Trivia 03-18-19 I've been working on the Railroad

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I worked for the railroad, saved my money and invested wisely with the help of friends, becoming financially successful before the war. At the outset of hostilities, I joined the US cause. Although not a soldier, I served with distinction helping to assure the US victory. After the war, I gained even more success and fame. My name was known in large and small communities all over America.
Who am I?
What was my Civil War service?

credit: @WJC
 
I believe you are Andrew Carnegie
You were appointed in the spring of 1861 to serve as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government’s telegraph lines in the East. He helped open rail lines that had been destroyed even riding the locomotive that placed the first Union troops to Washington.
 
Thomas A Scott - Assistant Secretary Of War

Edit - I will accept Scott as a correct answer to the question. He did work for the railroad and made a lot of money before the war, he did serve as Assistant Secretary of War, he was president of several railroads after the war, and his name did become widely known, though perhaps not in the best way, as a robber baron and strike breaker.

hoosier
 
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Could be railroad tycoon Andrew Carnegie, who helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut; he rode the locomotive pulling the first brigade of Union troops to reach Washington D.C. Following the defeat of Union forces at Bull Run, he personally supervised the transportation of the defeated forces. Under his organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory. Carnegie later joked that he was "the first casualty of the war" (= distinction) when he gained a scar on his cheek when he pulled up telegraph wires the Confederate Army had buried. After the war he founded 3000 public libraries and thus became known in large and small communities all over America.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Carnegie&oldid=887105301
https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h981.html
https://spartacus-educational.com/USAcarnegie.htm

Another option could be railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, who received the Congressional Gold Medal during the Civil War for donating his steamer "Vanderbilt" to the US Navy. After the war he gained even more success and fame through his railroad imperium and his name became the epitome of wealth and was therefore known in large and small communities all over America. Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cornelius_Vanderbilt&oldid=883880964

Vanderbilt sure has received the greater distinction with his Congressional Gold Medal, but as the question asks for someone who started in railroad business and I think Vanderbilt was more in steamboat business before the war, my final answers are:

1) Who am I: Andrew Carnegie
2) What was my Civil War Service: I served in the War Department reorganizing telegraph service for the Union army, which was a significant help for the eventual victory.
 
Who am I? Andrew Carnegie

What was my Civil War service? Served "as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. Carnegie helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut; he rode the locomotive pulling the first brigade of Union troops to reach Washington D.C. Following the defeat of Union forces at Bull Run, he personally supervised the transportation of the defeated forces. Under his organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory."

Source
 
If the answer isn't Andrew Carnegie, it should be. He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He worked for Thomas Scott. During the Civil War, when Scott was named assistant secretary of war in charge of transportation, Carnegie went to Washington to act as Scott's right-hand man and to organize the military telegraph system. Carnegie helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut; he rode the locomotive pulling the first brigade of Union troops to reach Washington D.C. Following the defeat of Union forces at Bull Run, he personally supervised the transportation of the defeated forces. Under his organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory. Carnegie later joked that he was "the first casualty of the war" when he gained a scar on his cheek from freeing a trapped telegraph wire.
Later in life, Andrew Carnegie went on to be a very rich man and his philanthropic efforts were seen in many towns and cities. Here in Western Pa, Andrew Carnegie is associated with museum's, libraries, and many other public institutions. You can't drive far in the Pittsburgh area without seeing Cangie's name on something. He named one of his steel mills in Pittsburgh the Edgar Thompson works after the Pa railroad president. Carnegie Libraries are all over the US.

Vanderbilt is a candidate but he doesn't live up to Carnegies story.


https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/social-sciences-and-law/business-leaders/andrew-carnegie
 
Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919).
In spring 1861, Carnegie was appointed by Scott, who was now Assistant Secretary of War in charge of military transportation, as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. Carnegie helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut; he rode the locomotive pulling the first brigade of Union troops to reach Washington D.C. Following the defeat of Union forces at Bull Run, he personally supervised the transportation of the defeated forces. Under his organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory. Carnegie later joked that he was "the first casualty of the war" when he gained a scar on his cheek from freeing a trapped telegraph wire. Defeat of the Confederacy required vast supplies of munitions, as well as railroads (and telegraph lines) to deliver the goods. The war demonstrated how integral the industries were to American success.
source-wiki
 
Andrew Carnegie, who served as Superintendent of US Military Railroads and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. Carnegie helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut; he rode the locomotive pulling the first brigade of Union troops to reach Washington D.C. He also supervised the transportation of the Union troops after First Bull Run and helped repair cut telegraph lines. Under his organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory.
 
I think you are Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919).
During the Civil War, you were Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. Under your organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory.

Source: Wikipedia
 
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Donated his largest steam ship to Union Navy.

Edit - I will accept Vanderbilt as an answer. Though his primary activity prior to the Civil War was as a steamboat entrepreneur, he did attain the presidency of a railroad prior to the Civil War. After the Civil War, he became president of the New York Central.

hoosier
 
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You are Andrew Carnegie .
In spring 1861, Carnegie was appointed by Scott, who was now Assistant Secretary of War in charge of military transportation, as Superintendent of the Military Railways and the Union Government's telegraph lines in the East. Carnegie helped open the rail lines into Washington D.C. that the rebels had cut; he rode the locomotive pulling the first brigade of Union troops to reach Washington D.C. Following the defeat of Union forces at Bull Run, he personally supervised the transportation of the defeated forces. Under his organization, the telegraph service rendered efficient service to the Union cause and significantly assisted in the eventual victory. Carnegie later joked that he was "the first casualty of the war" when he gained a scar on his cheek from freeing a trapped telegraph wire.
Defeat of the Confederacy required vast supplies of munitions, as well as railroads (and telegraph lines) to deliver the goods. The war demonstrated how integral the industries were to American success.
In 1864, Carnegie was one of the early investors in the Columbia Oil Company in Venango County, Pennsylvania.[29] In one year, the farm yielded over $1,000,000 in cash dividends, and petroleum from oil wells on the property sold profitably. The demand for iron products, such as armor for gunboats, cannons, and shells, as well as a hundred other industrial products, made Pittsburgh a center of wartime production. Carnegie worked with others in establishing a steel rolling mill, and steel production and control of industry became the source of his fortune. Carnegie had some investments in the iron industry before the war. (Wikipedia)
 
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