Jackson and the Locomotive Haul
   A little-known story of the Civil War is that of Col. (later "Stonewall") Jackson trapping and removing south some locomotives from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad during the summer of 1861 (Captured Union Locomotives). The tale has been mentioned in many books, articles, paintings and historical roadside markers (Black, pages 88-89). (See also Jackson and the Earlier Locomotive Haul and Jackson and the Locomotive Haul -- Whose Idea?) Map of the area where the entire operation took place.
   In 2003, biographer Spencer C. Tucker, in his University of Kentucky Press book Brigadier General John D. Imboden: Confederate Commander in the Shenandoah, attempts to debunk this story by pointing out that everything we know about the incident comes from a mention by Imboden in an article he wrote for the Century Magazine (which was later incorporated in Battles & Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 1, page 122). He boldly states that there is very little evidence that the event ever happened. He claims there are no official documents from either side that refer to the event. The records of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad do not indicate such happened and not a single newspaper in the South reported this important Southern "victory." Tucker also states that this event is not mentioned in any diaries, memoirs or letters surviving from the period. "It is difficult to see what motive Imboden might have had for conjuring up this story ... but there is simply no proof of the event having transpired." (Byron Farnwell's Stonewall, published in 1992 and James Robertson's Stonewall Jackson, published in 1997, also say that the event almost certainly did not happen or that it was a myth and did not happen.)
   In the November 2010 issue of North & South magazine, the editor, Keith Poulter, retells the story of the event in a brief article entitled "Alas for Romance." He repeats, and appears to accept, Tucker's debunking -- thus the article's title.
   Arthur Candenquist's response to Poulter's article was published in the next issue of the magazine. Candenquist has written two magazine articles on this event of the war, has led guided tours of the locations involved and was the historical resource for the 150-year anniversary locomotive pull through Winchester in June of 2011, commemorating this Civil War event. (I also responded to Poulter's article, but my response was not published.)
   In the May 2011 issue of North & South, Al Nofi, the editor of part of the magazine, engaged in a major attack on Candenquist and his response to the first article. Nofti dismisses all four diary accounts that support the event because Nofi cannot understand the dates not matching what he assumes would have been the dates of the locomotive haul. He does not explain why he thinks all four diarist put false entries in their diaries. Nofi then goes after several books that mention the locomotive haul and dismisses them all as not having good sources (a point on which I agree with him) and then complains "Far more useful would be citations of documents from the Official Records or the B&O archives, or diaries, letters, and such that can be firmly dated to the period of the incident" -- ignoring three of the four diaries he just refused to believe. Next, he says "we have a case of "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend," the more so if it supports tourism." Finally, he wants us "to keep in mind that serious historians such as James I. Robertson ... and Spencer C. Tucker {the fellow who's book started this whole chain of articles} doubt the legitimacy of "The Great Train Raid."
   If the locomotive haul did take place, how should these historians have run across the facts? Since the story is repeated in many places, it is incumbent on the debunker to check all likely sources before proclaiming that he has better historical skills than his predecessors. "All likely sources" would certainly have to include Annual Reports of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Black's Confederate Railroads, the Official Records, the National Archives' Engineer Bureau letters, the National Archives' Quartermaster Bureau letters, and after coming across the name of Quartermaster Captain Thomas R. Sharp as the man in charge, the National Archives' Officers File for Captain Sharp. The Jackson biographer might also check Dabney's biography of Jackson, written in 1865, long before Imboden's article was written. With just this much work (less than one days' work at the National Archives and in the University of Maryland Library) there would no longer be any question about the fact that the haul took place.
   Tucker, Poulter and Nofi have all missed the fact that historians are supposed to do research before writing up their conclusions. Sharp states that he considered the Quartermaster General to be his commanding officer and reported only to him, and in his diary we see numerous trips from Winchester to Richmond to make his reports; therefore, there was no written report available to be included in the Official Records. Despite that, this event is extremely well documented. Below are listed the 523 documents that I have run across that show that the Jackson story is true as told and re-told until attacked by Tucker, Poulter and Nofi:
 

 *****Since there was no complete or accurate accounting of the Haul, I have written one HERE *****

The B&O's post-war efforts to recover their rolling stock and machinery is HERE
 
From the Official Records (13)
OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 32
  OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 115
  OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 116
  OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 806
OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 897
  OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 901
  OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 910
OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 948
OR Series 1, Vol. 51, Part 2, Page 248
OR Series 1, Vol. 5, Page 587
OR Series 1, Vol. 5, Page 859
OR Series 1, Vol. 2, Page 470
OR Series 1, Vol. 5, Page 976
 
From the National Archives (378)
NA, QM 6-18-61
NA, QM 6-18A-61
NA, QM 6-18B-61
NA, QM 6-28-61
  NA, QMR 6-28-61
NA, QM 7-2-61
NA, MG 7-2-61
  NA, QMR 7-3-61
NA, QM 7-8A-61
NA, QM 7-15-61
NA, QM 7-20-61
  NA, QMR 7-27-61
NA, QM 8-13-61
NA, QM 8-13B-61
NA, MG 8-18-61
  NA, QM 8-18-61
  NA, QMR 8-21-61
  NA, RRB 8-25-61
  NA, QMR 8-31-61
NA, VC 9-7-61
NA, VC 9-7A-61
  NA, AIGO 9-8-61
NA, QM 9-8-61
NA, QM 9-9-61
  NA, QMR 9-12-61
  NA, QM 9-13-61
  NA, RRB 9-14-61
NA, RRB 9-30A-61
NA, RRB 9-30B-61
  NA, RRB 9-30D-61
  NA, RRB 9-30E-61
  NA, RRB 9-30F-61
  NA, RRB 9-30J-61
  NA, RRB 9-30K-61
  NA, QMR 10-1-61
NA, QM 10-5A-61
NA, QM 10-11-61
NA, MG 10-11-61
NA, VC 10-11-61
  NA, QMR 10-14B-61
NA, RF&P 10-14-61
  NA, QMR 10-16A-61
NA, OB 10-17-61
NA, RRB 10-25-61
NA, VC 10-29A-61
NA, VC 10-30-61
NA, RRB 10-31-61
  NA, RRB 10-31B-61
NA, VC 10-31-61
  NA, RRB 11-28A-61
NA, RRB 11-30-61
NA, RRB 11-30A-61
  NA, RRB 11-30D-61
NA, QM 12-1-61
NA, RRB 12-1-61
NA, W&P 12-1-61
  NA, QMR 12-2-61
  NA, SWR 12-5A-61
NA, RF&P 12-8-61
NA, W&P 12-10-61
NA, QM 12-11-61
NA, QM 12-11A-61
NA, QM 12-11B-61
NA, SWR 12-11-61
NA, O&A 12-12-61
NA, SWR 12-12-61
NA, SWR 12-13-61
NA, W&P 12-14-61
NA, QM 12-17-61
  NA, QMR 12-19-61
  NA, QMR 12-19A-61
  NA, QMR 12-21-61
NA, MG 12-22-61
  NA, RRB 12-22-61
NA, RRB 12-31-61
NA, RRB 12-31A-61
NA, RRB 12-31B-61
NA, RRB 12-31C-61
NA, RRB 12-31D-61
NA, RRB 12-31E-61
NA, RRB 12-31G-61
NA, RRB 12-31H-61
NA, RRB 12-31I-61
NA, RRB 12-31J-61
NA, RRB 12-31K-61
NA, RRB 12-31L-61
NA, RRB 12-31M-61
  NA, RRB 12-31U-61
  NA, RRB 12-31V-61
  NA, RRB 12-31W-61
  NA, RRB 12-31X-61
  NA, RRB 12-31Y-61
  NA, RRB 12-31AA-61
  NA, RRB 12-31AH-61
  NA, RRB 12-31AO-61
  NA, RRB 12-31AQ-61
  NA, RRB 12-31AY-61
  NA, RRB 12-31AZ-61
  NA, RRB 12-31BA-61
NA, W&P 12-31-61
NA, RRB xx-xx-61
  NA, QMSW 1-3-62
  NA, RRB 1-7-62
  NA, QMR 1-8-62
NA, RRB 1-9-62
NA, RRB 1-9B-62
  NA, QMR 1-10-62
NA, RRB 1-18-62
  NA, RRB 1-20A-62
  NA, QMR 1-21-62
NA, O&A 1-23-62
NA, QM 1-25-62
  NA, QMR 1-25-62
  NA, RRB 2-26-62
  NA, RRB 2-26A-62
NA, MG 1-31-62
NA, MG 1-31A-62
  NA, RRB 1-31H-62
  NA, RRB 1-31I-62
  NA, RRB 1-31K-62
NA, VC 1-31-62
  NA, QMR 2-1-62
  NA, RRB 2-1-62
NA, RRB 2-4-62
NA, QM 2-5A-62
  NA, QMR 2-5-62
  NA, RRB 2-6-62
  NA, RRB 2-6A-62
  NA, QMR 2-7-62
  NA, SWR 2-9-62
NA, RRB 2-13-62
  NA, QMR 2-17A-62
  NA, RRB 2-20-62
NA, RRB 2-22B-62
NA, RRB 2-28-62
NA, RRB 2-28A-62
NA, RRB 2-28C-62
NA, RRB 2-28D-62
NA, RRB 2-28E-62
NA, RRB 2-28F-62
NA, RRB 2-28H-62
  NA, RRB 2-28J-62
  NA, RRB 2-28K-62
NA, M&WP 2-28-62
NA, RRB 3-1C-62
NA, RRB 3-1D-62
NA, RRB 3-1E-62
NA, RRB 3-1G-62
NA, RRB 3-1H-62
  NA, RRB 3-5A-62
  NA, RRB 3-6-62
NA, RRB 3-8B-62
NA, RRB 3-8C-62
NA, RRB 3-9-62
  NA, RRB 3-9B-62
  NA, RRB 3-10A-62
NA, RRB 3-19-62
NA, RRB 3-27-62
NA, RRB 3-28-62
NA, RRB 3-28A-62
NA, LS 3-31-62
NA, LS 3-31A-62
NA, RRB 3-31-62
NA, RRB 3-31A-62
NA, RRB 3-31B-62
NA, RRB 3-31C-62
NA, RRB 3-31D-62
NA, RRB 3-31E-62
NA, RRB 3-31G-62
NA, RRB 3-31H-62
NA, RRB 3-31I-62
NA, RRB 3-31J-62
NA, RRB 3-31K-62
NA, RRB 3-31L-62
NA, RRB 3-31M-62
NA, RRB 3-31N-62
NA, RRB 3-31O-62
NA, RRB 3-31P-62
NA, RRB 3-31Q-62
NA, RRB 3-31R-62
NA, RRB 3-31S-62
NA, RRB 3-31U-62
NA, RRB 3-31V-62
NA, RRB 3-31W-62
NA, RRB 3-31X-62
NA, RRB 3-31Y-62
NA, RRB 3-31Z-62
NA, RRB 3-31AA-62
NA, RRB 3-31AB-62
NA, RRB 3-31AC-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AL-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AO-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AP-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AQ-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AR-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AS-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AU-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AV-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AW-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AX-62
