Two Union soldiers, Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach and Pvt. George D. Wilson, who carried out a daring mission during the American Civil War to hijack a train and sabotage Confederate supply lines were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Joe Biden on July 3, 2024.
The soldiers, members of the Union Army's 2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, executed their plan in April 1862. They hijacked a train outside Atlanta and drove it north for over 87 miles through Georgia to the Tennessee line, destroying Confederate infrastructure along the way.
The mission involved taking over a locomotive named 'the General' near Marietta and wreaking havoc on enemy railroad tracks, bridges, and telegraph wires. The soldiers occasionally stopped to tear up track, switches, and bridges to inflict as much damage as possible.
However, the stolen train ran out of fuel 18 miles from Chattanooga. The Union soldiers were captured soon after and both Shadrach and Wilson were executed by hanging for their role in the mission.
The Medal of Honor was first awarded to six survivors of the raid in 1863, but Shadrach and Wilson's families have been campaigning for decades to rectify what they saw as an unjust oversight. Biden recognized their gallantry and intrepidity during this daring operation.
The Great Locomotive Chase is considered one of the earliest special operations in US Army history, with the soldiers dressing as civilians and infiltrating Confederate territory to carry out their mission.
Image Pvt. George D. Wilson.Credit...U.S. Army Image Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach. Credit...U.S. Army