'''The General''' is a type
4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the subject of the
Great Locomotive Chase of the
American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the
Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in
Kennesaw, Georgia, and it is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Before the Civil War
Built in 1855 by
Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in
Paterson,
New Jersey,
[2] ''The General'' provided freight and passenger service between
Atlanta, Georgia, and
Chattanooga,
Tennessee, before the
Civil War on the
Western and Atlantic Railroad[3]
Civil War
Main articles: Great Locomotive Chase
During the Civil War ''The General'' was stolen by Northern spies led by
James J. Andrews at Big Shanty (now
Kennesaw),
Georgia, and abandoned north of
Ringgold, after being pursued by
William Allen Fuller and the
''Texas''. Low on water and wood, the ''General'' eventually lost steam pressure and speed, and slowed to a halt two miles north of Ringgold, where Andrews and his raiders abandoned the locomotive and tried to flee.
Later, the ''General'' narrowly escaped destruction when General
John Bell Hood ordered the ordnance depot destroyed as he left Atlanta on
September 1,
1864.
Present-day

Western and Atlantic Railroad No. 3: ''The General'', on display in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Housed at the
Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in
Kennesaw, Georgia.
References
1. National Register Information System
2. Rogers locomotives: A brief history and construction list, Moshein, Peter and Rothfus, Robert R., , , Railroad History, 1992
3. Stealing the General; The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor, Bonds, Russell S., , , Westholme Publishing, 2007, ISBN 1-59416-033-3
External links
★
About North Georgia: The General