The "Wreck at the Fat Nancy" was one of the largest railroad disasters in Virginia's history. On the morning of July 12, 1888, the incident occurred when a trestle collapsed as a passenger train was atop it. Virginia Midland Railroad's Train 52—“The Piedmont Airline”—was crossing the 44-foot-high, 487-foot-long trestle when it gave way, sending the train to the ground. Twenty-six passengers were injured and nine were killed. One of the deceased was Cornelius G. Cox, the civil engineer who had designed a culvert to replace the trestle, which was known to be unstable. Among the passengers was former Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet, who was returning from the 25th reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg.