This is the account of an overlooked vestige of the early days of American railroads. A rare look at the small locomotive Mississippi , this history provides detailed descriptions of the hopes, painstaking labors, and crushing setbacks of early railroad building efforts in the Deep South. This antebellum locomotive was center stage during times of frequent change and occasional turmoil. A front-line participant in the Civil War, this locomotive carried the first railgun used in war, and was later captured and put into service for the Union. After years of postwar work, the refurbished Mississippi traveled to Chicago for presentation at the 1893 Columbian Exposition where she was displayed for millions. Throughout the next century, the little engine was displayed at exhibitions, state and county fairs, and museums where, despite her age and diminutive size, she always drew a crowd of admirers. Usually exhibited with more modern steam giants, the Mississippi held her own. Thoroughly researched and filled with rare illustrations, this book provides a rare glimpse into the early days of railroading, but also the triumph of painstaking historical preservation.