Civil War Destruction

Civil War Destruction. . , The Civil War did not help the Pacific Railroad's finances or construction schedule. Railroads and their destruction were an important strategic element in the battles between North and South; General Sherman's army in its march across Georgia, famously tied rails into "Sherman's neckties." Such efforts could cut enemy supply and communication lines. The Pacific Railroad was yet another pawn in and victim of the conflict. Both sides commenced with destruction , burning bridges, tearing up tracks, attacking trains, harassing railroad workers and stealing supplies., Confederate troops led by General Sterling Price, the former governor of Missouri, tried to capture the state for the south in two campaigns , first in 1861 and again in 1864. In both instances, the Pacific Railroad was not safe from destruction. The following is an account of damages from the October 5, 1864 Daily Missouri Democrat imposed by the Rebel advance on the city of Franklin (later re-named Pacific), Missouri:, "The Pacific Railroad has suffered ... severely. Its combustible property on the Branch (The Southwest Branch, a separate line that forked off at Franklin) has been generally given to flame. The devastation has extended on the main road as far as Miller's Landing, beyond which, it is hoped, the havoc has ceased. The rebels burned on Saturday morning the depot, two tank houses (a) wood shed, wooden engine house, and machine and blacksmith shop at Franklin. On Saturday morning after they burned the depot and two freight cars at South Point; and at Washington the depot and tank house....Boeuf Creek bridge, seventy miles from this city (St. Louis), being a single span of about two hundred feet, is burned. At Miller's Landing, sixty-six miles out, they found three locomotives and a long train of cars, which the Superintendent of the Company had been moving towards St. Louis. One of the locomotives (was) destroyed; taking the other two, with the cars, west with them.", Along with the Confederates, the Union Army wreaked havoc on the road. Also in October 1864, the Moreau and Osage bridges were taken down in order to prevent another Confederate attack. Even the previously discussed Gasconade Bridge was destroyed during the Civil War. Moreover, the Union Army, as it was elsewhere in the country, was utilizing the railroad for troops and supplies, but not paying typical shipping or passenger rates. By the end of the Civil War, the company was bankrupt. At this point, it did not appear that the line would make it to Kansas City, let alone to California.