Tennessee Civil War Railroads and Railroad Battles

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List of Tennessee Railroad Battles

List of Tennessee Civil War Railroad Battles
Tennessee Civil War Railroad Battles.jpg
Locomotive 201 on the Memphis and Charleston

Tennessee Railroad-Related Military Events Sorted by Railroad
E & K Skirmish at "Dead Horse Trestle" Robertson, Davidson 10/31/1862
ET & V Occupation of Zollicoffer Sullivan 10/15/1863
ET & G Raid on ET & G RR Bradley 11/24/1863
ET & G Attack on Railroad at Athens and Sweet Water McMinn, Loudon 2/16/1865
ET & G Destruction of railroad between Lenoir Station and Knoxville Loudon 6/19/1863
ET & G Wheeler's Raid on Cleveland Bradley 8/17/1864
ET & G Burning of Ooltewah Bridge Hamilton 11/25/1863
ET & G Destruction of bridges at Calhoun McMinn 11/29/1863
ET & G, K &K, ET & V Capture of Knoxville Knox 9/2/1863
ET & G, N & C, W & A Attack on Chattanooga by James S. Negley Hamilton 6/7/1862
ET & GA, ET & VA, W & A East Tennessee Unionist Bridge Burnings Hamilton, Bradley, McMinn, Jefferson, Washington 11/8/1861
ET & V Destruction of the Holston and Watauga railroad bridges Washington, Sullivan 12/30/1862
ET & V Destruction of RR near Russellville Hamblen 10/21/1864
ET & V Capture of train near Morristown Hamblen 9/6/1863
ET & V Destruction of bridges near Strawberry Plains Jefferson 6/20/1863
ET & V Occupation of Bristol by Federal troops Sullivan 9/19/1863
ET & V Destruction of railroad around Mossy Creek Bridge Jefferson 6/21/1863
ET & V Skirmish at Strawberry Plains Bridge (1864) Jefferson 8/24/1864
ET & V, ET & G, K &K Capture of Knoxville Knox 9/2/1863
ET & VA Skirmish near Bristol Sullivan 11/10/1861
ET & VA Skirmish at Strawberry Plains Bridge Jefferson 11/8/1861
ET & VA, ET & GA, W & A East Tennessee Unionist Bridge Burnings Hamilton, Bradley, McMinn, Jefferson, Washington 11/8/1861
ET &V Skirmish at Mossy Creek Jefferson 10/16/1864
K &K, ET & V, ET & G Capture of Knoxville Knox 9/2/1863
L & N Skirmish at Richland Station Sumner 3/19/1863
L & N Affair near Nashville Davidson 4/9/1863
L & N Morgan at Gallatin Sumner 8/12/1862
L & N Affair at South Tunnel, Gallatin Sumner 10/10/1864
L & N Guerilla Attack on train at Gallatin Tunnel Sumner 10/26/1863
L & N Raid on L & N Sumner 8/19/1862
L & N Taking of the station at Gallatin Sumner 3/15/1862
M & C Track destruction at Saulsbury Hardeman 12/2/1863
M & C Operations on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Shelby 10/11/1863
M & C Affair near La Fayette Station Fayette 6/25/1862
M & C Affair at Moscow Fayette 3/29/1863
M & C Trestle Work at La Fayette Fayette 12/4/1863
M & C Burning of trestle near Middleton Hardeman 7/30/1863
M & C Track damaged near Germantown Shelby 7/18/1863
M & C Destruction of track at Collierville Shelby 11/3/1863
M & C Attack on train near La Fayette Fayette 6/23/1864
M & C Bridge at Collierville Shelby 12/27/1863
M & M Destruction of M & M RR Coffee 4/20/1863
M & M Forrest's attack on Guest Hollow Stockade Coffee 8/29/1862
M & M Destruction of M & M RR Warren 4/20/1863
M & O Skirmish at Shelby Depot Fayette 10/23/1862
M & O and Mob & O Attack at Humboldt Gibson 12/20/1862
M C & L Destruction of railroad tracks by men from the USN "Tyler" Benton, Houston 2/6/1862
M C & L Lyon's raid on RR near Clarksville Montgomery 12/6/1864
MC & L Clarksville railroad bridge burned Montgomery 2/18/1862
MC & L Destruction of trestle near Clarksville Montgomery 5/21/1863
Memphis & Bowling Green (M C & L) Destruction of Memphis & Bowling Green RR Bridge Benton, Houston 2/8/1862
Mob & O Affair at Carroll Station Madison 12/19/1862
Mob & O Destruction of bridges near Moscow and over the Obion River Fayette 12/21/1862
Mob & O Destruction of Trenton Station Gibson 12/21/1862
