President Joe Biden awards posthumous medals of honor to two Union soldiers

President Joe Biden awarded two posthumous Medals of Honor on Wednesday to two Union soldiers that were involved in a plot to hijack a train and destroy critical Confederate infrastructure during the American Civil War.

Army Privates Philip Shadrach and George Wilson were part of the covert operation "Great Locomotive Chase," in Georgia in 1862. The two soldiers, who volunteered for the mission, dressed in civilian clothing in order to blend in with southerners and then stole the train, driving it north for 87 miles while destroying the Confederate infrastructure, according to CBS News.

Both men were captured after the mission and hanged as spies.

"Ladies and gentlemen, until the very end, George and Philip believed in the United States of America, the only nation on earth founded on an idea," Biden said during the ceremony. "That idea is that all men are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives. We haven't always lived up to that, but like George and Philip, we've never walked away from it, either. Their heroic deeds went unacknowledged for over a century, but time did not erase their valor." 

Descendants of Shadrach and Wilson accepted the medals on their relatives' behalf.

The operation was created by Kentucky-born James Andrews and included a total of 24 Union soldiers known as "Andrews' raiders" who rode the railway. The plot took place 200 miles into Confederate territory, and the men all tore up railroad tracks and cut telegraph wires as they ventured north. The mission is considered one of the first special operations in U.S. Army history.

Six surviving soldiers, who were captured and held as prisoners of war, were previously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1863.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.