What are Sherman Neckties?

What are Sherman Neckties?. . , The display in front of you consists of one bent rail and two straight rails from the Civil War era. The bent rail was recovered in August of 2011 from the murky waters of Swamp Creek near the Western and Atlantic Railroad trestle just north of Tilton, Georgia. It is thought the "Great Locomotive Chase” ran along these very rails on April 12, 1862. General John B. Hood's Army probably destroyed this rail in October of 1864 when they passed through Tilton on their way to Tennessee. This rail was found and contributed by community-supportive relic hunters., This display depicts a method used during the Civil War that could render a railroad inoperative. The rails would be pried loose from the crossties and later placed across huge piles of ties that would be set on fire. The center of the rails would be heated red-hot so that the mere weight of the end of the rail would cause it to droop, essentially rendering it unusable., (caption) , The image on the left depicts a totally destroyed railroad after the method described above was applied. Sometimes, if circumstances permitted, the heated rails would be twisted around a tree or telegraph pole, giving them the appearance of a necktie. Thus, the term "Sherman's Necktie” was born.