Compelling Civil War artifacts are among 100 objects the Atlanta History Center is highlighting to mark its centennial. Among them: USCT flag, ammo crate, a girl's diary, Sherman calling card, Cleburne sword, a Union map and a revolver

Solomon Luckie, Union map of Atlanta, 127th USCT flag, sketch for Cyclorama (Courtesy AHC)

Through items big (the locomotive Texas weighing in at 53,000 pound) and small (less than an ounce for Gen. William T. Sherman’s calling card), nearly 20 Civil War-related artifacts are featured in “Atlanta in 100 Objects,” a book and accompanying exhibition that opens Friday at the Atlanta History Center.

The AHC, celebrating its 100 anniversary this year, is inviting visitors to examine artifacts in galleries, rooms and exhibits across its 33 acres. There is a big variety, from a disco ball and Peachtree Street sign (below right, AHC) to a letter from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and an Atlanta Crackers baseball jersey.

While many of the Civil War items, including the calling card and a map used by Sherman’s troops, are now on display, others (a diary by a 10-year old Atlanta girl and the fascinating flag of an African-American regiment) won’t debut or return until the July opening of “More Perfect Union: The American Civil War Era.”

Officials say visitors will see photographs of the Civil War objects being unveiled during the summer. That exhibition will feature breathtaking artifacts and a broader discussion of issues that engage the republic to this day: our belief systems, victory, defeat, reconciliation and the evolving meaning of freedom.

If you can’t travel to the history center to see the 100 objects, the $24.95 coffee table book (left) features photographs and descriptions “that offer a vibrant portrait of Atlanta through the objects that define it.”

The finely produced volume offers just a snippet of what's at the history center. There are thousands of items in the history center's collection, including those pertaining to Reconstruction and civil rights.

Here’s a closer look at the “Atlanta in 100 Objects” artifacts that are directly related to the Civil War.

Much of the information is from the AHC book, while other portions are from previous Picket reporting on these artifacts, many of which have been at the museum for some time.

Adapting the first map of Atlanta for military use

You know how annoying it can be: Unfolding and folding a road map often leads to rips in the paper. Commanders in the Army of the Cumberland besieging Atlanta were issued a linen version -- preventing that problem.

British-born engineer and cartographer Edward A. Vincent made a map for the young city of Atlanta in 1853. Of course, Atlanta was a much smaller town (about 2,600 residents) and Vincent created a circle with a one-mile radius.

“Vincent beautifully illustrated the curved lines that gave Atlanta streets their unusual layout,” a caption in the book states. The Western & Atlantic’s Zero Milepost was in the center (more on that below).

Sherman’s army adapted Vincent’s creation (he also designed Union Station). The one held by the AHC was made July 25, 1864. It was drawn and printed in the field by the topographical engineer office for the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Maj.Gen. George H. Thomas.

The other two large Federal armies in Georgia were the Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Tennessee. (Photo courtesy Atlanta History Center; click to enlarge)

Solomon and Nancy Luckie

Amid the bustle of Civil War Atlanta, 40 residents were an anomaly. Neither white nor enslaved, they were free blacks -- but they were not free in the fullest sense of the word. The residents toiled under restrictions and were always under a cloud of uncertainty.

Among them were successful barber and bathhouse owner Solomon Luckie, his wife Nancy (left, courtesy AHC) and their three children. The AHC has portraits of the couple; in his, Solomon wears a waistcoat, jacket and gold pinkie ring.

Luckie’s success story ended on Aug. 9, 1864, when one of thousands of Union artillery shells raining on besieged Atlanta hit a lamppost. Shrapnel struck the businessman, who was conversing with white businessmen at the intersection of Whitehall (Peachtree) and Alabama streets. He died hours later.

The lamppost for years was at the Underground Atlanta venue. It was moved to the AHC nearly a decade ago. It can be seen in an upstairs gallery associated with the Cyclorama.

Nancy and their children survived the war. “His descendants would live to see decades of success and struggles for Black Atlantans,” the book says of Solomon.

Zero Milepost

The granite post that marked the birth of Atlanta and survived the Civil War today sits next to the locomotive Texas at the AHC.

Zero Milepost (Picket photo, right) was placed in the 1850s at the southeastern terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad in what is now downtown Atlanta, near Georgia State University. “It was this railroad that provided the impetus for the beginning and subsequent growth of the city of Atlanta and marks the center of the city from which the Atlanta city limits were measured,” says the National Park Service.

