Overview
A devastating collision on the Western & Atlantic Railroad near Johnson’s Station claimed the lives of railroad workers, soldiers, and others during the Civil War. The locomotives Excel and President collided after a series of delays involving a troop train traveling toward Chattanooga. Western & Atlantic Superintendent J.S. Rowland, who investigated the wreck, reported that military officers repeatedly stopped the train and delayed its departure from Dalton by nearly an hour. According to Rowland, the train’s engineer and conductor were eager to leave on schedule but were prevented from doing so.
The collision destroyed two of the railroad’s locomotives and numerous freight and passenger cars. Rowland reported the deaths of engineer Frank Cannon, fireman George Prince, seven soldiers, seven enslaved people, and fourteen horses. Newspapers across Georgia pointed to the disaster as evidence of the strain wartime demands placed on the Confederacy’s railroads and the dangers of military interference in railroad operations.
Quick Facts
- Date
- July 6, 1862