The Raid

The movie is based on a true event: On October 19, 1864, 21 Confederate cavalrymen entered the U.S from Canada, arriving about 15 miles south in St. Albans, Vermont. Confederate agent George Sanders organized the event, and Lieutenant Bennett Young led the raid. Young mounted the steps of a hotel and shouted, "This city is now in the possession of the Confederate States of America!" The Confederates robbed three banks, then ran back over the border. They also planned to blow up downtown with dynamite, but it rained. In 1914, Vermont placed a historic marker in front of Taylor Park, commemorating what became the northernmost engagement of the Civil War. A commemorative plaque is at the entrance of what was the Franklin County Bank. It is the only one of the three banks involved that is still standing and still a bank.

When Major Benton gets off the train the first time, the sound of air brakes is clearly heard. However, the Westinghouse air brake was not invented until 1869, five years after the action in the movie occurred.

Featured in Sven Uslings Bio: The Raid (2024)