In an effort to shorten the war by isolating and capturing Chattanooga, James J. Andrews, a contraband merchant and trader between the lines, came up with a novel act of sabotage. He, and 23 volunteers, would try to steal a Confederate locomotive from the Western and Atlantic Railroad and deliver it to General Mitchel in Huntsville, Alabama. Along the way, the "engine thieves" would disable the railroad as much as possible to prevent the Confederates from rushing reinforcements to Chattanooga - the ultimate objective of General Mitchel's division. However, on April 12, 1862, this group (reduced to Andrews and 19 volunteers) had not planned on the tenacious pursuit of the stolen train's conductor, William A. Fuller!

For a thorough history of the locomotives "General" and "Texas" and complete details about the chase and the participants, please check out this excellent website: The Great Locomotive Chase by Col. James G. Bogle and Stan Cohen.

For more information about the museum where the locomotive "General", is displayed today, check these websites:
The Unofficial Locomotive General and Kennesaw Civil War Museum Website and
The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.

For information on the home of the locomotive "Texas", check out: The Atlanta Cyclorama.