  NA, RRB 3-31AY-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BA-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BB-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BC-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BD-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BE-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BF-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BG-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BH-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BJ-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BK-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BL-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BM-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BO-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BQ-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BR-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BS-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BU-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BV-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BW-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BX-62
  NA, RRB 3-31BY-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CA-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CB-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CD-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CE-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CF-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CH-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CI-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CK-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CL-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CM-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CN-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CO-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CP-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CQ-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CR-62
  NA, RRB 3-31CT-62
NA, M&WP 3-31-62
NA, VC 3-31-62
  NA, RRB 4-7A-62
  NA, RRB 4-12A-62
NA, QM 4-14A-62
  NA, RRB 4-14A-62
NA, RRB 4-17A-62
NA, RRB 4-18-62
NA, RRB 4-18A-62
NA, RRB 4-21-62
  NA, RRB 4-22C-62
NA, QM 4-24-62
NA, RRB 4-26-62
  NA, RRB 4-26A-62
  NA, RRB 4-26B-62
  NA, RRB 4-29-62
NA, RRB 4-30-62
NA, RRB 4-30A-62
NA, RRB 4-30B-62
NA, RRB 4-30C-62
NA, RRB 4-30D-62
NA, RRB 4-30E-62
NA, RRB 4-30F-62
NA, RRB 4-30G-62
NA, RRB 4-30H-62
NA, RRB 4-30I-62
NA, RRB 4-30J-62
NA, RRB 4-30K-62
  NA, RRB 4-30O-62
  NA, RRB 4-30R-62
  NA, RRB 4-30S-62
  NA, RRB 4-30T-62
  NA, RRB 4-30U-62
  NA, RRB 4-30W-62
  NA, RRB 4-30X-62
  NA, RRB 4-30Y-62
  NA, RRB 4-30Z-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AA-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AC-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AE-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AF-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AG-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AN-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AO-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AP-62
  NA, RRB 4-30AQ-62
  NA, RRB 5-1-62
  NA, RRB 5-1A-62
  NA, RRB 5-1B-62
NA, RRB 5-5-62
NA, RRB 5-6-62
  NA, RRB 5-8-62
  NA, RRB 5-11-62
  NA, RRB 5-11B-62
  NA, RRB 5-12A-62
  NA, RRB 5-13-62
  NA, RRB 5-13A-62
  NA, RRB 5-14-62
NA, RRB 5-18-62
NA, RR 5-19-62
NA, RRB 5-19-62
  NA, RRB 5-19C-62
  NA, RRB 5-19E-62
  NA, RRB 5-19F-62
  NA, RRB 5-19G-62
  NA, RRB 5-19H-62
  NA, RRB 5-19I-62
NA, RRB 5-20-62
NA, RRB 5-20A-62
NA, RRB 5-20B-62
NA, RRB 5-20C-62
NA, RRB 5-20D-62
NA, RRB 5-20E-62
NA, RRB 5-20F-62
  NA, RRB 5-20H-62
  NA, RRB 5-21-62
NA, RRB 5-22-62
NA, RRB 5-23-62
NA, RRB 5-23A-62
NA, RRB 5-31C-62
NA, RRB 5-31F-62
NA, RRB 5-31G-62
NA, RRB 5-31J-62
  NA, RRB 5-31V-62
  NA, RRB 5-31W-62
  NA, RRB 5-31X-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AA-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AB-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AE-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AF-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AG-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AJ-62
  NA, RRB 5-31AK-62
  NA, RRB 6-3-62
NA, RRB 6-23-62
NA, RRB 6-24A-62
  NA, RRB 6-25A-62
NA, LS 6-30-62
NA, LS 6-30A-62
NA, LS 6-30B-62
NA, LS 6-30C-62
  NA, LS 6-30D-62
NA, LS 6-30E-62
NA, MG 6-30-62
NA, RRB 6-30-62
NA, RRB 6-30A-62
  NA, RRB 6-30I-62
  NA, RRB 6-30J-62
  NA, RRB 6-30L-62
  NA, RRB 6-30M-62
  NA, RRB 6-30O-62
  NA, RRB 6-30P-62
  NA, RRB 6-30Q-62
  NA, RRB 6-30R-62
  NA, RRB 6-30S-62
  NA, RRB 6-30T-62
  NA, RRB 6-30U-62
  NA, RRB 6-30V-62
  NA, RRB 6-30X-62
  NA, RRB 6-30Y-62
NA, LS 7-30-62
NA, RRB 12-31A-62
NA, LS 1-15-63
  NA, RRB 3-9-63
  NA, RRB 6-2-63
  NA, RRB 8-21-63
NA, RR 8-24-63
NA, RR 8-24A-63
  NA, RR 8-24C-63
  NA, RR 8-24D-63
  NA, RRB 8-24-63
  NA, RRB 8-24A-63
  NA, RRB 8-24B-63
NA, RRB 9-5-63
NA, RRB 9-10-63
NA, RRB 9-16-63
  NA, QMR 10-12-63
NA, SWR 1-22-64
  NA, SWR 2-12-64
NA, CSN 9-16-64
From diaries (6)
Capt. Thomas R. Sharp (the man who actually moved the locomotives and cars) Diary of Thomas R. Sharp 1861
War Time Diary of Miss Julia Chase (Winchester, Va.) B10, D 8-21-61
B10, D 9-2-61
B10, D 9-5-61
War Time Diary of Miss Sarah Morgan McKown B11, D 8-22-61
Diary of Ida Dulaney (Upperville, Va.) B14, D 8-9-61
 
