RAILWAYS IN THE CIVIL WAR
Such were the conditions under which the War of Secession in the United
States was fought that without the help of railways it could hardly have
been fought at all.
The area of the military operations, from first to last, was equal in
extent almost to the whole of Europe. The line of separation between the
rival forces of North and South was fully 2,000 miles. Large portions
of this region were then unexplored. Everywhere, except in the towns,
it was but thinly populated. Civilisation had not yet progressed so far
that an advancing army could always depend on being able to "live on the
country." There were occasions when local supplies of food and forage
were so difficult of attainment that an army might be wholly dependent
on a base hundreds of miles distant from the scene of its operations.
Of roads and tracks throughout this vast area there were but few, and
these were mostly either indifferent or bad, even if they did not become
positively execrable in wet weather or after a considerable force of
troops had passed along them. In the low-lying districts, especially,
the alluvial undrained soil was speedily converted by the winter floods
into swamps and lakes. Further difficulties in the movement of troops
were offered by pathless forests as large as an English county; and
still others by the broad rivers or the mountain ranges it might be
necessary to cross.
Apart from the deficient and defective roads and tracks, the transport
facilities available for the combatants were those afforded by coastal
services, navigable rivers, canals and railways. Of these it was the
railways that played the most important rôle.
The American railway lines of those days had, generally speaking,
been constructed as cheaply as possible by the private enterprise
which--though with liberal grants of land and other advantages--alone
undertook their provision, the main idea being to supply a railway of
some sort to satisfy immediate wants and to improve it later on, when
population and traffic increased and more funds were available. The
lines themselves were mostly single track; the ballasting was too often
imperfect; iron rails of inadequate weight soon wore down and got out
of shape; sleepers (otherwise "ties"), which consisted of logs of wood
brought straight from the forests, speedily became rotten, especially in
low-lying districts; while, in the early 'Sixties lumber, used either in
the rough or smoothed on two sides, was still the customary material for
the building of bridges and viaducts carrying the railways across narrow
streams, broad rivers or widespread valleys.
All the same, these railways, while awaiting their later betterment,
extended for long distances, served as a connecting link of inestimable
advantage between the various centres of population and production, and
offered in many instances the only practicable means by which troops
and supplies could be moved. They fulfilled, in fact, purposes of such
vital importance from a strategical point of view that many battles
were fought primarily for the control of particular railways, for the
safeguarding of lines of communication, or for the possession, more
especially, of important junctions, some of which themselves became the
base for more or less distant operations.
The North, bent not simply on invasion but on reconquest of the States
which had seceded, necessarily took the offensive; the South stood
mostly on the defensive. Yet while the population in the North was far
in excess of that in the South, the initial advantages from a transport
point of view were in favour of the South, which found its principal
ally in the railways. Generals in the North are, indeed, said to have
been exceedingly chary, at first, in getting far away from the magazines
they depended on for their supplies; though this uneasiness wore off in
proportion as organised effort showed how successfully the lines of
rail communication could be defended.
In these and other circumstances, and especially in view of the
paramount importance the railway system was to assume in the conduct of
the war, the Federal Government took possession of the Philadelphia,
Wilmington and Baltimore Railway on March 31, 1861. This preliminary
measure was followed by the passing, in January, 1862, by the United
States House of Representatives, of "An Act to authorise the President
of the United States in certain cases to take possession of railroad and
telegraph lines, and for other purposes."
The President, "when in his judgment the public safety may require it,"
was "to take possession of any or all the telegraph lines in the United
States; ... to take possession of any or all the railroad lines in the
United States, their rolling stock, their offices, shops, buildings
and all their appendages and appurtenances; to prescribe rules and
regulations for the holding, using, and maintaining of the aforesaid
telegraph and railroad lines, and to extend, repair and complete the
same in the manner most conducive to the safety and interest of the
Government; to place under military control all the officers, agents
and employés belonging to the telegraph and railroad lines thus taken
possession of by the President, so that they shall be considered as a
post road and a part of the military establishment of the United States,
subject to all the restrictions imposed by the Rules and Articles of
War." Commissioners were to be appointed to assess and determine the
damages suffered, or the compensation to which any railroad or telegraph
company might be entitled by reason of such seizure of their property;
and it was further enacted "that the transportation of troops, munitions
of war, equipments, military property and stores, throughout the United
States, should be under the immediate control and supervision of the
Secretary of War and such agents as he might appoint."
Thus the Act in question established a precedent for a Government
taking formal possession of, and exercising complete authority and
control over, the whole of such railways as it might require to employ
for the purposes of war; although, in point of fact, only such lines,
or portions of lines, were so taken over by the War Department as were
actually required. In each instance, also, the line or portion of line
in question was given back to the owning company as soon as it was no
longer required for military purposes; while at the conclusion of the
war all the lines taken possession of by the Government were formally
restored to their original owners by an Executive Order dated August 8,
1865.
