Robert Buffum

Stole a Confederate locomotive deep behind enemy lines.

Robert Buffum was born in 1828 in Salem, Massachusetts. During the American Civil War, he entered the United States Army and served with Company H of the 21st Ohio Infantry. His military career would eventually take him from private to second lieutenant, but the act that secured his place in American history came in 1862, when he volunteered for one of the most daring raids of the war.

Buffum became one of the Union soldiers selected to accompany civilian scout James J. Andrews on a secret mission deep inside Confederate territory. The plan was extraordinarily dangerous. The raiders were to travel south in small groups, blend into the local population, seize a locomotive in Georgia, and then race north toward Chattanooga while destroying railroad tracks, bridges, and telegraph lines behind them.

The objective was to disrupt the Western & Atlantic Railroad, an important Confederate transportation and communication route connecting Atlanta with Chattanooga.

On April 12, 1862, the raiders put their plan into action at Big Shanty, Georgia.

While the train crew and passengers were away from the locomotive during a breakfast stop, Andrews and his men seized the General, a wood-burning locomotive, along with several railcars. Buffum was among the Union volunteers who climbed aboard and began the dangerous run northward.

What followed became known as the Great Locomotive Chase.

As the General moved north, the raiders cut telegraph wires and attempted to damage the railroad behind them. Their intention was to isolate Confederate forces and destroy key infrastructure before the enemy could understand what was happening.

The mission quickly became a race.

Confederate railroad men began pursuing the stolen locomotive, using a succession of engines and other means to close the distance. The raiders faced delays caused by regular rail traffic, weather, and the difficulty of destroying track and bridges while maintaining enough speed to stay ahead of their pursuers.

The original plan depended heavily on surprise and timing. As the pursuit intensified, those advantages disappeared.

Eventually, the General ran low on fuel, and the raiders were forced to abandon it before reaching Chattanooga.

Buffum and the others scattered into the countryside and attempted to escape through Confederate territory.

The danger was now even greater. They were Union soldiers operating far behind enemy lines without the protection of a conventional military formation. Capture could bring imprisonment and, because of the nature of the raid, potentially much harsher consequences.

Buffum was captured.

Several members of the raiding party were executed by Confederate authorities, including James Andrews. Others remained imprisoned or attempted escape. Buffum survived captivity and was eventually released through prisoner exchange.

His participation in the raid was formally recognized the following year.

On March 25, 1863, Robert Buffum became one of the earliest soldiers ever to receive the Medal of Honor. He was among the first six Army recipients presented with the newly created decoration for their participation in the Great Locomotive Chase.

The award recognized the extraordinary risks taken by the raiders when they entered enemy territory, seized a Confederate locomotive, and attempted to destroy strategically important railroad and communication links.

At the time, the Medal of Honor was still a new decoration. Congress had authorized the Army Medal of Honor in 1862, during the Civil War. Buffum’s award therefore belongs to the very beginning of its history.

His recognition was not based on a traditional battlefield charge or the capture of an enemy flag. Instead, it honored participation in an unconventional operation that demanded secrecy, initiative, endurance, and the willingness to operate far from friendly forces.

The raid ultimately failed to achieve all of its strategic objectives, but its audacity captured national attention. The story of Union soldiers stealing a locomotive in the heart of Confederate territory and racing north under pursuit became one of the most famous episodes of the Civil War.

Buffum continued his military career after the raid and eventually reached the rank of second lieutenant.

The transition from private soldier to commissioned officer reflected a military career that continued beyond the single dramatic episode for which he became best known. Yet the Great Locomotive Chase remained the defining event of his service.

Buffum lived only a few years beyond the Civil War. He died on July 20, 1871, in Auburn, New York, at approximately forty-three years of age.

His legacy remains inseparable from the mission he accepted in 1862.

He volunteered to travel hundreds of miles into hostile territory.

He helped seize a locomotive from the Confederacy.

He joined an attempt to destroy railroad and telegraph connections vital to the Southern war effort.

When the mission failed, he endured capture and imprisonment.

For that extraordinary service, Robert Buffum became one of the earliest recipients of the Medal of Honor.

The Great Locomotive Chase did not unfold as its planners had hoped, but the courage required to attempt it was undeniable. Buffum’s willingness to take part in the raid placed him among a small group of soldiers whose actions helped define the earliest history of America’s highest military decoration.