author
William Pittenger
1840–1904
Best known for his vivid firsthand account of the Great Locomotive Chase, this Civil War veteran wrote with the urgency of someone who had truly lived the story. His books blend adventure, hardship, and memory in a way that still feels immediate.
7 Audiobooks
Daring and Suffering: A History of the Great Railroad Adventure
by William Pittenger
Famous Adventures and Prison Escapes of the Civil War
by Basil Wilson Duke, Thomas Henry Hines, Frank E. Moran, William Pittenger, A. E. (Adolphus Edwards) Richards, W. H. (William Henry) Shelton, Orlando B. Willcox, John Taylor Wood
How to Become a Public Speaker Showing the best manner of arranging thought so as to gain conciseness, ease and fluency in speech
by William Pittenger
Capturing a Locomotive: A History of Secret Service in the Late War.
by William Pittenger
Toasts and Forms of Public Address for Those Who Wish to Say the Right Thing in the Right Way
by William Pittenger
Oratory Sacred and Secular; Or, The Extemporaneous Speaker With Sketches of the Most Eminent Speakers of All Ages
by William Pittenger
Extempore Speech: How to Acquire and Practice It
by William Pittenger
About the author
Born in Ohio in 1840, William Pittenger was an American soldier, Methodist minister, and writer whose name is closely tied to one of the most dramatic episodes of the Civil War: Andrews' Raid, also known as the Great Locomotive Chase. He served in the Union Army, was captured during the raid, and later became one of the early recipients of the Medal of Honor.
As an author, he is remembered above all for writing about that experience. His best-known book, Daring and Suffering: A History of the Great Railroad Adventure, helped preserve the story for later generations and gave readers a detailed, personal view of wartime danger, imprisonment, and survival.
After the war, Pittenger also worked as a Methodist minister and continued to write. He died in California in 1904, leaving behind a body of work shaped by direct experience, strong conviction, and a clear gift for telling a gripping true story.