Under the authority of the Act of January 31, 1862, the following
order was sent to Mr. Daniel Craig McCallum, a native of Johnstone,
Renfrewshire, Scotland, who had been taken to America by his parents
when a youth, had joined the railway service, had held for many years
the position of general superintendent of the Erie Railroad, and was
one of the ablest and most experienced railway men then in the United
States:--
WAR DEPARTMENT.
Washington City, D.C.,
_February 11, 1862_.
_Ordered_, That D. C. McCallum be, and he is hereby,
appointed Military Director and Superintendent of Railroads in
the United States, with authority to enter upon, take possession
of, hold and use all railroads, engines, cars, locomotives,
equipments, appendages and appurtenances that may be required
for the transport of troops, arms, ammunition and military
supplies of the United States, and to do and perform all acts
and things that may be necessary and proper to be done for the
safe and speedy transport aforesaid.
By order of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States.
EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
McCallum commenced his duties with the staff rank of Colonel, afterwards
attaining to that of Brev.-Brig.-General. The scope of the authority
conferred on him, under the War Department order of February 11, 1862,
was widened a year later, when he was further appointed general manager
of all railways in possession of the Federal Government, or that might
from time to time be taken possession of by military authority, in the
departments of the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and of Arkansas,
forming the "Military Division of the Mississippi."
The total mileage of the lines taken over by the Federal Government
during the course of the war was 2,105, namely, in Virginia, 611
miles; in the military division of the Mississippi, 1,201; and in
North Carolina, 293. Much more was involved, however, for the Federal
Government than a mere transfer to themselves of the ownership and
operation of these lines for the duration of the war.
One of the greatest disadvantages of the American railways at the
time of the Civil War lay in their differences of gauge. The various
companies had built their lines with gauges chosen either to suit local
conditions or according to the views of their own engineers, with little
or no consideration for the running of through traffic on or from other
lines. There were, in fact, at that time gauges of 6 ft., 5 ft. 6 in.,
5 ft., 4 ft. 10 in., 4 ft. 9 in., 4 ft. 8½ in. (the standard English
gauge), and various narrower gauges besides. These conditions prevailed
until 1866, when the companies adopted a uniform gauge of 4 ft. 8½ in.
During the Civil War the lack of uniformity was in full force, and
military transport by rail was greatly complicated in consequence. More
than one-half of the lines taken over and operated had a gauge of 5 ft.,
and the remainder had a gauge of 4 ft. 8½ in., except in the case of
one short line, which was 5 ft. 6 in. As locomotives and rolling stock
adapted to one gauge were unsuited to any other, the obligations falling
upon the Director and General Manager of the Federal Military Railways
included that of taking up the lines of certain companies which had
adopted the 5 ft. gauge, and relaying them with the 4 ft. 8½ in. gauge,
so that the same rolling stock could be used as on lines connecting with
them.
Incidentally, therefore, the Civil War in America taught the lesson that
the actual value of rail-power as influencing warfare in one and the
same country, or on one and the same continent, may vary materially
according to whether there is uniformity or diversity of railway gauge.
In certain instances the lines taken possession of were in so
defective a condition that it was imperatively necessary to relay
them, apart altogether from any question of gauge. When McCallum was
appointed General Manager of Military Railways for the Division of
the Mississippi, the main army was at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and its
supplies were being received from Nashville, 151 miles distant, over
the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. This was necessarily the main
line of supply during the subsequent campaigns from Chattanooga towards
Atlanta, and from Knoxville towards South-western Virginia; yet McCallum
says of it, in the Final Report he presented to the Secretary of War in
1866:--
The track was laid originally in a very imperfect manner,
with a light U-rail on wooden stringers which were badly decayed
and caused almost daily accidents by spreading apart and letting
the engines and cars drop through them.
In still other instances, lines which, though begun, were not finished,
had to be completed; in others new lines had to be constructed
throughout, or extensive sidings provided; so that once more we see
that it was not then simply a question of the Federal Government taking
possession of and operating an existing complete and efficient system of
railways.
Whatever, again, the condition of the lines when taken over, the
railways of both combatants were subjected to constant attack by the
other side with a view to the interruption of communications, the
destruction of railway track, railway bridges, rolling stock and other
railway property being enormous.
Reviewing the general situation at this time, McCallum says in his
report:--
In the beginning of the war military railroads were an
experiment; and though some light as to their management had
been gleaned by the operations of 1862 and 1863, yet so little
progress had been made that the attempt to supply the army of
General Sherman in the field, construct and reconstruct the
railroad in its rear, and keep pace with its march, was regarded
by those who had the largest experience, and who had become
most familiar with the subject, as the greatest experiment of
all. The attempt to furnish an army of 100,000 men and 60,000
animals with supplies from a base 360 miles distant by one line
of single-track railroad, located almost the entire distance
through the country of an active and vindictive enemy, is
without precedent in the history of warfare; and to make it
successful required an enormous outlay for labour and a vast
consumption of material, together with all the forethought,
energy, patience and watchfulness of which men are capable.
