Selected by Civil War Interactive as One of the Top Civil War Books of All Time

On April 12, 1862 -- one year to the day after Confederate guns opened on Fort Sumter and started the Civil War -- 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 called 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 matériel 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 the ordeal of the soldiers involved was just beginning. 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. But 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 now considered to be the definitive history of "the boldest adventure of the war."

• We started tracking this book on October 15, 2011.
• This book was $12.79 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 230 times in the past 4,796 days.
• The current price of this book is $21.50 last checked 3 hours ago.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past 90 days is $20.64.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $17.11.
• The lowest price to date was $8.38 last reached on May 13, 2012.
• This book has been $8.38 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $25.44 last reached on July 9, 2024.
• This book has been $25.44 one time since we started tracking it.

• HistoryUnited StatesState & LocalSouth
• HistoryMilitaryStrategy
• HistoryWorldTransportationRailroads

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 464 Pages
• File Size: 2,931 KB