If James J. Andrews' plan had worked, it could have dramatically altered the course of the war, but the General's young conductor had other ideas. At first, he gave chase to the stolen locomotive on foot, then on a handcar, and finally on board another train until he forced the Unionists to abandon their plan as they ran out of fuel. Out of the original group of twenty volunteers, six of the survivors were awarded the very first American Medal of Honour by Abraham Lincoln. "Stealing the General" is the first and most complete account of this momentous episode in American history.