From Confederate newspaper articles (49)
  NP, REX 5-24-61
  NP, CM 5-31-61
  NP, ATD 6-6-61
  NP, CM 6-13A-61
NP, CW 6-13-61
NP, RD 6-17-61
NP, MT 6-21-61
  NP, REX 6-21B-61
NP, SS 6-25-61
NP, RD 6-28-61
  NP, C 7-5-61
NP, HT 7-17A-61
NP, RD 7-20-61
  NP, REX 7-23-61
NP, RD 8-19-61
NP, RD 8-20-61
NP, RD 8-26-61
NP, RD 8-29-61
NP, RD 9-2-61
NP, RD 9-13-61
  NP, DI 9-13-61
NP, RD 9-14-61
NP, RD 9-16-61
NP, RD 9-16B-61
NP, WR 10-11-61
NP, RD 10-14-61
NP, RD 10-16-61
NP, RD 10-19A-61
NP, RD 10-19B-61
NP, RD 11-19-61
NP, RD 11-23-61
  NP, SMN 11-25-61
  NP, SFU 11-26-61
  NP, SN 11-28-61
NP, HT 12-4-61
  NP, NODC 12-7-61
  NP, SFU 12-8-61
NP, AP 12-20-61
  NP, REX 1-7-62
NP, RSTD 1-15-62
NP, RD 1-31-62
NP, RD 4-5-62
NP, RD 4-7-62
NP, RD 5-12A-62
  NP, MAP 5-21-62
  NP, RSJ 10-29B-62
  NP, RS 10-24-63
NP, CM 11-30-63
NP, IE 12-17A-63
 
