saw on that major PBS documentary. Both the article and map were well written and produced and I found it quite understandable.
The photo's and the fact boxes were amazing. 10 ton capacity cars in 10 car trains, with very little braking ability. Wow! A very dangerous time indeed.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
I'll add my vote to those who are commending the Civil War article. It's nice to see articles that go beyond the nuts and bolts of railroads and intelligently discuss the impact railroads have had on our society.
I have one question on the Map of the Month, showing the Civil War era rail network. Perhaps it's because I haven't fully woken up yet (a real possibility), but the legend doesn't seem to match the color coding on the map. The legend purports to identify the track gauages of the various rail lines shown on the map (and also trackage rights segments). But much of the coding shown on the legend doesn't seem to appear on the map. Moreover, I'm somewhat familiar with the early lines out of Chicago, and some of the lines which I know were standard gauge in 1860 (for example, the Galena & Chicago Union to Freeport via Elgin) aren't identified as such on the map (in fact, the color coding shown for the G&CU line - solid green - doesn't even appear in the legend). I suspect that the map and the legend were prepared separately, or perhaps the coloring went awry in the printing process
Falcon48I have one question on the Map of the Month, showing the Civil War era rail network. Perhaps it's because I haven't fully woken up yet (a real possibility), but the legend doesn't seem to match the color coding on the map. The legend purports to identify the track gauages of the various rail lines shown on the map (and also trackage rights segments). But much of the coding shown on the legend doesn't seem to appear on the map. Moreover, I'm somewhat familiar with the early lines out of Chicago, and some of the lines which I know were standard gauge in 1860 (for example, the Galena & Chicago Union to Freeport via Elgin) aren't identified as such on the map (in fact, the color coding shown for the G&CU line - solid green - doesn't even appear in the legend). I suspect that the map and the legend were prepared separately, or perhaps the coloring went awry in the printing process
nanaimo73 Falcon48: I have one question on the Map of the Month, showing the Civil War era rail network. Perhaps it's because I haven't fully woken up yet (a real possibility), but the legend doesn't seem to match the color coding on the map. The legend purports to identify the track gauages of the various rail lines shown on the map (and also trackage rights segments). But much of the coding shown on the legend doesn't seem to appear on the map. Moreover, I'm somewhat familiar with the early lines out of Chicago, and some of the lines which I know were standard gauge in 1860 (for example, the Galena & Chicago Union to Freeport via Elgin) aren't identified as such on the map (in fact, the color coding shown for the G&CU line - solid green - doesn't even appear in the legend). I suspect that the map and the legend were prepared separately, or perhaps the coloring went awry in the printing process The map uses color coding to differentiate ownership between separate companies. The legend uses color coding purely as examples. I don't believe there was ever any thought of using the color coding for gauge.
Falcon48: I have one question on the Map of the Month, showing the Civil War era rail network. Perhaps it's because I haven't fully woken up yet (a real possibility), but the legend doesn't seem to match the color coding on the map. The legend purports to identify the track gauages of the various rail lines shown on the map (and also trackage rights segments). But much of the coding shown on the legend doesn't seem to appear on the map. Moreover, I'm somewhat familiar with the early lines out of Chicago, and some of the lines which I know were standard gauge in 1860 (for example, the Galena & Chicago Union to Freeport via Elgin) aren't identified as such on the map (in fact, the color coding shown for the G&CU line - solid green - doesn't even appear in the legend). I suspect that the map and the legend were prepared separately, or perhaps the coloring went awry in the printing process
Johnny
The article seems to be a good overview for the limited space it occupies - the subject could (and probably does) fill and entire book, to treat it all in detail.
It would be interesting to have the opinion of an Army officer who is familiar with the Civil War - from the Cavalry and / or Quartermaster's Corps, for example - to weight in with his/ her views and insights, esp. as to what it would have been like with and without the railroad - "compare and contrast" - and how the outcomes might have been different. Mr. Hankey does a good job with that as far as he goes, but the military profession is so different that the different viewpoint should be sought out. As he also noted (I believe), "Amateurs study tactics - professionals study logistics". I wonder if any later Army officers wrote books or published papers on the Civil War railroads ? It would be interesting to read what Generals Patton, Eisenhower, Abrams, and/ or Schwarzkopf, etc. would have said about the subject. Also, those from the Civil War itself - Haupt, McCallum, Grant, Sherman, Dodge, etc.
