Tennessee Civil War Railroads and Railroad Battles

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Tennessee Railroad-Related Military Events by County

Tennessee Civil War Railroads and its Railroad Battles
(Detailed List of Battles in Each County)

Tennessee Civil War Railroad History
Civil War Railroad Locomotives.jpg
Nashville Railroad, locomotives, depot, and Capitol

(About) Nashville, Tenn. Railroad yard and depot with locomotives; the Capitol in distance. Barnard, George N., 1819-1902, photographer. Summary: Photograph of the War in the West. This photo is of Hood before Nashville. Continuing his policy of the offensive at any cost, Gen. John B. Hood brought his reduced army before the defenses of Nashville, where it was overthrown by Gen. George H. Thomas on December 15-16, in the most complete victory of the war. The photo was taken during the battle. Published 1864. Digital ID: (digital file from original neg. of left half) cwpb 02111. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-cwpb-02111 (digital file from original neg. of left half) LC-DIG-cwpb-02110 (digital file from original neg. of right half) LC-B8171-2651 (b&w film neg.). Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. LOC.

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

Source: Middle Tennessee State University

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Recommended Reading: Carter's Raid: An Episode of the Civil War in East Tennessee. Description: During the Civil War, many East Tennesseans remained loyal to the Union. When the state seceded, it smashed a wedge between the region’s pro-Unionist and Confederate factions. Samuel P. Carter of Elizabethton, the daring "sailor on horseback" and a naval officer, led the Yankee cavalry in a raid from Kentucky into his familiar East Tennessee hometown. Continued below...

This strategy was part of a tong-term effort, or grand strategy, by the Federal government to utilize the loyal East Tennesseans to destroy the Southern rebellion. The author relates an exciting story of "the first long-distance raid staged by the Union cavalry" in this chronicle of a significant and often overlooked turning point of the Civil War in Southern Appalachia. 
 
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: A History of the American Locomotive: Its Development, 1830-1880 (Trains) (528 pages). Description: Important and beautifully illustrated volume chronicles the explosive growth of the American locomotive from British imports to grand ten-wheelers of the 1870s. Over 240 vintage photographs, drawings, and diagrams tell the exciting tale. Includes comprehensive introduction, appendices and index. Continued below...

Superb and scholarly effort from Mr. White is readable and laudable, and he offers to us enormous access to the best pictures.

 

Recommended Reading: War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee, 1860-1869. Description: One of the most divided regions of the Confederacy, East Tennessee was the site of fierce Unionist resistance to secession, Confederate rule, and the Southern war effort. It was also the scene of unrelenting 'irregular,' or guerrilla, warfare between Union and Confederate supporters, a conflict that permanently altered the region's political, economic, and social landscape. In this study, Noel Fisher examines the military and political struggle for control of East Tennessee from the secession crisis through the early years of Reconstruction, focusing particularly on the military and political significance of the region's irregular activity. Continued below...

Fisher portrays in grim detail the brutality and ruthlessness employed not only by partisan bands but also by Confederate and Union troops under constant threat of guerrilla attack and government officials frustrated by unstinting dissent. He demonstrates that, generally, guerrillas were neither the romantic, daring figures of Civil War legend nor mere thieves and murderers, but rather were ordinary men and women who fought to live under a government of their choice and to drive out those who did not share their views.

 

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.

Try the Search Engine for Related Studies: Tennessee Civil War Railroads Map, List of Tennessee Railroad Battles, American Civil War Railroad Raids Railroad Bridge Burners Railroads Bridges Burned Burner Trestles Attacked Destroyed Captured

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