William Pittenger

Gebundenes Buch

The Railroad Raiders

an Ohio Volunteers Recollections of the Andrews Raid to Disrupt the Confederate Railroad in Georgia During the American Civil War

Beschreibung

In 1862, J. J Andrews, a United States secret agent who habitually travelled into and out of the Confederate States on spying missions, conceived a daring plan to disrupt the Georgia State Railroad by the burning of bridges and creating general chaos behind the lines. To achieve this objective he brought together a special team of saboteurs, drawn principally from Ohio Volunteer Regiments of the Union Army. This early covert operation meant the troops had to travel in disguise-without uniforms-into the very heartland of the enemy. Initially all went well, Pittenger, a young team member describes the abduction of a locomotive in thrilling detail. The South was not about to allow such audacity to go unpunished however, and soon every resource it could bring to bear was dedicated to the capture of the saboteurs. Soon the entire countryside was in arms against them and they were taken prisoner. For some, prison was inevitable, but for others the future held only the gallows and the hangman's rope. The survivors soon realised they were embarked upon a race against time and their only hope for life meant a daring escape and bid for freedom.

Autor

At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company H of the 2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment on April 17, 1861, for three months of service, during which time he participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. He soon re-enlisted in the Army for a three-year term, being mustered in on September 11, 1861, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, and days later joining the reconstituted 2nd Ohio Infantry as a corporal in Company G. Promoted to sergeant on March 13, 1862, Pittenger saw action in Andrews' Raid, also referred to as the Great Locomotive Chase. Captured on April 15, 1862, near Lafayette, Georgia, he escaped execution as a spy and was imprisoned until March 18, 1863, when he was paroled via City Point, Virginia. This is the story of the failed attempt, the escape, capture and execution of eight soldiers as spy's and Pittenger's eventual release by prisoner exchange.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Oakpast
• Seitenzahl: 148
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. Juni 2007
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 12mm
• Gewicht: 339g
• ISBN-13: 9781846772078
• ISBN-10: 1846772079
• Artikelnr.: 22982039