The Western & Atlantic was vital for the Confederacy, sending both supplies and troops to the front.

For 70 years, the marker sat in the open, but the growth of the city’s viaduct system led to the Central Avenue Bridge above it and the feature was enclosed in a building in the 1980s. With the exception of a few groups, the marker had not been visible to the public since 1994.

In 2018, the milepost was moved to the history center, sparking criticism by preservation and civic groups. A replica was left in the remote site. The museum and state officials said the original needed protection from planned construction work

At the time, an official with the Atlanta Preservation Center said news of the move was a dark day for preservation. “It is always better to leave things in their original location,” said David Mitchell.

The replica milestone as of this writing is inaccessible because of some kind of project being done ahead of the World Cup.

Battle of Atlanta revolver

In 2006, descendants of Union artillery Capt. Francis DeGress discovered a small pocket revolver (Picket photo, below) that their great-grandfather carried into the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864.

In the Cyclorama painting, galloping furiously to the rescue of Union troops who were briefly overrun at the Troup Hurt house is Maj. Gen. John A. “Black Jack” Logan, head of the Army of the Tennessee. Behind him is a revolver-toting DeGress.

DeGress, already a respected veteran, is about to become a folk hero to the Northern cause. He retakes the four 20-pounder Parrott guns that briefly fell into Confederate hands.

“He is an example of the sort of mid-level officer who was a natural leader, on whom the troops really came to depend. On whom the battle depended,” said AHC senior military historian and curator Gordon Jones.

The 1863 weapon was made by L.W. Pond Machine & Foundry Company in Worcester, Mass. It has been on display with other artifacts in the Cyclorama galleries.

According to “100 Objects,” descendants found a letter by artist Theodore Davis, a witness to the battle, friend of DeGress and a historical adviser to the Cyclorama painters. “The letter revealed that it was Davis who recommended DeGress’s dramatic pose with this revolver.”

Capt. Francis DeGress gallops behind Maj. Gen. Logan (Picket photo)

Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama painting and sketch

There’s a lot that can be said of the immense painting, which was made in the 1880s by mostly German artists with the American Panorama Company. Photos are helpful, but you really have to see this depiction in person to appreciate the artistry and chaos of battle.

Visitors at the AHC today stand or sit on a viewing platform and enjoy a powerful presentation projected onto the painting (Picket photo, right).

The book includes a foldout, 360-degree view of the painting and a preliminary sketch of the focal point – the furious fighting at the Troup Hurt house.

The Cyclorama, which was painted in Milwaukee to show a Union victory, was later modified and misinterpreted in Atlanta as showing a Southern triumph – however brief.

“Through the Cyclorama (visitors) can explore the larger question of how our memory and knowledge about the past can be shaped or mis-shaped, in the convergence of history, art, entertainment and myth,” says the book.

Patrick Cleburne’s presentation sword

One of the most compelling items in the former “Turning Point” exhibit was a sword presented by Rebel troops to Irish-born Confederate Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne. It is expected to come back on view.

An unknown maker produced the sword in Solingen, Prussia, circa 1864. Hammond Marshall of Atlanta, a dentist and jewelry maker, engraved the weapon.

(Photo courtesy Atlanta History Center)

Soldiers of the 15^th Arkansas Infantry – Cleburne’s adopted state -- presented him the sword on April 18, 1864. The scabbard features an Irish harp and the state seal of Arkansas is on the blade.

Cleburne was among six Confederate generals killed later that year at Franklin, Tenn. Before he set out, the officer uttered, “Well if we are to die, let us die like men.”

The “100 Objects” book features this postscript:

“Cleburne staff sent the sword to his fiancée, Susan Tarleton, in Alabama. It remained in the Tarleton family until 1944. It was discovered in an umbrellas stand in a New England antique store in the 1950s, after which it was purchased and donated to Atlanta History Center.”

Sherman’s photographer George N. Barnard

The AHC in 2024 purchased a rare copy of George N. Barnard’s “Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign,” thought to belong to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and signed in 1886 by his son Philemon.

