 Based on a true incident during the Civil War. A group of Union  spies, both soldiers and civilians, stole a Confederate train, the  General, in hopes of disrupting Confederate rail lines. As in the  film, the conductor of the train ended up chasing after the train  thieves on foot. The Union spies, however, failed in their mission  and were captured. A few were executed while others were traded in a  prisoner exchange. The survivors of the mission were awarded the  first Congressional Medals of Honor.