In April of 1862 a group of men to undertake one of the most daring raids of the American Civil War. The Adventures of Alf Wilson is the personal account of the raid by one of its members, reproduced here as it was originally published in 1897. Twenty-four Union soldiers, by order of Gen. Ormsby Mitchell, disguise themselves as southerners and make their way to Marietta Georgia. There, within earshot of a confederate encampment, the men steal the locomotive The General. Their orders are to sever the Western & Atlantic Railroad. If the men succeed, they will cripple enemy troop movement. If caught, they will surely be hanged as spies. Spotted by a canny stationmaster, a high-speed chase ensues and desperate men fight to carry out their mission and survive the outcome.