Barnard traveled twice in 1864 to Atlanta following the Confederate surrender. The volume -- featuring 10 x 13 inches images -- includes scenes of the occupation of Nashville, the 1864 battles around Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, the Atlanta Campaign, Savannah, Ga., and South Carolina. In May 1866, Barnard traced the route of Sherman's North Georgia campaign, taking pictures at Resaca and elsewhere.

(Photo courtesy Atlanta History Center)

Keith F. Davis, the leading authority on Barnard, said the photographer ranks among the top echelon of Civil War photographers – Gardner, O’Sullivan, Cook, Rees, Reekie, Gibson and Brady. “None of them surpassed Barnard in terms of technical or creative skill,” says Davis, a photography curator, author and collector. “It’s hard to say that any one of them was 'the best' but Barnard was second to none.” 

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, said Barnard's contract with the Army called for him to principally take photos of fortifications, and he took many.

“We're lucky that he had time to take photos of the Ponder house, car shed, etc.” says Crawford, who has led many tours of  key sites in Civil War Atlanta.

The “100 Objects” book includes this summary of the difficult work:

“Working with glass negatives, Barnard required a portable field darkroom and time to set up, chemically prepare the plates, expose the image, and develop the negative – all performed on site. Transported in wagons over dirt roads, the glass negatives were always at risk for breakage. His photographs are not enlargements, they are the same size as the glass negative, some as large as 12-by-15 images.”

Civil War diary – Carrie Berry

“We were fritened almost to death last night. Some mean soldiers set several houses on fire in different parts of the town. I could not go to sleep for fear that they would set our house on fire. We all dred the next few days to come for they said that they would set the last house on fire if they had to leave this place.”

Thus read the Nov. 12, 1864, journal entry of Carrie Berry, a 10-year-old girl living in Atlanta during the fall and occupation of the city. Hers is a very personal account of the shelling of her neighborhood, hiding in the family cellar and taking care of younger siblings.

(Photo courtesy Atlanta History Center)

In between were the seemingly mundane tasks of sewing and ironing. Carrie kept this diary from  August 1864 to January 1865.

The Berry family lived on Harris Street about a mile from the heart of downtown.

“Berry records her desires, reminding us that she is still a child,” according to the book.

In August 1864, she writes, ‘How I wish the federals would quit shelling us so that we could get out and get some fresh air. “Days earlier, she shared that it was her birthday, “But I did not have a cake – times were too hard so I celebrated with ironing.’”

Berry, who later married and had three children, died in 1921. She is buried at Oakland Cemetery, the resting place for Civil War soldiers and civilians alike.

The diary will go on display in July when “More Perfect Union” opens.

Confederate ammunition crate

(Photo courtesey Atlanta History Center)

On Aug. 20, 1960, construction workers digging the roadbed for interstate highways I-75 and I-85 near downtown Atlanta uncovered one of the largest assortments of Confederate artifacts in Atlanta’s history.

According to the history center, the find is known in local tradition as the “Expressway Cache.” (I was unfamiliar with the term). It was at a site that was near four railroad lines during the Civil War. Buried in the mud of a collapsed underground timber and earth supply depot were hundreds of muskets, projectile, railroad tools and other supplies.

The Atlanta Journal said “a mad scramble” of workers, highway department employees and onlookers looted the site.

This well-preserved crate, likely made in 1864, has a shipping address on one side: “To Gen’l Johnston / Atalanta (sic) / GA.”.

Locomotive Texas

A line of text in “100 Objects” makes a pretty grand assertion:

“Given Atlanta’s establishment as a railroad hub, the 1856 locomotive Texas is perhaps the most significant object in the city.”

The Texas is lit up at night and is visible from the road (Civil War Picket photo)

The Texas, saved from destruction years after its prominent role in “The Great Locomotive Chase,” can be seen through an AHC window along West Paces Ferry Road.

While it is most famous for the Andrews Raid in 1862, the steam locomotive – which was at Grant Park before it was restored in 2017 and relocated to the AHC – symbolizes something else about the city.

AHC officials have long stressed the engine tells a much larger story of the postwar growth of the city, and they decided to paint it in an 1886 scheme, rather than the bright colors it wore at Grant Park -- in part because its surviving parts date closer to that year than the Civil War.

Like the locomotive General, the object of the chase, the Texas was saved (in 1907) from the scrap heap. The General presides at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Marietta, Ga. The Texas and General are the sole surviving locomotives of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which played a large part in Atlanta’s early development.