Some years ago - like in the mid-1990's - there was an article, column, or essay in Trains - perhaps by Ed King or Don Phillips - about how in the early days of the war, Confederate Colonel (?) or General (?) Stonewall Jackson tricked the B&O into stopping a lot of trains at Harper's Ferry, Md., and then captured them and either destroyed or hauled them away for use on the Southern railroads.
Some other articles on the Civil War that have appeared in Trains over the years:
- Paul North.
The outcome of the Civil War itself speaks to the outcome....the Union had rail in relative abundance and used it. The South had a relative lack of rail and was not able to counter the Union moves....logistically speaking.
Paul_D_North_Jr It would be interesting to have the opinion of an Army officer who is familiar with the Civil War - from the Cavalry and / or Quartermaster's Corps, for example - to weight in with his/ her views and insights, esp. as to what it would have been like with and without the railroad - "compare and contrast" - and how the outcomes might have been different...... - Paul North.
It would be interesting to have the opinion of an Army officer who is familiar with the Civil War - from the Cavalry and / or Quartermaster's Corps, for example - to weight in with his/ her views and insights, esp. as to what it would have been like with and without the railroad - "compare and contrast" - and how the outcomes might have been different......
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Behind every successful general stands a competent quartermaster. Logistics is the mother of victory.
The Trains article map shows railroads of varying gauges. Other sources on the subject tell of delays the armies experienced going from gauge to gauge. Did the experience gained in the Civil War lend impetus to Congress setting a standard track gauge later in the 19th Century?
The only track gauge mandated by Congress was 4' 8.5" on the Union Pacific. The gauge conversion of railroads south of the Ohio River was not mandated by anybody but was done strictly by the railroads to facilitate interchange.
Let's see...back during the late 60s when I began buying TRAINS at the local tobacco shop and news stand, I recall several good books that were available for sale on this subject, including one aptly titled "Civil War Railroads". A number of books on the subject had also been written during the Civil War Centennial, and were in print by 1965. I'm sure that railfans could find some of these from collectors. I would also bet that with the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War now at hand there might be both reprints and new works that are brought out for those of us who like to buy and read this kind of thing.
When I went to work on the White Pass & Yukon Route as a brakeman in 1974 there was a young man on the bridge gang named Richard Haupt. His great grandfather had been Herman Haupt, famous for starting and successfully managing the United States Military Railroad service during the war. As I recall, Rich told me that he had a family-published book that was taken from Herman's own diaries about the conflict, and it detailed the railroad activities he had participated in. Rich left the B&B and went back East shortly thereafter, but I am sure he and his family still keep that herloom. The book would be extremely interesting reading from a military railway transportation standpoint, let alone new Civil War scholarship.
There is no question that the war gave birth to the modern railroad era in the United States, and that our experience was carefully noted by the general staff in the armies of other nations. The more we can learn about the use of railways during this period, the more we can really understand railroads and their use around the world today. As a sidebar, the Railway Operating Battalions were an outgrowth of this original concept, and TRAINS has done articles on the ROBs, too.
In summation, I really enjoyed this article, and would like to see others in this vein. Does anyione remember the article TRAINS carried about the "Stewart Special" that the U.S. Army ran from Inchon during the Korean War? That was another excellent story of American railroad ingenuity in wartime.
Steve Hites
Paul_D_North_Jr Some years ago - like in the mid-1990's - there was an article, column, or essay in Trains - perhaps by Ed King or Don Phillips - about how in the early days of the war, Confederate Colonel (?) or General (?) Stonewall Jackson tricked the B&O into stopping a lot of trains at Harper's Ferry, Md., and then captured them and either destroyed or hauled them away for use on the Southern railroads. - Paul North.
If you consult the Map of the Month feature in that issue, there is no connection anywhere near the B&O line at Harpers Ferry that leads into the south, so would not have been possible to take the rolling stock south. However, the raid did occur and a number of trains were looted, and their contents either appropriated for Southern use or destroyed. General Jackson netted some 70 artillery pieces, 13,000 rifles and 12,500 federal prisoners in this engagement.
