Tracks To Triumph – The Strategic Role Of The Railroads In The Civil War

    AT THE START OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR both sides expected a quick and glorious victory. This perspective proved to be shortsighted. After four grueling years, it became apparent that the final outcome would have just as much to do with transportation as it did with soldiers and ammunition. Those who controlled the railroad stood the best chance of winning the war.

   Nearly every major battle east of the Mississippi River was fought within 20 miles of a railroad. There was simply no better way to transport troops, ammunition, and supplies across the country than the king of transportation in the mid-1800s.
    Drawing from extensive research, author and historian Ralph K. Hughes III takes a critical look at how both Northern and Southern railroad strategies influenced the outcome of numerous battles and, eventually, the end of the Civil War.
    Alongside 90 historic images, Hughes weaves together stories and statistics to shed light on an often overlooked side to this historical moment in American history. The tracks to triumph may be buried and forgotten, but the role they played from 1861-1864 lives on within these pages.