Trains, Railroad Bridges, Train Wrecks and "The General"

Waud, Alfred R. (Alfred Rudolph), 1828-1891, artist. "Destruction of the locomotives on the bridge over the Chickahominy." 1 drawing on brown paper : pencil, Chinese white, and black ink wash ; 18.3 x 25.9 cm. (sheet). 1862 June. Library of Congress Morgan collection of Civil War drawings. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004660377/ (Accessed 10/16/2013).

Trains, Railroad Bridges, Train Wrecks and "The General"

Richard's first battle was to keep control of the Danville Railroad Bridge over the Tennessee River. This bridge was vital to the South for supplying Forts Henry and Donelson and the North wanted it to cut off their supply chain and to use it to bring supplies when they invade eastern Tennessee. So in this case everyone wanted to keep the bridge intact and so it became a battle of control.



The current railroad bridge is not the original, the original is under Kentucky Lake that was formed by the Tennesee Valley Authority, and this also flooded out Fort Henry. The river tended to flood and that is exactly the reason the battle took place, part of Fort Henry was underwater, so the Union could land troops by water directly inside the fort from the river. It was an indefensible position.

The above is a drawing of a train collapse in Virginia. One of the most famous train incidents was in Georgia on the way to Tennessee where Union forces took over trains in an attempt to sabatoge the telegraph and train lines from Big Shanty which is Kennesaw Mountain Georgia to Chattanooga Tennessee. They stole several trains on their way north. The first train they stole, the conductor of that train followed them on foot and with a handcar and managed to catch up to them, mainly because trains had to move slowly through those mountains and they had to stop every now and then to get water and fuel to load the train. And at that exact time, there were southbound trains had priority on the tracks as they were evacuating Chattanooga and so the Union soldiers were eventually captured. The soldiers who died were given the first Congressional Medals of Honor.

That incident was turned into a silent film, "The General" by Buster Keaton where he ran a a real steam locomotive off of a bridge and this scene was the costliest scene in movies up to that time. And amazingly the real thing looks a lot like this drawing made at the time. It is clear that the artist witnessed the destruction of this train.

Here is a link to the full movie on You Tube at about 1:07 into the movie:
http://amzn.com/B001E18222

"Ruins of R.R. bridge across Tennessee River, at Bridgeport, Tenn.? (i.e. Alabama) and pontoon bridge in course of construction." photographed ca. 1863, printed later. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012649979/ ( Accessed 10/16/2013).

This bridge is on the Tennessee River and its piers look a lot like the railroad bridge that existed near Fort Henry but it labeled to be at Bridgeport Alabama. Here you see the making of a Pontoon Bridge next to the bridge that was destroyed.

Barnard, George N., 1819-1902, photographer. "Railroad bridge, Whiteside, Tenn.." photographed 1863, [printed later]. 1 photographic print on card mount : gelatin silver. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Brady-Handy Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012649984/ (Accessed 10/16/2013).

The Whiteside Tennesee Railroad Bridge shows the real terrain and type of railroad construction that the Yankee raid depicted in the Silent Movie "The General" would have actually encountered.

Three years In the C.S. Army (P.A.C.S) A Diary of a Confederate Soldier by Jerry Pepper and Richard Lauren McClung
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00FR2MT7I