Long Description:
The
Western and Atlantic Passenger
Depot is a
Victorian brick structure built in 1898 on
the site of the original 1840s passenger depot that was burned
by Gen.
William T. Sherman's troops in 1864. The
depot in Marietta is where Andrews' Raiders boarded the General
and in 1862 and began their fateful journey -
"
The Great Locomotive Chase" (Andrews' Raid).
The depot is also the site from which female workers from the
Roswell mills were deported to the North as prisoners of
war.
The depot is now the Marietta Welcome Center.
Street Address
Marietta Welcome Center and Visitors Bureau
No. 4 Depot Street
Marietta GA, 30060
Phone number 770-429-1115
Web Page
Admission Fee - Free.
Hours
Mon.-Fri. 9:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.
Sat. 11:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M.
Sun. 1:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M.
Visitor services
Public rest rooms, information, handicapped access, gift
shop.
On the morning of April 12, a passenger train with the locomotive
General was stopped at Big Shanty (now
Kennesaw, Georgia) so that the crew and
passengers could have breakfast. Andrews and his raiders took this
opportunity to hijack the General and a few railcars. His goal was
to drive the train northward toward
Chattanooga and meet up with Mitchel's
advancing army. En route, Andrews planned to inflict as much damage
as possible to the railroad, tearing up track, destroying
switches, burning
covered bridges, and disrupting
telegraph wires. Andrews' men commandeered the
General and steamed out of Big Shanty, leaving behind startled
passengers, crew members, and onlookers, which included a number of
Confederate soldiers from a trackside
camp.
The train's
conductor,
William Allen Fuller, chased the General by
foot and
handcar. At Etowah, Fuller spotted the Yonah
and with it chased the raiders north, all the way up to
Kingston. At Kingston, Conductor Fuller got
on the William R. Smith and headed north to
Adairsville. The tracks two miles south of
Adairsville were broken by the raiders, so Fuller had to run the
distance by foot. At Adairsville, Fuller took command of the
southbound locomotive
Texas and chased the General.
With the Texas chasing the General in reverse, the two trains
steamed through
Dalton, and
Tunnel Hill. At various points, raiders severed
telegraph wires so no transmissions could go through to
Chattanooga. However, their objective of burning bridges and
dynamiting Tunnel Hill was not accomplished. At milepost 116.3
(north of
Ringgold, Georgia), with the locomotive out of
fuel, Andrews' men abandoned the General and scattered, just a few
miles from Chattanooga.
Andrews and all 21 of his men were caught by the Confederates, as
well as the two that had missed the hijacking that morning by
oversleeping. Andrews was tried in Chattanooga and found guilty. He
was executed by hanging on June 7 in Atlanta. On June 18, seven
others who had been transported to Knoxville and convicted as
spies, were returned to Atlanta and also hanged; their bodies were
buried unceremoniously in an unmarked grave. Eight other raiders
made a successful and remarkable escape from confinement. Traveling
for hundreds of miles in predetermined pairs, they all made it back
safely to Union lines, including two who were aided by slaves and
Union sympathizers and two who floated down the
Chattahoochee River until they were eventually
rescued by the Union blockade vessel, U.S.S. Somerset. The
remaining eight were exchanged as
prisoners of war on March 17, 1863.
The very first
Medals of Honor were given to these men by
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Later, all but two of the other
soldiers also received them (posthumously for those who had been
executed). The two who have not received the Medal of Honor were
executed but the story of their heroics was apparently lost in a
paper shuffle at the
War Department, and it took some lobbying
for them to be appropriately honored. As civilians, Andrews and
Campbell were not eligible. (from Wikipedia)
Related waymarks:
WM28AA - James J. Andrews - GHM 060-197 –
Fulton Co., Atlanta, GA
WM26XH - The General - Kennesaw, Cobb Co.,
GA
