Philip Shadrach and George Wilson, will receive the medals
during a White House ceremony that will recognize their
"gallantry and intrepidity" during what become known as the
Great Locomotive Chase, one of the earliest special operations
in U.S. Army history, the White House said.
The operation, which took place 200 miles (322 km) behind
Confederate lines on April 12, 1862, saw Union Soldiers dressed
as civilians hijack a train in Georgia and drive it north into
Tennessee for 87 miles, placing explosives on the track behind
them as they headed north to destroy Confederate infrastructure.
Six of those participants became the Army’s first recipients of
the then-newly created Medal of Honor. Over the next two
decades, another 13 members were recognized for their role in
mission, but Shadrach and Wilson, who were both hanged for their
actions after being captured, were never recognized until now.
The White House ceremony offers Biden a brief respite from
mounting criticism from some of his fellow Democrats after his
shaky and halting performance in last week's presidential debate
against Republican former President Donald Trump.
The mission saw 24 men infiltrate the South in small groups,
rendezvousing north of Atlanta at Marietta, Georgia. On the day
the operation was executed, 22 of the men commandeered a
locomotive known as "The General" and proceeded north, tearing
up railroad tracks and cutting telegraph wires as they went.
Shadrach, a native Pennsylvanian orphaned at an early age, was
only 21 years old when he volunteered for the dangerous mission.
Wilson, born in Ohio, was a journeyman shoemaker who enlisted in
the Union Army in August 1861.
The White House said it was not clear why Shadrach and Wilson
were not originally recommended for the Medal of Honor.
The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the armed forces who
show great personal bravery or self-sacrifice and distinguish
themselves at the risk of their own lives while engaged in
military actions.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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