Railroads In The Civil War Essay

Ariana Tamboli

Ms. Chasteen

Language Arts 7

07 March 2023

The Strategic Use of Railroads in Union Victories

Railroads in the Civil War were some of the most advanced military technologies in late 1800s America. Throughout the nation, citizens and soldiers would newly define the war as the "first railroad war" (The Association of American Railroads 10). Specifically, the vast majority of Union rails were built by Herman Haupt, a skilled and dexterous engineer. Hence, railroads evolved into principal, modern combat vehicles. Prior to railroads, men were reliant on horses for transportation, thus railroads were created to benefit Union soldiers. Ultimately, railroads, locomotives, and railcars had a major function in the Union's numerous victories

As a result, the economy overall became stronger, and they made a large profit. Railroads were the very first pieces of technology to have a major impact on the American economy ("Railroads in the Civil War" 42). Rails transported an unheard of amount of troops and supplies while also introducing the first ironclad railcars, which could carry lots of artillery and massive weapons. As a result, even current militaries in the United States use these types of railcars. If it weren't for the Secretary of War Stanton and his idea of railroads, the Union would have had a slimmer chance of succeeding in their final victory. The North experimented with different types of iron for the rails, like steel, which is still used in modern-day rails. The Confederacy had a strong urge to mimic the Union, but they were unable. At one point, they became so desperate for iron that they bargained with Europe to get iron for free ("How the Railroad Won the War" 4). As well, the idea of railroads was considered so ingenious that Germany began to build rails. Ever since, they were loaded with military rails ("Military Railroads During the Civil War" 310). A man by the name of Herman Haupt supposedly built most of the Union's 22,000 miles of track. He was forced to work with untrained men, inadequate amounts of food and water, and even harsh weather, according to David A. Pfeiffer (2). This fact proves that

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Swantner, Eva. "Military Railroads during the Civil War." The Military Engineer, vol. 21, no. 118, 1929, pp. 310-16. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44573286. Accessed 27 Jan. 2023.

Allen, Thomas B., and Roger MacBride Allen. Mr. Lincoln's High-tech War: How the North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Ironclads, High-powered Weapons, and More to Win the Civil War.

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"How the Railroad Won the War." Smithsonian American Art Museum, americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/How-the-Railroad-Won-the-War.pdf. Accessed 25 Jan.