Wilmington and Manchester Railroad
| Dates of operation | 1853–1870 |
|---|---|
| Successor | Wilmington and Carolina Railroad |
| Track gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm) |
The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was a railroad that served South Carolina and North Carolina before, during and after the American Civil War. It received its charter in 1846 and began operation in 1853 from Wilmington, North Carolina, extending west to Camden Crossing, South Carolina. The track gauge was 5 ft (1,524 mm).[1]
Route
The 173 miles (278 km) route was built to haul South Carolina cotton to the Port of Wilmington, which was attempting to compete with the Port of Charleston.[2] The railroad would go on to become a major shipper of naval stores and cotton.[3]
American Civil War
The line was devastated at the end of the war between the States when Union Gen. William T. Sherman dispatched some 2,500 federal troops from the South Carolina coast to locate locomotives and rolling stock that the Confederates were hiding in the state's hinterland.[4] In April 1865, the force, under Gen. Edward E. Potter located nine locomotives and approximately 200 cars, many belonging to the Wilmington and Manchester, near Manchester, South Carolina, and destroyed them.
Bankruptcy
Gen. William MacRae took over as superintendent in January 1866 and helped get the line back in operating order. However, the Wilmington and Manchester declared bankruptcy in 1870. The railroad was reorganized as the short-lived Wilmington and Carolina Railroad and again as the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad.