Franklin Alexander Crawford

Biography

Franklin Alexander “Van” Crawford (January 16, 1840–January 17, 1910) was a longtime Western & Atlantic Railroad employee and one of the participants in the pursuit of the stolen General during the Great Locomotive Chase of April 12, 1862.

A native of South Carolina, Crawford went to work for the Western & Atlantic before the Civil War and remained associated with the railroad for much of his life. During the chase, he assisted members of the General’s crew as they pursued Andrews’ Raiders after the locomotive was seized at Big Shanty.

Crawford suffered severe injuries in at least one railroad accident that cost him several fingers on his right hand and part of his left foot, ending his ability to work in train service. He subsequently worked in the railroad’s warehouse and, by the late 1880s, served as a transfer clerk.

After leaving the railroad, he became a lecturer at Atlanta’s Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama and later served as groundskeeper at Piedmont Park. Crawford died in Atlanta on January 17, 1910, at the age of seventy.