On the morning of April 12, 1862 a daring raid was launched by 17 volunteer Union soldiers and two civilian spies in the Confederate territory of Big Shanty (now Marietta), Georgia, just north of Atlanta. The men dressed in civilian clothes and commandeered a passenger train, The General, and proceeded north toward Chattanooga. Their intention was to sabotage the track along the way, and destroy bridges and telegraph lines, thereby cutting off Atlanta from vital supplies. Removing the route would also prove to be a defense for Union forces then planning to advance on Chattanooga. The abandoned conductor of he General, William Allen Fuller, along with two other men, immediately proceeded to chase the saboteurs - they started their pursuit on foot, and then used a handcar, and they finally took charge of another locomotive, The Texas. Fuller picked up several Confederate troops, and was never very far away from The General, which had stopped several times to cause damage to rail lines and switches. The Union saboteurs failed to destroy any bridges, however, and they ran out of fuel for The General just a few miles short of Chattanooga. The men split up and ran from the train, but all were eventually caught by Confederate troops. The two civilians and six of the Union soldiers were hanged as spies; the others were imprisoned and of those six escaped from prison and the others were later exchanged for Confederate prisoners. Most of the Union soldiers were awarded some of the first Medal of Honors - the highest military decoration given by the United States government.