Our Town Fort Oglethorpe Ringgold: The Other Civil War History

It's arguably one of the most exciting adventures of the Civil War.

A band of 22 soldiers steal a locomotive from behind enemy lines sparking the Great Locomotive Chase.

It's just one story in the varied Civil War history of our town Fort Oglethorpe Ringgold.

It all started with a train named the General.

Add 22 union soldiers dressed like civilians and a double agent named James Andrews.

Movie Clip: "It was a good plan."

And his daring plan.. hijack the General in Kennesaw and ride it back to Chattanooga burning bridges along the way.

It's a move meant to help Union general Ormsby Mitchell invade Chattanooga back in April of 1862.

William H. H. Clark "If the bridges are burned then there's no way that the confederates can reinforce Chattanooga then Mitchell can come marching in without a whole lot of problem."

Movie Clip, "Good morning Mr andrews. Come join us a the lacy for breakfast."

So when the train stopped for breakfast in Big Shanty, the raiders took offMovie clip, "They're not going to take my train."

The Generals conductor William Fuller took off after them and the Great Locomotive Chase began.

Clark, "Andrews is trying to burn bridges and tear up a few rails and cut the telegraph lines, Fuller gaining on him all the time."

While rain kept the wooden bridges and rails from burning...the pursuit pressed on...with the raiders being chased on foot, on a hand car and by train going backward.

Andrew and his men even drop burning train cars on the tracks...the last one right here in Ringgold.

Movie: "All right men this is the end of the line."Clark, "He was running so fast and he ran out of wood he ran out of water and his machine just kind of gave up the ghost about halfway between here and Graysville."

The men scattered and eventually all got captured.

Still, the Union Army prevailed in Chattanooga sending the confederates retreating to Ringgold.

That's where they put up a stand in the Battle of Ringgold stopping the advance of Major General Joseph Hooker.

Clark, "He hit them in the gap and failed to take the gap. He hit the side of the mountain and failed to take that and he went a little further up inside the mountain and failed to take that so they fought here for about 5 or 6 hours."

Sherman and Grant arrived in Ringgold after that battle.

Grant spent the night at the Whitman house, the only house he stayed in in Georgia.

The Fighting stops for six months, until May when Sherman starts his march toward Atlanta.

And Hooker and his men close the chapter on Ringgold.

Clark, "They burned just almost the whole town to the ground."

It's not until 100 years after the Civil War that Ringgold rebounds with the building of I-75.