Civil War Train Thieves to Receive Medal of Honor

Two members of Andrews' Raiders, a legendary contingent of the Union Army that stole a Confederate train during the Civil War, are getting the Medal of Honor. Six members of the group, made up of 22 soldiers and two civilians, were awarded the very first Medals of Honor in the nation's history on March 25, 1863. Over the next two decades, another 13 members were recognized for their role in what became known as the Great Locomotive Chase, per WTVC. A century and a half later, George Wilson and Philip Shadrach, both hanged for their actions, will be the 20th and 21st to receive the medal after a campaign led by the Shadrach family and historian and author Brad Quinlin.

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All 24 men left Shelbyville, Tennessee, in early April 1862, bound for Marietta, Georgia, where they planned to steal the Confederate Army's General train and destroy the rail line between Atlanta and Chattanooga. Just 22 made it to Marietta and two overslept the following morning so that only 20 boarded the train on April 12, 1862, per WTVC. They seized control of the locomotive near Kennesaw, then rode the train northward toward Chattanooga, "doing as much damage as possible to the vital Western and Atlantic Railroad line as they went," according to the Medal of Honor Heritage Center. The mission "was extremely important for the morale of the north," retired Army Gen. BB Bell tells WTVC, noting "enlistments skyrocketed" in the aftermath.

The 22 men who reached Marietta were eventually captured after the train was abandoned north of Ringgold. Wilson and Shadrach were among eight to be court-martialed as spies and hanged. "Wilson was considered the most remarkable man of the whole group," per WKRC. "He spoke before he was hanged saying he had no hard feelings for the southerners," whom he claimed were deceived by their leaders and would come to regret the rebellion against the United States. It's unclear why Wilson and Shadrach weren't recognized previously. Even a Raiders member who was stopped by Confederates before reaching Georgia was offered a Medal of Honor, though he declined it, per WTVC. The medals will be posthumously awarded Wednesday at the White House. (More Medal of Honor stories.)