 Montgomery and West Point Railroad advertisement (1859) | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Alabama and Georgia |
| Dates of operation | 1832–1870 |
| Successor | Western Railway of Alabama |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) |
The Montgomery and West Point Railroad (M&WP) was an early 19th-century railroad in Alabama and Georgia. It played an important role during the American Civil War as a supply and transportation route for the Confederate Army, and, as such, was the target of a large raid by Union cavalry in the summer of 1864, called Wilson's Raid. The railroad played an important role in this business, and it became a symbol to industrialization in the United States. The railroads make it possible to supply large military forces that were needed in order to take over and conquer the Southern part of the United States.[1] During the early 19th-century, turnpikes, canals, and railroads all brought people to the west and more products to the east.[2] There was an effort in Americans during this time to build a railroad that would link Georgia to trade with the Tennessee and Ohio areas, and the M&WP was a starting point in helping to accomplish this goal.[3]
- ^ "Civil War (1861–65)".
- ^ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States. New York, United States: HarperCollins 'publishers. pp. 219. ISBN 9780060838652.
- ^ "The Beginning, Railroads Of The 1830s". American-Rails.com. Retrieved 2018-05-23.