Biden awards the Medal of Honor to Civil War heroes 162 years later

Two Union soldiers who took part in one of America’s first special operations 162 years ago will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on Wednesday.

Descendants of Pvt. George Wilson and Pvt. Shadrach received a long-awaited call from the White House informing them that the Civil War heroes would be awarded the nation’s highest military award for “gallantry and intrepidity” in defense of the Union.

President Joe Biden was on the other end of the line, they said, calling on Theresa Chandler, Pvt. Wilson’s great-great-granddaughter, and Gerald Taylor, Pvt. Shadrach’s great-great-grandson, to accept the medal on behalf of the men who, as part of a group of 24 volunteers, sneaked behind Confederate lines in an act of unprecedented bravery.

The Union soldiers – dressed in civilian clothes like spies – managed to penetrate 200 miles into Confederate territory, where they hijacked a train – “The General” – and drove it 90 miles from Georgia to Tennessee.

During the so-called “Great Locomotive Chase” on April 12, 1862, Union fighters destroyed Confederate railroad tracks and telegraph lines and awarded 19 of them the Medal of Honor, making them the first group of Army soldiers to receive this award.

Despite the devastation, the ambitious plan failed. The soldiers were captured. Some escaped and received their medals after the war, while a group of eight attackers – including Wilson and Shadrach – were tried and hanged by the Confederacy.

For this reason, Wilson and Shadrach were never given the award posthumously – as historians claim.

Ron Shadrach, a descendant of Pvt. Shadrach who was only 21 when he volunteered for the mission, and historian Brad Quinlon teamed up to push Shadrach and Wilson’s case. A 2008 congressional bill even cleared the way for Wilson and Shadrach to be honored, but for reasons akin to “bureaucratic red tape,” the call just never came, some family members said.

Shadrach and Quinlon met in 2012 and presented their case for twelve years, but before they did, a relative of Private Shadrach had already sent letters to President Jimmy Carter.

At the beginning of the Biden administration, two former generals – one of them a four-star general – joined Shadrach and Quinlon’s efforts.

Quinlon is convinced that the secret mission, which the White House describes as one of the first special operations in US history, could have shortened the civil war by up to two years if successful.

“I mean, these were ordinary citizens – a worker, a carpenter,” he said.

“They enlisted. They weren’t drafted, they volunteered. And then suddenly the message comes, you know, we’re looking for volunteers to come and do what? Go into a hundred miles of Confederate territory to steal a train. They stayed. They were given a chance, they could have left after that, but they stayed.”

“I guess if we didn’t actually do it, do we really know how much courage it took?”

Before their execution, Private Wilson is said to have given a short speech at the gallows in which he declared that he did not regret his actions to save the Union.

“He announced that they would see the United States flag flying over them once again,” Ron Shadrack said.

Two years later the time had come.

Shadrack worked on the case for more than 12 years to set the historical record straight, but most of all, he said, he did so in memory of his ancestors’ sacrifices.

“We can’t really comprehend what they went through,” said the Ohio native, who endured a period of captivity that included flogging and torture.

“I wanted to serve my country, but I didn’t,” Shadrack said. “And now I could do this…” he said, his voice choked, as if he was coming to terms with this moment – a day that pays tribute to a day 162 years ago that he fought so long for.

“And I think that’s something any normal American would do,” he said. “That’s what we’re doing.”

Quinlon has examined the actions of Medal of Honor recipients in his work and said the award – which has been given to some 3,500 soldiers throughout U.S. history – has documented American history on the battlefield.

“I wouldn’t have taken on the project if I didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. I understand the Medal of Honor. I understand the importance it holds in our military today. And every soldier looks up to a Medal of Honor recipient. Even generals take a seat when a Medal of Honor recipient wears it,” he said.

A later recipient of the Medal of Honor saved the life of Quinlon’s father in the Philippines during World War II, who was killed fighting against the Japanese.

“I am here because of what William Shockley did on March 31, 1945. I understand the courage and sacrifice of the Medal of Honor,” Quinlon said.