{"nrhp_refnum":"73000617","name":"General, The","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Big Shanty Museum of Cherokee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kennesaw","county":"Cobb County","state":"GA","lat":34.02365662700004,"lon":-84.61436771199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A steam locomotive (4-4-0 American type) built by Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor Locomotive Works of Paterson, New Jersey, completed in December 1855, and now displayed at the Big Shanty Museum in Kennesaw, Cobb County, Georgia.","why_significant":"The locomotive was one of the principal engines in the 1862 Andrews Raid, also called the Great Locomotive Chase, during the Civil War. Union raiders seized it at Big Shanty and ran it north before it was abandoned for lack of fuel. Nineteen of the Union soldiers involved received the Medal of Honor, the first presentation of that award. It also serves as a physical reminder of the steam locomotive era.","narrative":"The General is a 53-ton American-type steam locomotive built in 1855 by the Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor Locomotive Works for the Georgia-owned Western and Atlantic Railroad. It became famous on April 12, 1862, when civilian James J. Andrews and 19 Union soldiers seized it at Big Shanty, now Kennesaw, and drove it north to destroy the railroad and cut communications with Atlanta. Confederates pursued them on foot, by push car and in three locomotives, and the General ran out of fuel about two miles north of Ringgold after 87 miles. Eight raiders were executed, and nineteen soldiers received the Medal of Honor, the first ever awarded. The engine returned to service, hauled ammunition at Kennesaw Mountain, and was damaged in the 1864 evacuation of Atlanta. It was restored in 1891-92, displayed in Chattanooga for decades, and was given to Georgia in 1972. It now stands in the Big Shanty Museum.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific dates 1855, April 12, 1862)","architect_builder":"Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor Locomotive Works, Paterson, New Jersey (construction #631)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the State of Georgia and on exhibit at the Big Shanty Museum in Kennesaw; condition listed as good, altered and moved, with preservation work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.685172-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/73000617.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000617/f5f5877752-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000617/f5f5877752-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Reward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1964_General_Clasp.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Reward</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1964_General_Clasp.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"80000995","name":"Big Shanty Village Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/big-shanty-village-historic-district-80000995/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93207579","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_(locomotive)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2335866"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/cobb-county/general-the-73000617/"}