Centreville Military Railroad
Encyclopedia
Orange and Alexandria Railroad
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad was an intrastate railroad in Virginia, United States. It extended from Alexandria to Gordonsville, with another section from Charlottesville to Lynchburg...
east of Manassas Junction across Bull Run
Bull Run (Occoquan River)
Bull Run is a free-flowing tributary stream of the Potomac River that originates from a spring in the Bull Run Mountains in Loudoun County, Virginia, and flows south to the Occoquan River...
and up the south side of the Centreville
Centreville, Virginia
Centreville is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a Census Designated Place , the community population was 71,135 as of the 2010 census and is approximately west of Washington, DC.-Colonial Period:Beginning in the 1760s,...
Plateau. Built by the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
between November 1861 and February 1862, it was the first exclusively military railroad. Ultimately, the Centreville Military Railroad reached a point near a modern McDonalds restaurant on Virginia State Route 28
Virginia State Route 28
State Route 28 is a primary state highway that traverses the counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, and Fauquier in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is a major artery through Northern Virginia.-Loudoun County:...
, south of the modern junction with U.S. Route 29 in Virginia
U.S. Route 29 in Virginia
U.S. Route 29 is a major north–south route in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers from the North Carolina border at the city of Danville to the Key Bridge in Washington, D.C....
.
Centreville encampment
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
faced a Federal force
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
superior in size, while his own Confederate Army of the Potomac was spread thinly across central Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, at Minor’s Hill, Flint Hill, Pohick, Accotink, Annandale, Munson’s Hill and Mason’s Hill. To prepare a better defensible position, he concentrated his troops on the Centreville Plateau, the high ground between Little Rocky Run and Bull Run
Bull Run (Occoquan River)
Bull Run is a free-flowing tributary stream of the Potomac River that originates from a spring in the Bull Run Mountains in Loudoun County, Virginia, and flows south to the Occoquan River...
along the western edge of Fairfax County, with his main supply base at the Manassas Junction in his rear in Prince William County, Virginia
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
. The Centreville Plateau is located about six miles north of Manassas Junction (modern Manassas, Virginia
Manassas, Virginia
The City of Manassas is an independent city surrounded by Prince William County and the independent city of Manassas Park in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Its population was 37,821 as of 2010. Manassas also surrounds the county seat for Prince William County but that county...
). The Confederates built an elaborate series of connected forts and military positions, and the Confederate cavalry and advanced pickets and vedettes controlled the countryside as far east as Fairfax Courthouse. The army went into camp and built winter quarters in Centreville which were protected by strong fortifications. The logistics of supplying 40,000 Confederate troops on the front lines grew worse with wet weather in October, so they withdrew even more in to Centreville. Behind the lines, warehouses were built at Manassas Junction. Chapman (Beverly) Mill in Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Gap (Bull Run Mountain)
Thoroughfare Gap is a water gap in the Bull Run Mountains created by Broad Run between High Point Mountain to the north and Bisquit Mountain to the south...
, at the border of Prince William and Fauquier
Fauquier County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
counties, also served as a supply depot. Over one million pounds of meat were stored there in the winter of 1861-62 to feed the Confederate Army of the Potomac.
Logistics problems
As winter approached the wagons hauling supplies from Manassas Junction up the old Centreville Road turned the roadway into muddy mire. By October 19, 1861, the Centreville Road had been plankedPlank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...
to help alleviate this problem, but with no success. By early November, Quartermaster Major Albert Marle discovered that the ox teams being used to haul the wagons were eating too much fodder to make the logistics operation practical.
Construction
The idea of building a railroad, using spare and captured parts, became a viable option to ox carts and wagon teams on the muddy Centreville Road. However, on November 7, 1861, the Orange and Alexandria RailroadOrange and Alexandria Railroad
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad was an intrastate railroad in Virginia, United States. It extended from Alexandria to Gordonsville, with another section from Charlottesville to Lynchburg...
(O&ARR) disapproved a request to using any of their rails to build such a line. Private McClellan of the 9th Alabama Infantry Regiment commented in his diary on November 23 that 50,000 men were working on a six mile railroad in shifts of six hours per day, causing them to have no time for working on winter huts. By November 30, 1861 newspaper articles reported two months would be necessary to build the planned railroad.
Construction began in December from the O&ARR tracks at Manassas Junction. On December 14, 1861, the newspapers reported that the new line was fully surveyed, was being leveled and that the line would run four miles to Bull Run and then two miles beyond that to the rear of the army. The rails, by order of Captain Thomas R. Sharp, were brought in from warehouses where they were being held in storage in Winchester, Virginia
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
by wagon down to Strasburg, Virginia
Strasburg, Virginia
Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town, population-wise, in the county and is known for its pottery, antiques, and Civil War history...
, and then by rail car to the Manassas Junction. "It is no mystery that the iron for the track came from the South's one unfailing source of supply in 1861, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
." A deserter from the 6th Louisiana Infantry, who left Centreville on January 7, 1862 reported that 300 men were working on the railroad project. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
confirmed on January 27, 1862, based on the report of a deserter that the railroad construction was in progress.
