Medal of Honor Given to 2 Union Soldiers for Confederate Train Raid
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US President Joe Biden has posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to two Civil War Union soldiers, Philip G. Shadrach and George D. Wilson, for their role in the Great Locomotive Chase. The daring mission saw the men join others in stealing a locomotive from Confederate territory and driving it north for 87 miles, destroying railroad tracks and telegraph lines in the process. Despite being captured and executed by hanging, Shadrach and Wilson were never honoured with the medal, a wrong that Biden stated has now been corrected.
President Biden Honors Civil War Heroes with Medal of Honor
President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to two Union soldiers who showed exceptional gallantry during the Civil War. Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach and Pvt. George D. Wilson displayed courage by stealing a Confederate locomotive, destroying railroad tracks and telegraph lines across 87 miles. Unfortunately, they were captured and executed by hanging, but their bravery is being honored 162 years later.
Biden stated that apart from these two soldiers, everyone who joined the mission received the Medal of Honor. He emphasized that this ceremony was a way of righting that wrong. The Civil War’s legacy continues to shape U.S. politics, making this recognition especially poignant.
President Biden has compared modern threats to democracy, such as the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, to the Civil War era. The President underscored that Shadrach and Wilson were fighting for the Union’s ideals like freedom, justice, fairness, and unity.
Theresa Chandler, Wilson’s great-great-granddaughter, and Brian Taylor, a great-great-great-nephew of Shadrach, both expressed their pride and appreciation for their ancestors’ recognition. Shadrach and Wilson were part of a daring mission known as the Great Locomotive Chase, which aimed to disrupt Confederate communication lines.
Confederate troops eventually caught the group of Union soldiers who hijacked the train. Eight of them were executed, including Shadrach and Wilson, while the others either escaped or remained prisoners of war. Pvt. Jacob Parrott, another participant in the raid, was the first person ever to receive the Medal of Honor.
The authorization for Shadrach and Wilson to posthumously receive the Medal of Honor came as part of the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. This action serves as a reminder of the individuals who fought bravely for their country during one of the most divisive periods in U.S. history.
Background on the Honorees
Philip Shadrach, born in 1840 in Pennsylvania, was orphaned at a young age. He left home in 1861 to enlist in an Ohio infantry regiment at the start of the Civil War. George Wilson was born in 1830 in Belmont County, Ohio. Prior to the war, he worked as a journeyman shoemaker and enlisted in an Ohio-based volunteer infantry in 1861.
The audacious act of stealing a Confederate locomotive to disrupt enemy lines has been the subject of films such as Walt Disney’s 1956 movie, “The Great Locomotive Chase”, and the 1926 silent film “The General”, starring Buster Keaton.
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