Biden issues Medal of Honor to Civil War soldiers who helped hijack train in Confederacy
Biden issues Medal of Honor to Civil War soldiers who helped hijack train in Confederacy
U.S. Army Pvts. Philip G. Shadrach and George D. Wilson were captured by Confederates and executed by hanging. Biden on Wednesday is recognizing their courage 162 years later with the country's highest military decoration.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry to two Union soldiers who stole a locomotive deep in Confederate territory during the Civil War and drove it north for 87 miles (140 kilometers) as they destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines.
Tbf they were his childhood friends
I would make the same joke about trump, but we all know he didn't have any childhood friends.
And we also know that none of his acquaintances fought for the union.
Trump's friends got pretty mad that they messed up their train
This is a pretty amazing story. Dope pick actually.
For those that would like the story told with a little stylized flair:
https://nebula.tv/videos/extrahistory-civil-war-train-heist-the-first-medals-of-honor-us-history/
Cool cool, but don't we have more important things to do right now, like preserving democracy?
Oh, that's already gone. Preserving the duopoly is all you have.
that's on you dummy! you go out there and vote. i am busy dealing with matters from my younger days 700 years ago.
Oh my sweet summer child...
We saw a last vestiges of that 30 years ago
This is a great historical story. The raid was conceived by a civilian who wanted to steal a train behind confederate lines and then ride it while destroying the tracks behind in order to disrupt confederate logistics. The raid turned into a chase as the conductor of the stolen train chased the raiders on a series of handcarts and trains, while the raiders attempted to disrupt telegraph wires and tracks. Eventually the raiders had to abandon their stolen train and were captured, with some escaping, some being executed, and some being held as POWs. I actually made a post about the man who conceived of the raid a while back in the American Civil War community here.
The other soldiers (except for one who still doesn't have an MOH) in the raid were awarded the newly created MOH during the war. These two soldiers were retroactively awarded the MOH by Congress in 2008, so I am not sure why it took so long for the award to be presented.
I need a movie!
There's also Buster Keaton's The General (1926). They switched it up though and had the confederates doing the raiding and the union doing the chasing.
Grand Theft Loco: Civil War
All you had to do was follow the damn train!
The story leaves out they were school mates
one day we will have the time for the people in the here and now
What is the point of this? Who is he scoring points with? They must have made a couple extra medals by accident.
Almost all of the soldiers in the Andrews raid were awarded Medals Of Honor in the 1860s. Shadrack and Wilson were captured and executed by the Confederacy, and didn't get medals. This long post humous award is in line with what they seemingly should have earned by being part of the raid. (The medals were authorized for both of them in 2008, so the extended delay in actually presenting them is something to look into.)