Friends of the Park Offer April 16th "Andrews Raid" Bus Tour

Friends of Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park is now
accepting reservations for a tour on Saturday, April 16, featuring the
Park's chief historian, Jim Ogden. The daylong bus tour will revisit sites
associated with Andrews Raid, one of the most intriguing episodes of the
American Civil War and the subject of two popular movies over the years.

The bus will depart Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center promptly at 8 AM
and return at approximately 6 PM on the 16th, with museum and site stops or
rolling commentary in North Georgia at Kennesaw, Acworth, Kingston,
Adairsville, Resaca, Dalton, Tunnel Hill and Ringgold. Lunch, beverages,
snacks and tour site admission fees are included in the tour price of $50
for Friends members and $60 for the general public. The Friends are also
offering a Tour & Join Special for $75, which includes the tour and a
1-year basic Friends membership - a $90 value.

The Andrews Raid of April, 1862, is one of the Civil War's most intriguing
and celebrated espionage stories. The plan was for a group of twenty-two
Union Army volunteers to steal a train, then steam north, destroying the
Western and Atlantic Railroad, the main supply line for the Confederate
Army, as they went. The goal was to disable the Southern army and set the
stage for the fall of Chattanooga and Atlanta, to bring the war to a speedy
close. The Raiders chose a locomotive named The General as their prey and
successfully hijacked it from the station at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw).
However, due to the stubborn persistence of the General's conductor,
William A. Fuller, and his fellow pursuers, the plan failed. Fuller and his
compatriots pursued The General first via handcar and, later, via another
locomotive, The Texas. The result was a high-speed locomotive chase with
The Texas going backward for much of the way.

Eight of the Raiders, including Andrews, were hanged, eight escaped and six
were exchanged as prisoners of war. Participants in the Raid were the first
to receive the newly created Medal of Honor from the United States
Congress. Those hanged were interred in Chattanoogas National Cemetery,
where their graves are marked by a locomotive-topped monument. Andrews Raid
became the subject for two popular movies: The General starring Buster
Keaton in 1927 and Walt Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase starring Fess
Parker in 1959. On April 12, 1972 the General was officially enshrined in
her permanent home in Kennesaw, Georgia...110 years after and just 100
yards from the spot where she was stolen in 1862.

To reserve a seat for the April 16th tour, send a check to Friends of the
Park, P.O. Box 748, Chattanooga, TN 37401. Provide a telephone number or
email address and indicate "Andrews Raid Tour" on the check, and
confirmation of the reservation will follow. Reservations can also be made
online using a credit card, at www.chickchatt.org

Friends of the Park is a non-profit group of volunteers which for eighteen
years has served as an advocacy and community liaison organization for
Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park at its multiple units
throughout the Chattanooga and North Georgia areas. The Friends provide
funding for projects recommended by Park management. They also present
public offerings that include volunteer days at the Park, educational tours
and events, sponsorship of an annual Memorial Day pops concert at the Park,
an informational website and a quarterly newsletter. Memberships are
available at a range of contribution and recognition levels. The Friends
welcome gifts in kind, bequests, memorials and honorary gifts in addition
to membership donations. More information is available at
www.chickchatt.org or by calling 423-624-6914 and leaving a message for a
return call.