Over a century and a half after their daring act of wartime sabotage, two Union soldiers have been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Biden. Private Philip G. Shadrach and Private George D. Wilson were recognized for their roles in a Civil War mission that has since entered the annals of American military lore. The awards were bestowed on a Wednesday, finally honoring the bravery of two men who were omitted when their fellow soldiers were commended for the same mission, known as the Great Locomotive Chase.
The 162-year delay in recognition was rectified in a ceremony that sought to acknowledge the full breadth of gallantry displayed in one of the Civil War's most storied episodes. Shadrack and Wilson, after being captured, faced execution by the same enemy they had so brazenly disrupted. In a presidential statement, Biden called their mission "one of the most dangerous missions of the entire Civil War,” and lamented that "every soldier who joined that mission was awarded the Medal of Honor except for two." In addressing this neglect, he emphasized that these men had been "fighting and even dying to preserve the union and the sacred values it was founded upon: freedom, justice, fairness, unity," as reported by GPB News.
The political context of this overdue honor is charged, taking place amidst a contentious election year where the echoes of the Civil War still reverberate through debates on race and governance. Issues that trace their lineage back to the bloody conflict of the 1860s are once again part of the American political discourse, mentioned in the same breath as recent threats to democracy and historical presidential rhetoric.
Biden has notably compared recent challenges to Democracy to the strife of the Civil War era, asserting that the January 6 riot represented the greatest such threat since the 19th-century conflict. Meanwhile, the former President Trump, while allegedly preparing for another run at the presidency, has invoked Civil War figures in his speeches, including at a Pennsylvania rally where he made mention of the Battle of Gettysburg and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Biden’s conferring of the Medal of Honor to Shadrach and Wilson seems to be a gesture that speaks directly and symbolically to America's ongoing struggle with its own history and ideals.
Family members of the honored soldiers expressed their pride and reflected on the legacy of the two men. Theresa Chandler, Wilson's great-great-granddaughter, recalled reading her ancestor’s final words before execution: "He was there to serve his country and had no ill feelings for the people of the South, but that he hoped for the abolition of slavery and for the nation to be united again." Chandler told GPB News, "When I read that, I had chills." Brian Taylor, a great-great-great-nephew of Shadrach, considered the acknowledgement a chance for Shadrach to be remembered as "a brave soldier who did what he thought was right."
The daring escapade that would become known as the Great Locomotive Chase occurred on April 12, 1862, when 22 volunteers, led by civilian scout James J. Andrews, commandeered The General, a Confederate locomotive, in Marietta, Georgia. Their mission was to disrupt key transportation and communication networks; nevertheless, the chase ended with capture and execution of several raiders, including Shadrach and Wilson. Notably, this event has not only been etched into history books but also onto the big screen, with both a 1956 Disney movie and a 1926 silent film depicting the dramatic tale.
The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest and most prestigious personal military decoration, and provisions for Shadrack and Wilson to receive the award were made as part of the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. With Biden's gesture, a missing chapter in the recognition of Civil War heroism has now been rightfully inscribed.
