During the Civil War, the railroad was vital to Chattanooga, bringing supplies to the troops stationed in the city and also transporting reinforcements to nearby destinations.
Crews building the Western & Atlantic Railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tenn., faced a number of natural obstacles. None, however, were as foreboding as Chetoogeta Mountain.
The General steam locomotive pulled the morning passenger train, winding its way through the rural Georgia countryside. Shortly before 6 a.m. on a rainy morning, Engineer Jeff Cain blew the locomotive’s whistle to signal that Big Shanty was approaching.
The Kennesaw House is an impressive building, even by today’s standards. But its role in one of the most fascinating events of the Civil War is what makes it truly unique.
Trains still roar past the Kennesaw House located between the city square and the railroad tracks a block away. Turn back the clock 145 years to April 12, 1862, and the Kennesaw House was the stepping off point for one of the more intriguing episodes of the Civil War.
Once upon a time, Bartow County, Ga., was an important railroad town. Today, the dozens of CSX trains simply traverse the countryside of this north Georgia county.
On Dec. 21, 1836, the Georgia state Legislature authorized the construction of a railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., forever shaping the state’s history.