The Military Situation in the Southeast, Spring, 1862
The object of the Andrews Raid, the Western & Atlantic Railroad was a vital link in the southeast area of the Confederacy. It connected Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, but also provided access by diverging routes to other major Southern cities such as New Orleans, Mobile, Montgomery, Charleston, Wilmington, Savannah, Augusta, and points farther west and north. With these rail lines, men and supplies moved rapidly in this region.
The defense line of Confederate forces in the spring of 1862 extended from Richmond, Virginia to Corinth, Mississippi. A rail line ran from Richmond to Memphis via Chattanooga, Knoxville, and East Tennessee connecting the eastern and western sections of the Confederacy.
A focal point of Federal strategy in the spring was to take Chattanooga and sever rail transportation, thus the impetus for the Andrews Raid.
Andrews, a civilian, was engaged in espionage behind Confederate lines under the sponsorship of Federal officers. He would smuggle needed supplies south and at the same time bring back military information. In March, 1862, Andrews got his employer, General Don Carlos Buell, to sponsor a raid to cut the Memphis & Charleston Railroad and the Western & Atlantic Railroad. The raid did not succeed.
In the meantime, Maj. Gen. Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel had taken over command in the region from General Buell, who was sent to southwest Tennessee. Mitchel wanted to move southeast with his army and seize Huntsville, Alabama, then turn east in hopes of capturing Chattanooga. Andrews proposed that this time he make a raid to try and destroy the Western & Atlantic Railroad link to Chattanooga, thus isolating the city from Atlanta. In hopes of achieving success Andrews would take along his own railroad engineers.
At the time that Andrews and Mitchel were discussing plans for the raid on the railroad, a major battle was taking place farther west in Tennessee at a place called Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. It resulted in a marginal Federal victory which would severely impact Confederate strategy in this part of the country.