Written a year after the events, this is an eyewitness account of the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862. Early in the American Civil War, in April 1862, Union volunteers led by a civilian, James J. Andrews, conducted a military mission to damage as much of the Western and Atlantic Railroad as possible. The aim was to sabotage the Confederate army. The Union raiders commandeered a train, The General, in Big Shanty, Georgia. Confederate forces quickly gave chase, both on foot and by locomotive. The result of the military raid and its aftermath are detailed in this book. - Summary by Elsie Selwyn