Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase &

Category: History: U.S.: 19th Century

Publishing Information: 2006 by Westholme

ISBN: 1594160333

Binding: Hardcover

Description: On April 12, 1862-one year to the day after Confederate guns ì opened on Fort Sumter and started the Civil War-a tall, ì mysterious smuggler and self-appointed Union spy named James J. ì Andrews and nineteen infantry volunteers infiltrated north ì Georgia and stole a steam engine called the General. Racing ì northward at speeds approaching sixty miles an hour, cutting ì telegraph lines and destroying track along the way, Andrews ì planned to open East Tennessee to the Union army, cutting off men ì and matériel from the Confederate forces in Virginia. If they ì succeeded, Andrews and his raiders could change the course of the ì war. But the General's young conductor, William A. Fuller, chased ì the stolen train first on foot, then by handcar, and finally ì aboard another engine, the Texas. He pursued the General until, ì running out of wood and water, Andrews and his men abandoned the ì doomed locomotive, ending the adventure that would soon be famous ì as The Great Locomotive Chase. But the ordeal of the soldiers ì involved was just beginning. In the days that followed, the ì "engine thieves" were hunted down and captured. Eight were tried ì and executed as spies, including Andrews. Eight others made a ì daring escape to freedom, including two assisted by a network of ì slaves and Union sympathizers. For their actions, before a ì personal audience with President Abraham Lincoln, six of the ì raiders became the first men in American history to be awarded ì the Medal of Honor-the nation's highest decoration for ì gallantry.

Condition Information: This is a used book and is in ' like new' condition.

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