Mob & O Destruction of Webb's Station Madison 12/18/1862
Mob & O Henderson's Station Bridge Chester 11/25/1862
Mob & O Skirmish on Elk River, near Bethel McNairy 5/9/1862
Mob & O Skirmish near Humboldt at Burnt Bridge Gibson 9/5/1862
Mob & O Raid on the Mob & O near Bethel Station McNairy 4/29/1862
Mob & O Cypress Creek Bridge burned McNairy 5/30/1862
Mob & O Action near Bethel McNairy 5/4/1862
Mob & O Cox's Raid on Henderson's Station Chester 10/25/1862
Mob & O Destruction of Beach Creek Bridge McNairy 3/13/1862
Mob & O Skirmish at Chewalla McNairy 10/5/1862
Mob & O Destruction of track between Trenton and Kenton Gibson 12/21/1862
Mob & O and M & O Attack at Humboldt Gibson 12/20/1862
Mob & O and N & NW Destruction of railroads around Union City Obion 12/23/1862
Mob & O, N & NW Capture of Union City Obion 3/31/1862
MsC Attack on a railroad train, Grand Junction Hardeman 3/21/1863
MsC Attack on Grand Junction Hardeman 7/25/1862
MsC Armstrong's raid on Medon Station Madison 8/30/1862
MsC Bridge across Big Hatchie River discovered burned Hardeman 7/13/1863
MsC Attack on rail near Bolivar Hardeman 7/26/1862
N & C Action near Elk River Bridge Franklin 9/4/1864
N & C Destruction of bridge near Nashville Davidson 7/21/1862
N & C Destruction of Murfreesboro depot and railroad Rutherford 7/13/1862
N & C Operations against stockades and block-houses on the N & C RR Rutherford, Davidson 12/2/1864
N & C Affair at Christiana Rutherford 10/5/1863
N & C Destruction of RR near Tullahoma Coffee 9/28/1864
N & C Skirmish at Wartrace Bedford 4/11/1862
N & C Destruction of rails near Tullahoma Coffee 3/25/1862
N & C Affair at Cowan Franklin 10/9/1863
N & C Raid on N & C RR, near Tullahoma Coffee 3/16/1864
N & C Stopping of a train near Murfreesboro Rutherford 9/2/1864
N & C Capture of railroad train near Murfreesboro Rutherford 12/15/1864
N & C Burning of train near Antioch Davidson 1/25/1863
N & C Affair near Antioch Davidson 4/9/1863
N & C Wheeler attacks Murfreesboro Rutherford 10/5/1863
N & C Skirmish at LaVergne Rutherford 10/7/1862
N & C Burning of Train near La Vergne Rutherford 12/25/1863
N & C Skirmish at La Vergne Rutherford 4/10/1863
N & C Burning of Nickajack Bridge Marion 8/21/1863
N & C Affair at Antioch Station Davidson 4/10/1863
N & C Attack on railroad train near Murfreesboro Rutherford 12/13/1864
N & C Burning of bridge at Wauhatchie Hamilton 10/28/1863
N & C, W & A, ET & G Attack on Chattanooga by James S. Negley Hamilton 6/7/1862
N & D or T & A Skirmish at Reynold's Station, N & D RR Giles 8/27/1862
N & N W Destruction of railroad from McKenzie Station to Union City Obion, Weakley, Carroll 12/24/1862
N & NW Attack on Johnsonville Humphreys 11/5/1864
N & NW Raid on the N & NW RR (1864) Dickson 10/18/1864
N & NW Raid on the N & NW RR Humphreys 8/15/1864
N & NW and Mob & O Destruction of railroads around Union City Obion 12/23/1862
N & NW, Mob & O Capture of Union City Obion 3/31/1862
T & A Attack on Brentwood Williamson 3/25/1863
T & A Destruction of Railroad near Campbell's Station Maury 9/1/1864
T & A Action near Columbia Maury 10/1/1864
T & A Forrest's raid on Elkton Giles 9/26/1864
T & A Destruction of RR between Pulaski and Columbia Giles, Maury 9/27/1864
TC & RR Destruction of Tracy City Railroad track Grundy, Marion, Franklin 6/29/1863
TC & RR Skirmish at Tracy City Marion 8/30/1864
TC & RR Wheeler attacks McMinnville Warren 10/4/1863
W & A Burning of Chickamauga Station Hamilton 11/26/1863
W & A Pittinger's Raid on Georgia State Railroad Hamilton 4/7/1862
W & A, ET & G, N & C Attack on Chattanooga by James S. Negley Hamilton 6/7/1862
W & A, ET & GA, ET & VA East Tennessee Unionist Bridge Burnings Hamilton, Bradley, McMinn, Jefferson, Washington 11/8/1861
Wn & AL Affair near Fayetteville Lincoln 12/6/1863