From Union newspaper articles (40)
  NP, DI 5-27-61
NP, JT 5-28-61
  NP, DI 5-29-61
NP, NYT 6-7-61
NP, NR 6-10-61
NP, NYT 6-17-61
NP, AS 6-19-61
NP, AS 6-19A-61
NP, AS 6-19B-61
NP, NYT 6-25-61
NP, AS 6-26-61
NP, NYT 6-26-61
  NP, NYH 6-27-61
  NP, DI 6-28-61
  NP, CW 6-29-61
  NP, DI 6-29-61
  NP, DI 7-1-61
NP, NYT 7-1-61
NP, AS 7-3-61
  NP, AU 7-6-61
  NP, AU 7-6A-61
  NP, DE 7-11-61
NP, NYT 7-17-61
NP, HW 7-20-61
NP, NYT 8-25-61
  NP, NYH 8-27-61
  NP, NR 8-30-61
NP, AS 9-11-61
NP, NYT 9-13-61
NP, NYT 9-27-61
  NP, NYH 10-3-61
  NP, NR 10-11-61
  NP, NYH 10-15-61
NP, LN 11-10-61
NP, LN 12-18-61
  NP, PT 12-26-61
  NP, DI 3-17-62
  NP, DI 3-24-62
  NP, DI 4-8-62
  NP, BDC 10-12-65
 
From the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (9)
  B16, B&O 9-30-61
BO 3-3-1862
BO 3-28-1862
BO 4-19-1862
NP, CM 11-30-63
NP, IE 12-17A-63
B16, B&O 10-30-64
B16, B&O 10-30-67
  BO 2-x-1941
 
From Tredegar records (7)
LVA, TRED 6-25-61
LVA, TRED 9-18-61
LVA, TRED 9-19-61
LVA, TRED 10-18-61
LVA, TRED 10-23-61
LVA, TRED 11-20-61
LVA, TRED 11-26-61
 
From the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac RR records (1)
 
From Virginia Central RR records (1)
  Virginia Central Freight Related to Sharp & B&O 1861-1862
 
From the Railroad Bureau Archives (1)
 
From Dabney's biography of Jackson (1)
 
From Joe Johnston's memoirs (1)
 
From other sources (18)

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