McMinnville and Manchester Railroad
| Locale | Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1856–1877 |
| Successor |
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Company Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company Seaboard System Railroad Company |
| Track gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm) |
The McMinnville and Manchester Railroad Company was chartered by an Act of the legislature of the State of Tennessee on February 4, 1850. Under this charter, the railroad company built a line of railroad from McMinnville, Tennessee southwesterly through Manchester, Tennessee to Tullahoma, Tennessee, where it connected with the railroad line of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Company.
The McMinnville and Manchester company opened 34.2 miles (55.0 km) of 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge railroad between McMinnville and Tullahoma in November 1856. In the absence of any contract with the original owner that differed with the franchises granted by law, the railroad was entitled to a right-of-way extended 100 feet (30.5 m) on either side of the center of the railroad line.
The McMinnville and Manchester Railroad line was leased to and operated by the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad for five years from January 1, 1857. During the American Civil War, in early 1862, the railroad came under Union Army control. In August 1862, the area through which the line was located came under Confederate States Army control for almost a year before it was reoccupied by Union forces.
Because of its strategic location in southeastern Tennessee, about 55 miles (89 km) north of Chattanooga, Tennessee and its connection with the important Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, the McMinnville and Manchester line and equipment was fought over, used and damaged by both Union and Confederate armies.
In late August 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg began the Confederate Heartland Offensive, which culminated in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky on October 8, 1862. Bragg intended to recruit troops and support in Kentucky and to divert the Union Army's attention from Chattanooga and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Union Major General Don Carlos Buell's army was in control of most of southeastern Tennessee. Buell decided to deploy his force to stop Bragg from marching on Nashville, Tennessee. Union Major General George H. Thomas held McMinnville with two divisions. Three other divisions were to the south at Altamont, Tennessee where they could maneuver to concentrate at various points to block Bragg's routes to Nashville, although the terrain was rugged. Thomas thought that the army should concentrate at McMinnville, in part because the railroad provided a line of supply and in part because it would be easy for Bragg to bypass Altamont, which he did after a successful diversionary attack there by Confederate Colonel Joseph Wheeler's cavalry. After Buell decided to withdraw all of his forces to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and then to Nashville to protect against Bragg's offensive, he had to race north with his army when he realized Bragg's actual objective was Kentucky. After the Battle of Perryville, as Bragg discovered that few recruits and little support had been found for the Confederate cause in Kentucky, he withdrew to Murfreesboro in the face of growing Union forces and extended.
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