Context: On October 25, 1836, construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh. In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro, High Point, and Charlotte. During the Civil War, the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Question: What was the name of the railroad that began construction in 1836?
Answer: Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad

Question: The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad was going to connect Wilmington to what city?
Answer: Raleigh

Question: In 1849, what railroad was created?
Answer: North Carolina Railroad

Question: What direction did the North carolina railroad extend?
Answer: west

Question: What stretch of the railroad was vital to the confederates in the civil war?
Answer: Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch