Today is Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

On this day in 1862, a group of unions, soldiers, and civilians

hijacked a Confederate train in Georgia during the American Civil War.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast. Due to the graphic nature of this crime, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes descriptions of

violence. We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

Today we'll cover the Great Locomotive Chase,

a daring attempt by Union spies to undermine the Confederacy.

Now let's go back to Marietta, Georgia, on April 12, 1862.

At 5 a.m., a.m., a steam locomotive named the General pulled into Marietta Station.

It was a year to the day since the American

Civil War had begun. The train picked up passengers, while unbeknownst to them, Yankee

operatives worked on a plan to sabotage the Confederacy. James J. Andrews, a union spy from Kentucky, was on a mission to seize the train and take it to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Along the way, Andrews and his team intended to destroy as many Confederate train tracks, telegraph lines, and bridges as possible.

If successful, the raid had the potential to debilitate the

Southern War Machine. So when the train departed Marietta, the hijackers sat and waited for their

moment. The train continued north for several miles toward the town of Big Shanty, now known as Kennesaw.

This place had no telegraph line, so the insurgents knew they could act without alerting

Confederate forces.

When the train pulled into the Big Shanty station, the crew and passengers disembarked for

breakfast. Meanwhile, Andrews and his team stayed on board.

The moment they were alone, Andrews gave the signal and the men set to work.

Like all trains, the general was designed to hook up new cars and detach unneeded ones, so the Yankees

...