A Survivor of Battle
— Georgia Civil War Heritage Trails —
This sandstone depot, located on the
Civil War-era Western and Atlantic
Railroad, was built around 1849. The
first train steamed into the new
station on May 9, 1850. The depot
witnessed a variety of activity
throughout the War. On April 12,
1862, the "Great Locomotive Chase,"
also known as "Andrews Raid," raced
past here. Confederates on the
locomotive "Texas" finally captured
Federal agents on the locomotive "General" only
two miles north. Numerous buildings in
Ringgold were used as Confederate hospitals
during 1862 and 1863, serving thousands of sick
and wounded soldiers.
On November 27,
1863, following the
Confederate defeat at
the Battle of
Missionary Ridge
two days earlier, the
depot became a
significant landmark
during the Battle of
Ringgold Gap. A
Confederate division
commanded by
Major General
Patrick R. Cleburne
defended Ringgold
Gap and White Oak Mountain.
Cleburne's men had the
assignment of holding the gap long
enough to cover the wagon trains
of the retreating Confederate
Army of Tennessee heading south
toward Dalton. Federal troops
commanded by Major General
Joseph Hooker pursued the
Confederates into Ringgold.
Many of the Federals massed
behind the depot and the adjacent railroad
embankment before being ordered to attack the
Confederate
positions. For his successful stand
at Ringgold Gap, Cleburne later received the
thanks of the Confederate Congress.
During the five-hour engagement,
Ringgold Depot served as a headquarters
for General Hooker. In the closing stages
of the battle
Union Major
Generals Ulysses
S. Grant and
William T.
Sherman joined
Hooker. An
eyewitness noted
that the famous
trio
"went to
examining their
maps in front of
the Depot." As
the three
generals conferred, quite a number of
soldiers gathered round to gaze at the
celebrated chiefs." After the battle Grant's
staff secured a
"handsome, new two story
Brick house" standing a short distance north
of the depot for use by the top Union
commander. This residence, the wartime home
of Ringgold merchant William L. Whitman,
still stands on Tennessee Street.
When the men of General Hooker's
command evacuated Ringgold on December 1,
1863, they destroyed much of the town.
Numerous explosions also damaged the depot.
The following spring and summer of 1864 the
Western and Atlantic Railroad served as the
main supply line for General Sherman's armies
during the Atlanta Campaign. Dozens of
trains carrying Federal troops and supplies
rolled past the Ringgold Depot almost every
day. Repairs to the depot's walls in the late
1860s are still clearly evident today. It is a
survivor
of battle.
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