Silk regimental flag of the 127^th USCT

A prize artifact acquired in 2019 by the Atlanta History Center captures the essence of why about 180,000 African Americans volunteered in the Union army during the Civil War. It will go on display in July, officials said.

“We Will Prove Ourselves Men” reads the motto on the striking flag that belonged to the 127^th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, which was formed in Pennsylvania of free men and some who had escaped bondage. The reverse side features a bald eagle and the national motto, “E Pluribus Unum” –out of many, one.

(Photo courtesy Atlanta History Center)

This is one of three surviving examples of at least 12 USCT flags painted by David Bustill Bowser.

The 127^th trained at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia in 1864. It took part in combat during the siege of Petersburg and the surrender at Appomattox. USCT units -- which helped turn the tide in several campaigns and battles -- were led by white officers and it took time for soldiers to receive pay equal to their white counterparts.

They had limited opportunities and faced racism within the Union army. Some freed men captured by Confederate units were sold into slavery and in some instances, such as at Fort Pillow, black troops were victims of racially motivated atrocities.

Carpetbag

In the South, two terms of derision came to the fore in the years following the Civil War.

A scalawag was a white Southerner who did not conform to postwar expectations. They backed Reconstruction policies and, usually, the Republican Party.

Carpetbaggers were outsiders and, as the AHC says, “travelers from the North who came to the South to profit off the war; ravage local populations; and take advantage of efforts to rebuild the region’s economy, politics and social order.”

The AHC has a small carpetbag in its collection and describes such items this way:

“As the network of railways spread in the US during the prewar period, trains were connecting peoples and places quickly and efficiently. As a result, small industry developed to supply cheap travel bags. The bags were made from secondhand carpet scraps and sold for one or two dollars.”

Grand Army of the Republic reunion pot

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a large fraternal organization made up of Civil War Union veterans.

This commemorative Boston bean pot was presented to GAR members in Savannah, Ga., by veterans from Beverly, Mass. Three sides are adorned with the coats of arms of the states of Georgia and Massachusetts, as well as that of the Grand Army of the Republic. (Photo courtesy Atlanta History Center)

According to the AHC, the pot was given in gratitude for the care of a grave of a Beverly veteran, Erastus B. Davis, who died in Georgia in 1887. Savannah veterans decorated his unmarked grave, pledging to “keep it in proper order and mount it with the flag for which he offered up his life.”

A chaplain at one graveside service for a veteran said, “The blue and the gray … now lie side by side. All strife has been ended and only the olive branch prevails.”

Gen. William T. Sherman’s calling card

In the 19^th century, these small items were the equivalent of today’s business cards, though most did not include contact information.

That’s because they were often mailed or given out at battlefields, veteran reunions and public events. Former generals dispensed them as a sign of goodwill, rather than the pursuit of business.

Such was the case in January 1879, when William T. Sherman returned to Atlanta for the first since he vanquished his foes there. Over three days, Sherman met with local and state officials and gave out cards. 

“Sherman received a warm welcome. Atlantans gathered at the train station to welcome the Commanding General of the United States Army, with only the occasional sly comment about fire,” says “Atlanta in 100 Objects.”

Other items with ties to the Civil War

-- Death mask of railroad engineer Lemuel P. Grant, who designed Confederate fortifications protecting Atlanta

-- Wallet, library card and driver’s license for Margaret Mitchell Marsh, author of “Gone With the Wind”

-- Wilbur Kurtz’s easel. The artist and historian (right) in the 1930s oversaw the restoration of The Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama and the addition of diorama figures.                                                

The AHC says patrons can enhance their experience through the Bloomberg Connects app, which offers additional audio and visual storytelling to enhance the “100 Objects” show.

These Vermont soldiers staved off further defeat at Chancellorsville. The return of a 'lost' painting depicting them is a win-win for Green Mountain State, Texas students

Lyman Orton surrounded by Vermont Civil War Hemlocks (Photo courtesy Mary Admasian)

The story of a 155-year-old Civil War painting and its return to Vermont involves a compelling cast of characters, including a rich Texas oilman, a prominent businessman and an intrepid teacher who discovered the whereabouts of the work.

The canvas depicting soldiers in the Chancellorsville Campaign was produced by Medal of Honor recipient Julian Scott, a 3^rd Vermont Infantry fifer and drummer who took up the brush after the war.

