Selmer in McNairy County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Mobile & Ohio Railroad
Strategically Important Transportation Route
Photographed By David Austin, December 9, 2020
1. Mobile & Ohio Railroad Marker
Inscription.
Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Strategically Important Transportation Route. This is the Mobile and Ohio Railroad which was chartered in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky in 1808 to provide a vital commercial link between the Gulf or Mexico and Cairo, Illinois, on the Ohio River. The last miles of track were laid in April 1861 just as hostilities erupted at Fort Sumter. The strategic significance of the railroad quickly become apparent. By the spring of 1862, thousands Of Confederate troops from as far away as Pensacola and Mobile steamed into southwestern Tennessee and northern Mississippi on the railroad in anticipation of an imminent Union offensive. Corinth, Mississippi, was among the most important railroad junctions in the western Confederacy. Bethel Station, north of here, was also a strategically significant point that provided access to the Tennessee River and the interior of western Tennessee., When Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant massed his army at Pittsburg Landing in April 1862, he intended to disrupt the railroad at Corinth or here at Bethel Station, but the Confederates struck first near Shiloh Church. After failing to defeat the Federals, the Confederate army retreated to Corinth. By the autumn of 1862, Union forces had captured the town. Federal Gen. Grenville M. Dodge rebuilt the shattered rail line and, though constantly harassed by Confederate cavalry, held it until end of the war., Local disputes about the location of the railroad right-of-way near the McNairy County town of Purdy resulted in a more-western route for the line. The county seat was moved to Selmer, on the railroad, in 1890., "The Federals took possession or that portion or the Mobile and Ohio railroad near Bethel Station. They had nothing to oppose them. They burnt two bridges and tore up a portion of the track. All the Mobile and Ohio railroad north of Corinth has been abandoned." , Houston Telegraph, June 2, 1862, (captions) , Mobile and Ohio Railroad, 1848 Courtesy Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, Bethel Springs rail yard, ca. 1900 , Courtesy McNairy County Archives, Gen. Grenville M. Dodge Courtesy Library of Congress
This is the Mobile and Ohio Railroad which was chartered in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky in 1808 to provide a vital commercial link between the Gulf or Mexico and Cairo, Illinois, on the Ohio River. The last miles of track were laid in April 1861 just as hostilities erupted at Fort Sumter. The strategic significance of the railroad quickly become apparent. By the spring of 1862, thousands Of Confederate troops from as far away as Pensacola and Mobile steamed into southwestern Tennessee and northern Mississippi on the railroad in anticipation of an imminent Union offensive. Corinth, Mississippi, was among the most important railroad junctions in the western Confederacy. Bethel Station, north of here, was also a strategically significant point that provided access to the Tennessee River and the interior of western Tennessee.
When Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant massed his army at Pittsburg Landing in April 1862, he intended to disrupt the railroad at Corinth or here at Bethel Station, but the Confederates struck first near Shiloh Church. After failing to defeat the Federals, the Confederate army retreated to Corinth. By the autumn of 1862, Union forces had captured the town. Federal Gen. Grenville M. Dodge rebuilt the shattered rail line and, though constantly harassed by Confederate cavalry, held it until end of
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the war.
Local disputes about the location of the railroad right-of-way near the McNairy County town of Purdy resulted in a more-western route for the line. The county seat was moved to Selmer, on the railroad, in 1890.
"The Federals took possession or that portion or the Mobile & Ohio railroad near Bethel Station. They had nothing to oppose them. They burnt two bridges and tore up a portion of the track. All the Mobile & Ohio railroad north of Corinth has been abandoned." — Houston Telegraph, June 2, 1862
(captions)
Mobile & Ohio Railroad, 1848 Courtesy Alabama Dept. of Archives & History
Bethel Springs rail yard, ca. 1900 — Courtesy McNairy County Archives
Gen. Grenville M. Dodge Courtesy Library of Congress
Location. 35° 10.174′ N, 88° 35.476′ W. Marker is in Selmer, Tennessee, in McNairy County. Marker is at the intersection of East Court Avenue (Business U.S. 64) and North Front Street, on the left
Photographed By David Austin, December 9, 2020
2. Mobile & Ohio Railroad Marker
when traveling south on East Court Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Selmer TN 38375, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 10, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 9, 2020, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 291 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 9, 2020, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.