List of US military railroad civil engineers in the American Civil War explained

The U.S. Military Railroad (USMRR) was established by the United States War Department as a separate agency to operate any rail lines seized by the government during the American Civil War. An Act of Congress of 31 January 1862^[1] authorized President Abraham Lincoln to seize control of the railroads and telegraph for military use in January 1862.^[2] In practice, however, the USMRR restricted its authority to Southern rail lines captured in the course of the war. As a separate organization for rail transportation, the USMRR is one of the predecessors of the modern United States Army Transportation Corps.

This is a partial list of the civil engineers who worked on the USMRR during the American Civil War (1862-1867) as reported by General Daniel McCallum in 1866.^{[3] [4]}

Military railroads of Virginia (1862–1866)

• Anderson, Adna (1827–1889), engineer of repairs for railroads running from Alexandria.
• Beggs, John S., (1821–1889)^[5] superintendent of railroads running from Harper's Ferry, West Virginia (Winchester and Potomac Railroad). (1864)

• Clough, Joel Barber (1823–1887), Construction engineer (1863)
• Devereux, John Henry, (1832–1886), superintendent of railroads running from Alexandria, Virginia. (1862)
• Hays, T. D., engineer of repairs for railroads running from City Point Railroad. (1866)
• Henry, William E.(1820–1900) supervisor, Const. Corp., Alexandria.
• Huntington, G. M., superintendent of railroads running from City Point Railroad. (1864–1865)
• McAlpine, C. L, engineer of repairs for railroads running from City Point Railroad. (1864–1865)
• McCallum, P., superintendent of railroads running from Alexandria, Virginia. (1865)
• McCrikett, M. J., superintendent of railroads running from Alexandria, Virginia. (1864)
• Moore, James J. (1821–1899) engineer of repairs for railroads running from Alexandria.^[6] (1863–1865)
• Wentz, Erasmus Livingston, (1818–1900), engineer and superintendent, Richmond and York River Railroad and Norfolk railroads.^{[7] [8] [9]}
• Wright, William Wierman (1824–1882) engineer and superintendent, Aquia Creek Railroad;
• Woodward, H. F., superintendent, Norfolk railroads. (1864–1865)

Military railroads in the department of the Mississippi (1864–1865)

• Anderson, Adna (1827–1889), general superintendent of railroads in 1864.
• Burgin, John F. division engineer of Fourth Division of Construction Corps in 1864.
• Cheney, A. J., superintendent Knoxville and Bristol Railroad and Chattanooga, and Atlanta Railroad in 1865.
• Clark, Col. John (1822–1872), in charge of construction on the Nashville and Northwestern railroad in 1864.
  • William McDonald, assistant engineer.
  • Charles Latimer, assistant engineer.
• Dickinson, A. W., superintendent for Nashville railroads in 1865.
• Eicholtz, L. H. (1827–1911) division engineer of First Division in 1864 and acting chief engineer of Construction Corps as necessary in 1865.
• Gifford, W. R., superintendent for Nashville, Decatur, and Stevenson Railroad in 1865.
• Goodhue, A. F., (d.1912)^[10] engineer and superintendent railroads at Memphis, Tenn., and Columbus, Ky in 1864 and then West Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas in 1865.^[11]
• Hebard, Alfred,(1811–1896)^[12] engineer of repairs for Nashville railroads in 1865.
• Hudson, George W., superintendent for Nashville railroads in 1865.
• Kingsley, W. R., division engineer of Fifth Division of Construction Corps in 1864 and division engineer on the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad in 1865.
• Smeed, Eben C., division engineer of Second Division of Construction Corps in 1864 and engineer of repairs in North Carolina in 1865.
• Stevens, W. J., superintendent railroads running from Nashville in 1864 and general superintendent in 1865.
• McPherson, R. B. assistant general superintendent in 1865.
• Talmadge, A. A., superintendent Chattanooga railroads in 1865.
• Van Dyne, J. B., chief master of transportation in 1865.
• Wentz, Erasmus Livingston, (1818-1900), general superintendent of railroads in 1865.
• Wright, Col. L. P., superintendent railroads running from Chattanooga in 1864 and Memphis railroads in 1865.
• Wright, William Wierman (1824–1882) chief engineer of Construction Corps (1864-1865) and general superintendent of military railroads in North Carolina in 1865.

Notes and References

1. News: Records Relating to the U.S. Military Railroads. 2016-08-15. National Archives. 2017-06-19. en.
2. Gable, Railroad Generalship, p. 13.
3. United States., & McCallum, D. C. (1866). United States military railroads (USMRR), report of Bvt. Brig. Gen. D.C. McCallum, director, and general manager, from 1861 to 1866. Washington, D.C.: publisher not identified.
4. United States. War Department, et al. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Prepared Under the Direction of the... Secretary of War. Index. US Government Printing Office,1901. Series III, Volume V.
5. Book: Anon. . Historical and descriptive review of Dunkirk, Chautauque county, N.Y. . Hathi Trust . 1889 . 3 September 2020.
6. The Railway Age and Northwestern Railroader, Volume 28 November 17, 1899, page 860
7. Web site: Wentzville Historical Society . News Time. November 27, 2016.
8. Bennett, John D. Placenames of the Civil War: Cities, Towns, Villages, Railroad Stations, Forts, Camps, Islands, Rivers, Creeks, Fords and Ferries. McFarland, 2012.
9. Web site: Younkman . Tim . Bay City Civil War profile: E.L. Wentz worked as an engineer, helped plan and build railroad lines crucial in war effort . The Bay City Times . 9 April 2011 . 1 September 2020. https://www.buysellrentmo.com/wentzville/
10. Galveston Daily News, May 28, 1912 Page 5
11. Web site: Historic Beaumont . Yumpu . Beaumont Chamber of commerce . 12 September 2020.
12. Gue, B. F. (1903). History of Iowa from the earliest times to the beginning of the twentieth century by Benjamin T. Gue. New York: Century history Co. Vol 4, page 124.