B.C. man receives U.S. Medal of Honor on behalf of ancestor
CBC
A Rossland, B.C., man and his uncle travelled to the White House in Washington, D.C., this week to receive the Medal of Honor from U.S. President Joe Biden on behalf of his great-great-great uncle, who died on a daring mission during the Civil War.
"It was a pretty surreal situation," said Brian Taylor, great-great-great-nephew of Philip G. Shadrach.
"It was really humbling and made me very proud to be his relative."
On Wednesday, Biden awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry to U.S. Army Pte. Philip G. Shadrach and Pte. George D. Wilson, who stole a locomotive deep in Confederate territory during the Civil War and drove it north for 140 kilometres as they destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines.
They were captured by Confederates and executed by hanging. Biden recognized their courage 162 years later with the country's highest military decoration, calling 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 thatoperation and never received this recognition," Biden said.
"Today, we right that wrong."
Taylor travelled to Washington with his uncle, 91-year-old Gerald Taylor, who accepted the award on Shadrach's behalf.
The president said Wednesday that Shadrach and Wilson were "fighting and even dying to preserve the union and the sacred values it was founded upon: freedom, justice, fairness, unity."
"Phillip and George were willing to shed their blood to make these ideals real," Biden said.
Taylor said this was an opportunity for his ancestor to be remembered as "a brave soldier who did what he thought was right."
"I kind of feel that he was a bit adventurous, a bit of a free spirit," Taylor said. "I think he'd be really happy and proud that he was able to do something for preserving the Union, helping to defeat slavery."
Shadrach and Wilson are being recognized for participating in what became known as the Great Locomotive Chase.
A Kentucky-born civilian spy and scout named James J. Andrews put together a group of volunteers, including Shadrach and Wilson, to degrade the railway and telegraph lines used by Confederates in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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