Jackson's operations against the B&O Railroad (1861)
In 1861, Confederate Colonel Stonewall Jackson led operations aimed at disrupting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), a key Union supply line, and at seizing locomotives and cars for the Confederacy. The B&O ran through Maryland and Virginia, with Harper’s Ferry as a crucial junction, and stretched toward the Ohio Valley. As Virginia moved toward secession, Confederate authorities saw Harper’s Ferry and the B&O as strategic targets.
Early in the summer of 1861, Confederate forces controlled the Virginia portion of the line and began destroying tracks and bridges. After Harper’s Ferry was evacuated and burned, attention turned to the Martinsburg shops and the surrounding railroad network. Jackson, then directing Virginia forces at Harper’s Ferry, learned that Union coal shipments were feeding ships blockading southern ports, and he moved to disrupt that traffic.
A notable event, described in many accounts, was a coordinated effort around May 23, 1861, to bottleneck and halt trains along a 44-mile stretch between Cherry Run and Harper’s Ferry, with a 32-mile Winchester spur nearby. In this phase, trains were delayed and the yard at Martinsburg filled with rolling stock. Advocates say a large number of locomotives and cars were subsequently captured or destroyed and that the railroad line was effectively cut off in the area.
Following this, Confederate forces destroyed bridges and tracks into late May and June, severing the B&O main line west of Point of Rocks and splitting the network. By June 2, bridges and rails around Martinsburg were being targeted, and a major bridge at Opequon Creek was destroyed. The result was a severe disruption of the line for months, with much of the rolling stock rendered unusable or moved south.
As the situation evolved, Jackson and other Confederate leaders faced strategic choices. In June, Virginia’s forces were placed under Confederate command, and Harper’s Ferry was judged indefensible. Jackson’s later moves included destroying the Martinsburg roundhouse, shops, and large portions of the track, in a bid to deny the railroad’s assets to the Union. Some locomotives and cars were salvaged and moved south to Strasburg, Virginia, and then on to Richmond. The process involved teams of men and improvised carts and wagons, with a number of engines ferried down the Valley to join Confederate rail networks. Estimates of how many engines and cars were moved or destroyed vary by source.
By late spring and early summer, the main stem of the B&O east of Point of Rocks remained open only intermittently, while the western sections and the Martinsburg shops were heavily damaged or dismantled. The Confederates ultimately burned or removed many locomotives and cars so they could not be used by Union forces. After these actions, the B&O faced a long rebuilding process.
The Union offensive on the Peninsula in 1862 and other military movements eventually pushed Confederate forces back from some railroad assets. The B&O line was reopened on March 30, 1862, after about ten months of disruption.
Historians disagree about the most sensational elements of this episode. Some say a dramatic May 23 raid involving a large capture of engines never happened exactly as described, noting that no Confederate or civilian orders seem to authorize such a sweeping seizure or to permit breaking civilian commerce without provocation. Others emphasize that substantial damage and the later salvage of engines did occur and that Confederate forces did disrupt the B&O and move locomotives south. The debate centers on how much of the famous story is myth and how much reflects real actions on the ground.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:05 (CET).