Dubbed “The Fourth Vermont Forming Under Fire,” the painting joins four others made by Scott (below) -- all featuring soldiers from the Green Mountain State – on display in the Cedar Creek Reception Room in the State House in Montpelier. The unveiling occurred Oct. 29.

Remarkably, this is the first time “The Fourth Vermont” has been in the state since shortly after its creation.

Lyman Orton, who heads up The Vermont Country Store and is an avid art collector, purchased the work at auction earlier this year for $110,000. Orton has loaned it to the state for a year. Orton was on hand that day with the Vermont Civil War Hemlocks, a reenactment group.

Vermont historians and others enlisted Orton’s help after Champlain Valley Union High School social studies teacher Tyler Alexander learned the University of Houston was planning to sell the painting to create an endowed scholarship.

The painting’s journey involved several parties, so let’s start from the beginning.

Julian Scott was dedicated to showing valor of soldiers

Scott, a native of Johnson, Vt., received the Medal of Honor for helping to rescue wounded men at Lee’s Mill in Virginia while “under a terrific fire of musketry.” The soldier was just 16 during the April 1862 battle.

Scott was known to make battle and camp sketches during the war. He mustered out in 1863, enrolled in art classes, studied in Europe and became a professional artist upon return. He had a keen eye for detail and dramatic depictions of blue-clad Vermonters.

Lewis A. Grant is believed to be at far left, wearing broad hat and holding sword (Vermont State Curator's Office)

State curator David Schutz provided some context.

“His career as a painter took off with an 1869 battle scene, ‘Rear Guard at White Oak Swamp’ which was purchased by the Union League Club of New York City. That in turn led to a commission by the Vermont Legislature for the large painting (‘The First Vermont Brigade at the Battle of Cedar Creek’) and completed four years later, to be hung in the Vermont State House."

The recently acquired painting apparently features the valor of the 4^th Vermont Regiment as it helped counter Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s attempt to wipe out the rest of the Union army as it retreated from the 1863 defeat at Chancellorsville.

The plucky Vermonters protected the 6^th Corps, led by Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, as it fled across the Rappahannock River at Bank’s Ford, Schutz said.

Click to enlarge text and illustrations (Courtesy Vermont State Curator's Office)

An interpretive panel below the painting says First Vermont Brigade – which included the 4^th Infantry – fought a rearguard action and was the last to cross to safety, “as dawn came to the smoky countryside with artillery striking all around.”

The painting, Alexander and others learned, was commissioned by wealthy New York patent attorney and diplomat Edwin Stoughton to honor his nephews, Charles and Edwin Stoughton, both of whom commanded the 4^th Vermont Regiment. The painting seems to feature brevet Maj. Gen. Lewis A. Grant, commander of the First Vermont Brigade, standing on the left with his drawn saber, according to officials.

Vermonters rallied around plan to buy painting

The painting stayed in the Stoughton family into the 20^th century, said Schutz, adding its provenance is unknown until Texas oilman and cattleman Patrick R. Rutherford bought it for his Houston home in 1983.

A University of Houston spokesperson told the Picket the estate of Rutherford, who died in 2020, donated the “Fourth Vermont” to its Department of History. The aim was for it to be displayed for a time in the department’s office before it could be sold to fund history student scholarships.

The school placed it on auction earlier this year.

Enter Alexander, the school teacher and author.

He was looking for suitable image for the cover of his new book, “If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and a Cause in the Civil War,” based on letters from Dan Mason, a soldier from the state’s Northeast Kingdom.

Alexander became aware of the painting but apparently no one else in Vermont knew where it was, said Schutz, the state curator.

The University of Houston history department gave Alexander permission to use the image, but told him they planned to sell the original work.

“He alerted us -- and we gathered a group of supporters to come up with a plan that would bring the painting to Vermont,” said Schutz.

That group included Vermont historians Howard Coffin and Kevin Graffagnino. There was no time to secure state funds, so Orton came through with the winning bid.

The businessman is the benefactor of the "For the Love of Vermont" art collection.

Auction proceeds will benefit UH history students

The university had commissioned Simpson Galleries of Houston to sell the work.

Online, the painting was entitled “Vermont Division at Battle of Chancellorsville,” but as Coffin points out, there was no Vermont Division. Instead, the First Vermont Brigade comprised the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th Vermont regiments.

