President Biden Awards Medal of Honor

President Biden will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Civil War soldiers Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach and Pvt. George D. Wilson for their bravery in the Great Locomotive Chase, a daring covert operation behind Confederate lines. The soldiers, part of a group of Union volunteers who hijacked a train in Georgia, destroyed enemy infrastructure, and were executed by the Confederacy, were overlooked for the award for 162 years despite their sacrifice. Biden's recognition corrects this historical oversight, honoring their gallantry and intrepidity in defense of the Union during one of the earliest special operations in U.S. Army history.