To meet the various conditions which had thus arisen, McCallum
was authorised by the Federal Government to create two distinct
departments, destined to bring about a still further development in the
application of rail-power to war by establishing precedents which the
leading countries of the world were afterwards to follow more or less
completely, according to their own circumstances and requirements.
The departments were known respectively as the "Transportation
Department," embracing the operation and maintenance of all the lines
brought under use by the army of the North; and the "Construction
Corps," which was to repair the damage done by wrecking parties of the
enemy, maintain lines of communication, and reconstruct, when necessary,
railways captured from the enemy as the Federals advanced.
Concerning the Construction Corps, and the great work accomplished by it
in keeping the lines open, details will be given in the chapter which
follows.
In regard to the Transportation Department, it may be of interest
to state that this was placed by McCallum in charge of a General
Superintendent of Transportation on United States Railroads in the
Military Division of the Mississippi. For each of the principal lines
there was appointed a Superintendent of Transportation who, acting under
the control of the General Superintendent, was held responsible for the
movement of all trains and locomotives; and these superintendents, in
turn, had under their direction one or more Masters of Transportation,
whose business it was to be constantly moving about over the sections of
line placed under their charge, and see that the railway employés were
attending properly to their duties.
At each of the principal stations there was an Engine Dispatcher who
was required to see that the locomotives were kept in good order and
ready for immediate use whenever required, to exercise control over the
drivers and firemen, and to assign the requisite "crew" to each engine
sent out.
Maintenance of road and structures for each line (as distinct from
the reconstruction work left to the Construction Department) was in
charge of a Superintendent of Repairs, assisted by such supervisors,
road-masters and foremen as he needed to control and direct his working
staff; and maintenance of rolling stock was delegated to (1) a Master
Machinist, responsible for repairs to locomotives, and (2) a Master of
Car Repairs.
These various officers were independent of each other, and all of
them reported direct to the General Superintendent. The maximum force
employed at any one time in the Transportation Department of the
Military Division of the Mississippi (as distinct from the military
lines in Virginia and elsewhere) was about 12,000 men.
A sufficient staff of competent railwaymen for the operation of the
Military Railways was difficult to get, partly because of the inadequate
supply of such men in the United States at that period, and partly
because those still at work on railways not taken over for military
purposes were unwilling to give up what they found to be exceptionally
good posts; but of the men whose services he was able to secure McCallum
speaks in terms of the highest commendation.
Having got his Department and Construction Corps into working order,
McCallum had next to turn his attention to ensuring an adequate supply
of locomotives and cars, with the necessary shops, tools and materials
for keeping them in working order. Here the Secretary of War again
came to his help, issuing, on March 23, 1864, an Order addressed to
locomotive manufacturers in which he stated that Colonel McCallum had
been authorised by the War Department to procure locomotives without
delay for the railways under his charge, and proceeded:--
In order to meet the wants of the Military Department of
the Government, you will deliver to his order such engines as
he may direct, whether building under orders for other parties
or otherwise, the Government being accountable to you for the
same. The urgent necessity of the Government for the immediate
supply of our armies operating in Tennessee renders the engines
indispensable for the equipment of the lines of communication,
and it is hoped that this necessity will be recognised by you as
a military necessity, paramount to all other considerations.--By
order of the President.
In January, 1864, McCallum had estimated that he would require 200
locomotives and 3,000 cars for the lines to be operated from Nashville,
and towards this number he then had only 47 locomotives and 437 cars
available. There was thus a substantial shortage which had to be
made good; but the manufacturers, inspired by "a spirit of zealous
patriotism," responded heartily to the appeal made to them, putting
their full force on to the completion of further supplies. These were
furnished with a speed that surpassed all previous records.
Then, to maintain the locomotives and cars in good condition--more
especially in view of the constant attempts made by the enemy to destroy
them--extensive machine and car shops were built at Nashville and
Chattanooga. Those at Nashville--the terminal station for 500 miles
of railway running south, east or west--had, at times, as many as 100
engines and 1,000 cars awaiting repair.
Next to that insufficiency of engines and rolling stock which hampered
the movements of both combatants came the difficulty in the way of
obtaining further supplies of rails, whether for new lines or to take
the place of those which had either worn out or been so bent and twisted
by the enemy that they could not be used again without re-rolling.