Grant (right), the brigade commander, won plaudits for his leadership in the Peninsula Campaign, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Cedar Creek, the Wilderness and Petersburg.

He received the Medal of Honor for “personal gallantry and intrepidity displayed in the management of his brigade at Chancellorsville and in leading it in the assault in which he was wounded” on May 3, 1863.

The University of Houston spokesperson told the Picket gains from auction will be used to create an endowed scholarship, “which means it will benefit students in perpetuity.” The first recipients should receive funds in 2027-28, once the endowment fully vests. 

Prof. Catherine F. Patterson, chair of UH's Department of History, said in a statement: “The University of Houston History Department is pleased that this generous gift will both provide scholarships for our students and return this important painting to Vermont, where it holds ties to the state’s Civil War history.

Scott is best known for his depiction of the Battle of Cedar Creek (NPS photo)

Medal of Honor recipients will take a special train ride in Georgia reenacting the 'Great Locomotive Chase.' They will take the same route used by Yankee saboteurs who were the first to receive the nation's top award for valor

Type of locomotive being used Tuesday (CSX); click to enlarge map showing route of the Andrews Raid in North Georgia; Ohio Pvt. Jacob Parrott received the first Medal of Honor; this is his second issue medal (Picket photo)

On Tuesday afternoon, about 15 Medal of Honor recipients will climb aboard a train in Kennesaw, Ga., to travel back in time while retracing the daring escapade of warriors first awarded the nation’s highest military award for valor.

The journey’s nexus to the Civil War episode will be somewhat remarkable, albeit no actual danger will be involved this time around.

The Medal of Honor recipients – who are meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 4 in Chattanooga, Tenn., for their annual convention – will be riding along the original route of the ambitious Andrews Raid, better known as the "Great Locomotive Chase."

The April 1862 romp began in Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) and ended near Ringgold, Ga., below Chattanooga when the Union men – most soldiers dressed in civilian clothes – jumped off the General, the train they commandeered, when it ran out of steam. Their brave mission was a strategic failure.

The Medal of Honor recipients will see both surviving engines Tuesday and start their two-and-a-half hour train journey near where the Union sabotage mission began.

The public is invited to wave at the CSX train and the honorees during the reenactment ride from Kennesaw to Ringgold. It starts around 1 p.m. ET and ends at 3:30 p.m.

As organizers note, the Great Locomotive Chase is more than a Civil War story. (At right the General inside the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, Picket photo)

“It’s a defining moment in American military history and established Chattanooga as the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. The audacious raid, spanning roughly 87 miles over seven hours, evoked an epic chase," they said in a news release.

The very first recipients (in March 1863) of the Medal of Honor were men who took part in the Andrews Raid. Ultimately, 21 of 24 raiders received the award, while two were not eligible because they were civilians.

Eight Yankee raiders – including leader James Andrews – were tried as spies and executed in Atlanta. They are interred at Chattanooga National Cemetery. Last year, two hanged Ohio participants in the raid -- Pvt. George Wilson and Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach -- were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor after a long campaign by descendants and a Georgia researcher to have them receive the honor.

Tuesday’s immersive reenactment is being principally sponsored by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga and CSX.

The Civil War Picket is planning to attend the events and post updates via Facebook.

Startled Southern conductor sprang into action

Andrews and his men traveled in groups to Marietta, below Kennesaw, where most spent the night at a hotel before the raid.

Their aim was to take a locomotive to Chattanooga while destroying sections of track and Rebel communications. The audacious raiders hoped to deliver a blow to the Southern war effort and morale.

The Texas can be seen from the front of the Atlanta History Center (Picket photo)

On that spring day in 1862, Western & Atlantic Railroad conductor William A. Fuller was shocked to see a group of men steal the General while passengers and crew were enjoying breakfast at the Lacy Hotel in Big Shanty.

Fuller and a couple of others ran north after his train. He didn’t yet know it had been taken by the Union commandos. The conductor ran across a handcar, jumped on three trains and traveled 86 miles -- along with Confederate horsemen who had been reached by telegraph -- after the raiders.

The Andrews Raid did not do much damage to the rail line, but it gained fame in the North, where the men were treated as heroes who struck a blow, however small, deep in enemy territory.

