The Patriot Post® · Profiles of Valor: PVTs Shadrach and Wilson, the Last Raiders

The families of two long-overdue Medal of Honor nominees received those Medals this week on behalf of their Civil War Veteran ancestors, PVT Philip Shadrach and PVT George Wilson. Both men were with the 2nd Ohio Voluntary Infantry Regiment and the last two of the 24 Andrews’ Raiders, who had yet to be recognized for their service.

As you recall, the actions of Andrews’ Raiders on April 12, 1862, known as the Great Locomotive Chase, resulted in the first Medal of Honor awards in our nation’s history.

The operation was conceived by James Andrews, a civilian spy and scout, with the assistance of another scout, William Campbell. It involved 22 volunteer Union soldiers from three Ohio regiments: The 2nd, 21st, and 33rd Ohio Infantry. Their mission was to steal a locomotive deep in Confederate territory and travel north, burning bridges and destroying tracks, switches, and telegraph lines on the main line between Chattanooga and Atlanta. The purpose was to disrupt critical wartime supply lines.

The plan commenced north of Marietta in Big Shanty (Kennesaw), where Raiders boldly boarded The General locomotive while its engineers and passengers had breakfast at the nearby Lacy Hotel. The Union spies detached the passenger cars and headed north with three boxcars carrying the Raiders. Over the next six hours, they would be pursued for 87 miles by The General’s conductor, William Fuller, and two of his men.

The Raiders traveled through Kingston to Adairsville, gaining ground on their pursuers until Fuller and his men stopped a southbound freight train, The Texas, just south of the Adairsville station. They dropped its cars, picked up some Union soldiers, put The Texas in reverse, and pursued the Raiders northward.

They went through Calhoun, Resaca, Dalton, and Tunnel Hill, gaining on The General until the commandeered engine ran out of fuel and, thus, out of steam just north of Ringgold, Georgia, near the Tennessee line.

It was there that Andrews’s men were ordered to abandon The General, as he declared, “Every man for yourself.” Within two weeks, Andrews and all of his men were captured. Andrews was hung as a spy on June 7, 1862, and 10 days later, seven other Raiders — Union troops George Wilson, Charles Shadrach, Marion Ross, John Scott, Samuel Slavens, and Samuel Robertson, as well as civilian guide William Campbell — were also hung. The others would be part of prisoner exchanges or paroled at the end of the war.

In March 1863, the first Medals of Honor were awarded to members of the Raiders by Abraham Lincoln for their actions in April 1862. Jacob Parrott was the very first recipient, followed by 18 of the other 24 Raiders. One Raider declined the Medal, saying his role did not qualify. The two civilians, Andrews and Campbell, were not eligible for the award.

After the War Between the States concluded, the bodies of the eight executed Raiders were exhumed in Atlanta and reburied near the entrance to Chattanooga National Cemetery, where a prominent monument featuring “The General” locomotive was erected in their honor. Chattanooga National Cemetery is the second oldest in the nation after the smaller Gettysburg National Cemetery and is located a few miles from our nation’s first National Military Park at Chickamauga.

This week, 161 years since the first Raiders Medals were awarded, the last two of Andrews’s volunteers, PVTs Shadrach and Wilson, have been added to the roster of 3,517 other Medal of Honor recipients, each of whom has been recognized by a grateful nation for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life,” valorous actions “above and beyond the call of duty.” The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is the official organization of and historical repository for recipients.

Although President George W. Bush signed legislation authorizing the Medals of Honor for both men back in 2008, that authorization was lost by the next administration. Since then, the Shadrach and Wilson descendants, particularly Brad Quinlin, Rob Shadrach, and Theresa Chandler, with assistance from the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center where the Raiders’ daring mission is memorialized, have steadfastly advocated for the awards.

David Currey, Heritage Center director, stated: “Today’s decision rectifies a historical oversight that has deprived Privates Shadrach and Wilson from receiving our nation’s highest military honor for valor on the battlefield. The incredible story of Andrews Raid and the Great Locomotive Chase led to the awarding of the first Medals of Honor in our nation’s history. It also created the first of several undeniable historical connections between Chattanooga and the Medal of Honor that ultimately led to Chattanooga being recognized as the Birthplace of the Medal of Honor.”

For more details on the Raiders’ actions, there are two books I recommend. Daring and Suffering: A History of The Great Railroad Adventure is by SGT William Pittenger, a member of the Raiders. Pittenger was also a member of the 2nd Ohio Infantry, Company G. He was captured after the raid but avoided execution as a spy. Additionally, I recommend the modern history of the Raiders, Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor, by Russell Bonds.

In retrospect, Andrews’ Raiders accomplished very little tactically, given it had rained just before their mission and all the bridges and lines were too wet to ignite with fire. However, as my colleague Gen. B.B. Bell (USA-Ret.), Advisory Board chairman of the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, observed: “Their mission did have a great impact on Union morale at the time. News of the Raiders’ bold mission deep into Confederate territory spread rapidly at a moment when Union setbacks were considerable. The morale boost of the Raiders’ actions can’t be overstated.”

By comparison, B.B. notes, it was similar to Jimmy Doolittle’s daring raid on Tokyo just months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Doolittle’s Raid on April 18, 1942, against the Japanese capital was the first American air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. And though the raid, much as Andrews’ raid, caused only minor damage, it greatly boosted American morale by demonstrating that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable.

PVT Shadrach and PVT Wilson, your example of valor — American Patriots defending Liberty for all above and beyond the call of duty — is eternal.

FOOTNOTE: Predictably and disgracefully, Joe Biden politicized his teleprompted remarks at the ceremony, an event that should be completely devoid of any political reference. Biden used the solemn occasion to trot out his “sacred democracy” campaign theme, declaring: “Tomorrow is the Fourth of July — another reminder of why it’s so important to know our history, not to erase our history. To remember the sacred cause of American democracy.” Of course, Biden and his cadres have been on the front lines of erasing our history, and Biden’s unrelenting political assertion that we are a “democracy,” when in fact we are a Republic, is an example of that historical revisionism. Notably, Biden also used the occasion to appear publicly with Hunter Biden.