For the Confederates, cut off by the advance of General Grant to the
south and west from their sources of supply, the want of iron for new
rails was declared to be a worse evil than was the lack of gold for the
Federals.
One expedient resorted to by the Federal Government, on finding they
could not procure from the manufacturers all the rails they wanted, was
to pull up the railway lines that were not wanted for military purposes
and use their rails for relaying those that were. Altogether the rails
on over 156 miles of track in Virginia and the Military Division of the
Mississippi were thus taken up and utilised elsewhere. Later on the
Federal Construction Corps erected at Chattanooga some "very superior"
rolling mills, equipped with all the latest improvements in the way of
machinery and mechanical appliances; though these mills did not actually
get to work until April 1, 1865. Their production of new rails during
the course of six months from that date was 3,818 tons, this supply
being in addition to nearly 22,000 tons which the Federal Government
obtained by purchase.
These details may convey some idea of all that was involved in the
utilisation of rail-power in the American Civil War under such
development of railway construction as had then been brought about.
Great, however, as was the outlay, the forethought, the energy, the
patience and the watchfulness spoken of by McCallum, the results were no
less valuable from the point of view of the Federals, who could hardly
have hoped to achieve the aim they set before themselves--that of saving
the Union--but for the material advantages they derived from the use of
the railways for the purposes of the campaign.
Some of the achievements accomplished in the movement of troops from
one part of the theatre of war to another would have been creditable
even in the most favourable of circumstances; but they were especially
so in view alike of the physical conditions of many of the lines, the
inadequate supply of rolling stock, and the risks and difficulties to be
met or overcome.
One of these achievements, carried out in September, 1863, is thus
narrated in an article on "Recollections of Secretary Stanton,"
published in the _Century Magazine_ for March, 1887:--
The defeat of Rosecrans, at Chickamauga, was believed at
Washington to imperil East Tennessee, and the Secretary [of War]
was urged to send a strong reinforcement there from the Army
of the Potomac. General Halleck (General-in-Chief of the Army
of the United States) contended that it was impossible to get
an effective reinforcement there in time; and the President,
after hearing both sides, accepted the judgment of Halleck. Mr.
Stanton put off the decision till evening, when he and Halleck
were to be ready with details to support their conclusions.
The Secretary then sent for Colonel McCallum, who was neither
a lawyer nor a strategist, but a master of railway science. He
showed McCallum how many officers, men, horses, and pieces of
artillery, and how much baggage, it was proposed to move from
the Rapidan to the Tennessee, and asked him to name the shortest
time he would undertake to do it in if his life depended on
it. McCallum made some rapid calculations, jotted down some
projects connected with the move, and named a time within that
which Halleck had admitted would be soon enough if it were
only possible; this time being conditioned on his being able
to control everything that he could reach. The Secretary was
delighted, told him that he would make him a Brigadier-General
the day that the last train was safely unloaded; put him on his
mettle by telling him of Halleck's assertion that the thing
was beyond human power; told him to go and work out final
calculations and projects and to begin preliminary measures,
using his name and authority everywhere; and finally instructed
him what to do and say when he should send for him by and
by to come over to the department. When the conference was
resumed and McCallum was introduced, his apparently spontaneous
demonstration of how easily and surely the impossible thing
could be done convinced the two sceptics, and the movement was
ordered, and made, and figures now in military science as a
grand piece of strategy.
The feat thus accomplished was that of conveying by rail 23,000 men,
together with artillery, road vehicles, etc., a distance of about 1,200
miles in seven days. It was estimated that if the troops had had to
march this distance, with all their impedimenta, along such roads as
were then available, the journey would have taken them three months. By
doing it in one week they saved the situation in East Tennessee, and
they gave an especially convincing proof of the success with which "a
grand piece of strategy" could be carried out through the employment of
rail transport.
In December, 1864, General Schofield's corps of 15,000 men, after
fighting at Nashville in the midst of ice and snow, was, on the
conclusion of the campaign in the west, transferred from the valley of
the Tennessee to the banks of the Potomac, moving by river and rail down
the Tennessee, up the Ohio and across the snow-covered Alleghanies,
a distance of 1,400 miles, accomplished in the short space of eleven
days. In 1865 the moving of the Fourth Army Corps of the Federals from
Carter's Station, East Tennessee, to Nashville, a distance of 373 miles,
involved the employment of 1,498 cars.
What, in effect, the Civil War in America did in furthering the
development of the rail-power principle in warfare was to show that,
by the use of railways, (1) the fighting power of armies is increased;
(2) strategical advantages unattainable but for the early arrival of
reinforcements at threatened points may be assured; and (3) expeditions
may be undertaken at distances from the base of supplies which would
be prohibitive but for the control of lines of railway communication;
though as against these advantages were to be put those considerations
which also arose as to destruction and restoration, and as to the
control of railways in their operation for military purposes.