The Ringgold Depot

The Ringgold Depot. A Survivor of Battle. 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.