By February 5, 1862 the construction was still proceeding, but no ballast was being used, as is typically needed for drainage and stability of rail beds, and the ties were being spaced a twice the normal spread. It is estimated that the railroad was probably not finished before the first week of February, 1862, but was in successful operation as early as February 17, 1862.
Design
The rail line designed used long lazy-S curves, paralleling west along the old Centreville Road. It ran four miles, crossing Liberia Plantation, then across a new special trestleTrestle
A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, especially referring to a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. In the context of trestle bridges, each supporting frame is generally referred to as a bent...
bridge constructed on Bull Run. It ran another one and a half miles north of Bull Run and finished in a terminus on level fields at Mertoff Farm. The gauge is presumed to be 4 foot 8 inch, matching the O&ARR and Manassas Gap Railroad
Manassas Gap Railroad
The Manassas Gap Railroad was an historic intrastate railroad in the Southern United States which ran from Mount Jackson, Virginia to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad at a junction called "Manassas Junction", which later became the city of Manassas, Virginia...
, which it spurred from, and used T-rail acquired from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
during raids.
Operation
Trains, pressed into service from the Orange and Alexandria RailroadOrange and Alexandria Railroad
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad was an intrastate railroad in Virginia, United States. It extended from Alexandria to Gordonsville, with another section from Charlottesville to Lynchburg...
ran on the line from Manassas Junction from about the second week of February, 1862 until March 11, 1862 when Confederate forces withdrew southward.
Supply operations begin
While the railroad was exclusively designed only for resupply of the army, on a temporary and light track, an issue soon arose about the transportation of heavier loads of sick soldiers. Initially the locomotives used were under-powered for hauling large loads of sick soldiers and General Johnston did not allow use of the trains for transporting the sick. Later, larger locomotives were brought in and Johnston changed his mind, allowing evacuations of the sick south to the large Confederate hospital located in Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
. The Orange and Alexandria Railroad company disagreed with Johnston’s decision and actions, but were over-ridden by order of Johnston to Major Barber to transport the sick all the way to Charlottesville.
On March 1, 1862 Major Barber issued orders to Captain Thomas Sharp regulating the operations of the railroad, specifying the types of loading for sick, for lady passengers, supplies, baggage, and requiring daily reports.
Federal reaction
Federal soldiers examining the earthworks from a distance came to believe the defenses at Centreville were virtually impregnable. The Confederate defense line along Bull Run appeared too strong to Major General George B. McClellanGeorge B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
, the Federal officer charged with the responsibility of capturing Richmond after Major General Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell
Irvin McDowell was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War.-Early life:...
had failed in July, 1861. McClellan identified another route to Richmond that would bypass the Bull Run defenses - sail the Union Army down the Potomac River to Fortress Monroe, then march up the Peninsula past Williamsburg to Richmond.
Operations end
The operation of the railroad was very short lived, as General Johnston decided on March 9, 1862 to abandon his defensive positions on the Centreville Plateau and move south of the Rappahannock River to counter Major General McClellan’s movements to Hampton Roads, Virginia. On March 11, 1862, the Confederates quickly abandoned their positions, tore up as much track as possible, leaving much of the rail lying in place, and destroyed the trestle bridge across Bull Run. Federal troops entered and occupied the area on that same day and decided to rip up and "use the slightly worn rails for repairs elsewhere in Virginia."Aftermath
On May 7, 1862, the Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&ORR) began trying to recover property from the abandoned rail line after making an inspection trip on April 30. The B&ORR claimed that their rails were uniquely identifiable, and knew they had been stolen during Virginia Militia and Confederate operations as part of the Great Train Raid of 1861
Great Train Raid of 1861
Colonel Thomas Jackson's operations against the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1861 were aimed at disrupting a critical railroad used by the opposing Union Army as a major supply route and capturing the maximum number of locomotives and cars. During this point in the war, the state of Maryland's...
. However the Federal quartermaster made a decision on May 20 to take 6.5 miles of inventoried and captured Confederate rail from this railroad and use it on other needed Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
rail projects. The following day, B&ORR President John W. Garrett
John W. Garrett
John Work Garrett was an American banker, philanthropist, and president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ....
send a letter of protest regarding the intended Federal re-use, having found out that the Union Army planned to use the rails to repair the Manassas Gap Railroad for help in resupplying Major General Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks was an American politician and soldier, served as the 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Union general during the American Civil War....
in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
.
Quickly taking action, the B&ORR provided a full report with a detailed description of their property on May 24. The Union Army replied on June 7 that it intended to keep and use the rails, and President Garrett again responded on June 9 that he absolutely needed the rails for the more serious need of repairing the B&O rail line to restore services there, which were more vital to overall Union Army needs. The Union Army finally complied with Garrett’s request and by the end of July 1862 the rails of the Centreville Military Railroad were all returned to the original rightful owners, the B&O Railroad.
"Once its rails were removed virtually all traces of the world's first military railroad were speedily obliterated by undergrowth. For all but a very few its brief existence was soon forgotten."