OHIO — Two Civil War soldiers with Ohio ties received Wednesday recognition from the White House.
>>Night of fireworks follows rainy afternoon and evening for many to usher in July 4 holiday
President Joe Biden awarded U.S. Army Privates Phillip G. Shadrach and George D. Wilson with posthumous Medals of Honor at the White House on Wednesday.
They were members of the Andrews’ Raiders, 22 men from Ohio, who were members of the 2nd Ohio Infantry and the only two previously not awarded the Medal of Honor due to a clerical error, according to Senator Sherrod Brown’s office.
“Privates Shadrach and Wilson heroically served our nation during the Civil War, making the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Union,” he said.
The descendants of both Wilson and Shadrach accepted the medals on behalf of their ancestors.
>>Woman dies after being rescued from Dayton house fire
Both Shadrach and Wilson stole a locomotive deep in Confederate territory during the Civil War and drove it north for 87 miles as they destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines, the Associated Press reported.
They were captured by the Confederates and executed by hanging.
Biden called the operation they joined, “one of the most dangerous missions of the entire Civil War.”
“Every soldier who joined that mission was awarded the Medal of Honor except for two. Two soldiers who died because of that operation and never received this recognition,” he said Wednesday. “Today, we right that wrong.”
>>‘We can’t do anything if we’re dead,’ 9-year-old says in response to deadly gun violence
Brown had worked with former Springfield Congressman Dave Hobson to secure the recognition.
“I am proud to have played a part in seeing that Pvt. Shadrach and Pvt. Wilson receive the honors they rightly deserve,” said Hobson. “What started as a request from a constituent in Fairfield County led to me sponsoring language in the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act waiving the three-year time limit for the soldiers’ Medal of Honor applications so that this historic error could be corrected. While it’s disappointing that the Army resisted this for so long, I am glad my initial efforts helped lay a foundation for work by Sen. Brown and others to move the soldiers’ case forward and make this recognition possible.”