Officials at the Atlanta History Center, which showcases the Texas, have long stressed the engine tells a much larger story of the postwar growth of the city. For its restoration several years ago, they decided to paint the Texas in an 1886 scheme, rather than the bright colors it wore at its former home in the city’s Grant Park -- in part because its surviving parts date closer to that year than the Civil War.

Like the General, the object of the chase, the Texas was saved (in 1907) from the scrap heap.

Here's how the day's events will play out

The Medal of Honor recipients’ formal introduction to the chase will begin Tuesday morning with breakfast at the Atlanta History Center.

From there, participants will take a bus to Kennesaw, about 20 miles northwest. They will attend a lunch program at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which is home to the General. The museum will be closed to the public Tuesday.

A rather fanciful depiction of the raid and a burning bridge (Wikipedia)

Around 1 p.m., the recipients, guests and others will board one or two modern executive rail cars positioned near where the Lacy Hotel once stood. CSX operates what once was the Western & Atlantic route.

A vintage engine cannot be used because the route was long ago modernized for faster and heavier commercial traffic.

The train will make no stops at it passes historic depots in Acworth, Adairsville, Resaca and Dalton. The retinue will arrive in Ringgold at 3:30 p.m.

Raid's legacy bigger than its accomplishments

During the trip, costumed living historians will tell the Medal of Honor recipients about those involved in the raid. Organizers note there will be no pursuing train, though the reenactors will discuss Fuller’s dogged pursuit, according to Task & Purpose website.

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, told the Picket last year the Andrews Raid made no difference in the war’s outcome. Still, he said, the raid “made Southerners behind the lines aware that they could be vulnerable.”

Richard Banz, executive director of the Southern Museum, said those on both sides of the Great Locomotive Chase should be considered heroes.

“These were men who were willing to sacrifice everything for their perspective countries to succeed. Amazingly, they seemed to hold each other in high esteem despite being enemies during this terrible war.”

Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator at the Atlanta History Center, said the Andrews Raid, through books and a 1956 Disney movie, brought the Civil War to young people.

And, he added in 2024, the caper did result in something sacred that has been special to Americans for generations.

“It’s the origin story of the highest award for military valor the United States government can bestow. It’s about personal sacrifice to save others. That’s timeless.”

There are only 61 living Medal of Honor recipients.

Descendants of 2 Ohio soldiers who took part in daring Andrews Raid make visit to where they were hanged as spies. The men finally received the Medal of Honor this year, and families also saw their new headstones

The new headstones for Perry Shadrach and George Wilson in Chattanooga (Picket photos)

I am just back from Chattanooga, Tenn., where I covered Sunday afternoon's unveiling of new Medal of Honor headstones for two participants in the Union’s Andrews Raid during the Civil War.

The story of the Great Locomotive Chase and the bravery of its volunteers has to be one of the most memorable and moving I have reported on in the Picket’s 15 years.

The sabotage mission along the Western & Atlantic Railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga in 1862 was a tactical failure, but was a boost to the war-weary North and brought the first Medal of Honors.

Descendants of raiders, supporters and loved ones at Tunnel Hill in Georgia (Picket photo)

Eight raiders were hanged in Atlanta as spies after the Great Locomotive Chase, among them Pvt. George D. Wilson and Pvt. Perry Shadrach, who were finally awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously this past summer.

Descendants from all over, mostly Ohio, traveled to the South to take a bus tour Saturday along the Georgia route of the locomotive chase involving the locomotives General and the Texas.

They visited the Coolidge Medal of Honor National Heritage Center on Sunday, where they saw the new Wilson medal and one for fellow raider Jacob Parrott, before traveling to Chattanooga National Cemetery for a moving ceremony at the gravesites. (At left, retired Army Gen. Burwell B. Bell III with photos of Shadrach and Wilson)

I was with descendants over the weekend and posted about 40 (whew) updates on Facebook

I feel so lucky to have been there and be entrusted with these stories – not only the sacrifice of these men, but the long effort by their families and supporters to see that Shadrach and Wilson receive the nation’s top military medal for incredible valor. There were a lot of twists and turns as they tried to right a wrong (or oversight).

I hope to write a longer post but, for now, please see all the updates on the Picket’s Facebook page. These vignettes gave me insight into the families behind these American heroes.

Thanks so much for your interest!