Dakguy201 If you consult the Map of the Month feature in that issue, there is no connection anywhere near the B&O line at Harpers Ferry that leads into the south, so would not have been possible to take the rolling stock south. [snip]
First - Steve !
I'm recalling a mostly pictorial book from the 1960's titled Civil War Railroads by George B. Abdill as follows:
See http://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Railroads-George-Abdill/dp/B0007DVMS4 - listed from $5 to $12 there.
However, in looking for that, I see that Indiana University Press reprinted it - apparently with much sharper photo reproduction - in 1999 as below. Note that the Product Description, About the Author, and the 2 Customer Reviews provide a lot more detail on Mr. Abdill and this volume which I did not know of before - I'll let everyone else here discover all that for themselves - and so I am inclined to believe that it would be a very interesting resource:
http://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Railroads-Pictorial-1861-1865/dp/0253335361 - listed at about $35 there.
Your comments about Richard Haupt are jaw-dropping ! Herman Haupt also worked on the Hoosac Tunnel and I believe on the PRR as well, so he was an integral figure to late 19th century railroading in many other ways. As you say, that privately published book would be extremely interesting and valuable from the standpoint of a "primary source" - a person who was not only "there", but a key participant as well.
You said above: "The more we can learn about the use of railways during this period, the more we can really understand railroads and their use around the world today." That seems like a worthwhile observation. Can you follow up with some examples, references, or more detail, etc. ?
This is probably the article you referenced - though I don't recall seeing it, as my collection doesn't go back that far:
In "A Treasury of Railroad Folklore" is a story about Jackson's ruse. When he pulled it off, he had the B&O obstructed at or near Point of Rocks, MD and Martinsburg, WV. According to the account, the equipment was sent down the branch to Winchester, VA and then removed by horse-power to the railway at Strasburg.
Jeff
Mr. North is correct about the capture of rail equipment. The confusion arose because I was considering the events of September 1862, in which General Jackson captured a large amout of war supplies and prisoners but immediately departed Harpers Ferry to join Lee in what would become the battle at Antietam.
It turms out Jackson had been there before. Upon the outbreak of the war in April 1861 the Confederates had taken possession of Harpers Ferry. Jackson was given that command in late April. He devised a plan to encourage the B&O to concentrate train movements and then grabbed the trains. In the words of General John Imboden CSA :
"Thus he caught all the trains that were going east or west between those points, and these he ran up to Winchester, thirty-two miles on the branch road, where they were safe, and whence they were removed by horse-power to the railway at Strasburg. I do not remember the number of trains captured, but the loss crippled the Baltimore and Ohio road seriously for some time, and the gain to our scantily stocked Virginia roads of the same gauge was invaluable."
1. Paul North is not sure of T. J. Jackson’s rank at the time of his securing several locomotives and cars for the Confederacy; it was not until 3 July, 1861, that he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, so he still held the rank of Colonel when he took the equipment from the B&O. He, and his brigade, had shown no enmity towards the B&O before he exercised his master stroke in appropriating the engines and cars and having them moved to where they could be used by railroads in the Confederacy.
2.Thanks, Paul, for reminding me of a selection in a text that I used in my Freshman Composition Class in college; I regret that I sold the book to an incoming freshman the next year.
3. Jeff, I had forgotten the account in the Treasury; it is essentially the same as the one I read in college.
4. Another incident of Colonel Jackson’s acquisition of rolling stock is found in Prof. R. L. Dabney, D. D.’s Life and Campaigns of Lieutenant General Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson (Dr. Dabney was General Jackson’s Aide-de-Camp for a year). This, found in Chapter VI, First Campaign in the Valley, tells of his capturing "a number of locomotives and burden-cars" in Martinsburg–and, because the bridges between Martinsburg and Harper’s Ferry had been burned, they were removed , by means of long teams of horses to the Virginia Central Railroad over turnpike roads.
4. Dakguy201 is right that in that a part of General Lee’s plan to draw the Army of the Potomac away from threatening Richmond was the capture of Harper’s Ferry, and Lieutenant General Jackson’s corps was given the responsibility for this engagement. The corps successfully invested the town, which soon capitulated, and then, except for one division that remained to parole the captured soldiers, struck out in an overnight march (Jackson’s "foot calvary") for Sharpsburg, to take part in the bloodiest single day of battle in that war.
Victrola1 Behind every successful general stands a competent quartermaster. Logistics is the mother of victory.
In his landmark biography of Sherman, British military historian Basil Liddell-Hart, describing Sherman's use of the railroads, says that Sherman was a great strategist because he was a "born quartermaster."
Between the Mexican and Civil Wars Sherman had been a rather successful banker in San Francisco and New York. This likely gave him a broader range of experience than most of the officers on both sides. He surely did understand the economics of war.
And most of you will not know that he was the founding President of the military academy in Louisiana that became LSU. When Louisiana seceded he resigned his post and returned North. His opinion was that once secession blocked the Mississippi war not only inevitable but necessary.
Jack
Actually, ol' Stonewall DID capture a few B&O locomotives, but a little thing like no connection with any southern railroads didn't stop him. Stonewall's men DRAGGED the locomotives down the Valley Road to the nearest southern rail line. Where there's a will, there's a way.
Speaking of Civil War, I managed to put together aerial photos (3) to make the whole Gettysburg battlefield if anyone is interested in it.
http://southpennrailroad.com/Store.html
Just need to goto my web page here: I am the only one to have this. Period!
As you can see by the web page I specialize in the South Pennsylvania Railroad. (Pennsylvania Turnpike)
Tracking the William Henry Vanderbilt South Pennsylvania Railroad right of way along the Historic Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Paul_D_North_Jr [snipped] Some years ago - like in the mid-1990's - there was an article, column, or essay in Trains - perhaps by Ed King or Don Phillips - about how in the early days of the war, Confederate Colonel (?) or General (?) Stonewall Jackson tricked the B&O into stopping a lot of trains at Harper's Ferry, Md., and then captured them and either destroyed or hauled them away for use on the Southern railroads.
"Scam at Harpers Ferry" by Don Phillips, Trains, August 1992, (Vol. 52, No. 8), pg. 19. cols. 2 - 3. He also writes: "The best account is by the Civil War historian Arthur Candenquist in the November-December 1991 issue of the journal "Civil War" which contains other stories on Civil War railroading. I'd recommend a trip to your library."
Dakguy201, You're statement is in error: There was, and is, a line from Harpers Ferry to the South. In the day , it was the Winchester & Potomac RR, I believe, between the B&O @ Harpers Ferry and Winchester, VA. General Jackson told the B&O president to stop the trains thru HF so his soldiers could get some sleep. The ruse worked: Jackson captured the halted trains and moved some of them by rail to the vicinity of Winchester, then pulled some of the engines down the Valley Pike (current US Rt 11) to Strasburg, VA, where they were put on Southern rails for the trip farther south.
There are currently plans to re-enact the move during the Memorial Day weekend of 2011.
FYI, the W&P was shortened by a few miles during the war, due to various actionsof both Union and Reb forces. At the beginning of the "Rebellion", the line did connect Winchester and Harpers Ferry, but by war's end the line stopped at Stephens, VA a few mile north of Winchester. It was later incorporated into the B&O, and today is the Shenandoah Sub-Division of CSXT, with 2 - 4 trains daily on line between Harpers Ferry,WV and Strasburg, VA.....Respectfully, JWH
worldrails101 [snipped] There is no question that the war gave birth to the modern railroad era in the United States, and that our experience was carefully noted by the general staff in the armies of other nations. The more we can learn about the use of railways during this period, the more we can really understand railroads and their use around the world today. As a sidebar, the Railway Operating Battalions were an outgrowth of this original concept, and TRAINS has done articles on the ROBs, too. In summation, I really enjoyed this article, and would like to see others in this vein. Does anyione remember the article TRAINS carried about the "Stewart Special" that the U.S. Army ran from Inchon during the Korean War? That was another excellent story of American railroad ingenuity in wartime. Steve Hites
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