Source: Middle Tennessee State University

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Recommended Reading: Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor. Description: "The Great Locomotive Chase has been the stuff of legend and the darling of Hollywood. Now we have a solid history of the Andrews Raid. Russell S. Bonds’ stirring account makes clear why the raid failed and what happened to the raiders."—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Continued below...

On April 12, 1862 -- one year to the day after Confederate guns opened on Fort Sumter -- a tall, mysterious smuggler and self-appointed Union spy named James J. Andrews and nineteen infantry volunteers infiltrated north Georgia and stole a steam engine referred to as  the General. Racing northward at speeds approaching sixty miles an hour, cutting telegraph lines and destroying track along the way, Andrews planned to open East Tennessee to the Union army, cutting off men and materiel from the Confederate forces in Virginia. If they succeeded, Andrews and his raiders could change the course of the war. But the General’s young conductor, William A. Fuller, chased the stolen train first on foot, then by handcar, and finally aboard another engine, the Texas. He pursued the General until, running out of wood and water, Andrews and his men abandoned the doomed locomotive, ending the adventure that would soon be famous as The Great Locomotive Chase, but not the ordeal of the soldiers involved. In the days that followed, the "engine thieves" were hunted down and captured. Eight were tried and executed as spies, including Andrews. Eight others made a daring escape to freedom, including two assisted by a network of slaves and Union sympathizers. For their actions, before a personal audience with President Abraham Lincoln, six of the raiders became the first men in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor -- the nation's highest decoration for gallantry. Americans north and south, both at the time and ever since, have been astounded and fascinated by this daring raid. Until now, there has not been a complete history of the entire episode and the fates of all those involved. Based on eyewitness accounts, as well as correspondence, diaries, military records, newspaper reports, deposition testimony and other primary sources, Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds is a blend of meticulous research and compelling narrative that is destined to become the definitive history of "the boldest adventure of the war."

 

Recommended Reading: The Railroads of the Confederacy (400 pages) (The University of North Carolina Press: April 15, 1998). Description: Originally published by UNC Press in 1952, The Railroads of the Confederacy tells the story of the first use of railroads on a major scale in a major war. Robert Black presents a complex and fascinating tale, with the railroads of the American South playing the part of tragic hero in the Civil War: at first vigorous though immature; then overloaded, driven unmercifully, starved for iron; and eventually worn out—struggling on to inevitable destruction in the wake of Sherman's army, carrying the Confederacy down with them. Continued below...

With maps of all the Confederate railroads and contemporary photographs and facsimiles of such documents as railroad tickets, timetables, and soldiers' passes, the book will captivate railroad enthusiasts as well as readers interested in the Civil War.

 

Recommended Reading: Civil War Railroads: A Pictorial Story of the War Between the States, 1861-1865 (Hardcover: 192 pages) (Publisher: Indiana University Press). Description: With more than 220 black and white photographs from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and private collections across the country, this is the essential pictorial guide for all those interested in the role of the Iron Horse in the American Civil War. Like all wars, the Civil War was not all gunfire and panic. It was supply and transport, trains and trouble on the line, men in Blue and Gray fighting against almost unbelievable odds with lumbering, woodburning engines. Continued below...

About the Author: George B. Abdill, Civil War Railroads: A Pictorial Story of the War Between the States, 1861-1865, before his death, was a railroader's writer--A working hoghead on the Southern Pacific's Portland Division and historian of the great days of steam. His special gift was as a collector of truly remarkable photographs illustrating the pioneering days of the railroads. And he had a special place in his heart for military railroaders since he, himself, served with the 744th Railway Operation Battalion during World War II, running his engine in France, Belgium, and Germany. He had first-hand knowledge of railroading under fire.

 

Recommended Reading: Confederate Industry: Manufacturers And Quartermasters in the Civil War (412 pages) (University Press of Mississippi: September 2005). Description: For those with an interest in the Civil War, this book gives new insight into the efforts of the Confederacy to keep its armies in the field during four years of Union onslaughts. Harold Wilson, an English professor at Old Dominion University, looks largely at the textile industry but also focuses on armaments and other production. Continued below...

He also discusses the Confederacy's efforts to supply itself from Europe with blockade-running ships, and the efforts of Northern armies - especially under Sherman - to destroy the Confederacy's industrial base. He examines the rise of Southern industry in the decades after the war. This is a solid, well-researched book that covers an important area of Civil War history in unprecedented depth.

 

Recommended Viewing: American Experience - Transcontinental Railroad (2003) (PBS) (120 minutes). Description: Go behind-the-scenes of one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century: the building of a transcontinental railroad across the United States. Completed in only six years by unscrupulous entrepreneurs, brilliant engineers, and legions of dedicated workers, the Transcontinental Railroad left a horde of displaced, broken Native Americans in its wake. See how the railroad helped shape the politics and culture of mid-19th century America.

 

Recommended Reading: The Civil War Battlefield Guide: The Definitive Guide, Completely Revised, with New Maps and More Than 300 Additional Battles (Second Edition) (Hardcover). Description: This new edition of the definitive guide to Civil War battlefields is really a completely new book. While the first edition covered 60 major battlefields, from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, the second covers all of the 384 designated as the "principal battlefields" in the American Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report. Continued below...

As in the first edition, the essays are authoritative and concise, written by such leading Civil War historians as James M. McPherson, Stephen W. Sears, Edwin C. Bearss, James I. Robinson, Jr., and Gary W. Gallager. The second edition also features 83 new four-color maps covering the most important battles. The Civil War Battlefield Guide is an essential reference for anyone interested in the Civil War. "Reading this book is like being at the bloodiest battles of the war..."

List of Tennessee Civil War Railroads Bridges, Tennessee Civil War Railroad Battles Raids Bridge Burners Raid, Skirmishes Details, Results, Facts, Total List of Tennessee Rail lines Photo Pictures Maps

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