Railroads became an important factor during the Civil War especially to get troops to Washington D.C. once the war started as the Capitol was surrounded by Confederate states. The North had 21,000 miles of track and the South 9,000 at the start of the war giving the North an advantage and it was all the same gauge. Tactical use of railroads by the North was a force multiplier and the efforts by Bedford Forest and Mosby's Raiders did little to slow down the rail movement of troops and supplies. During the war Lincoln signed the legislation for a transcontinental railroad which was completed in 1869.