Joe Biden gives Medal of Honour to local descendant of U.S. Civil War hero

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A local descendant of a U.S. Civil War soldier is basking in the long-ago exploits of his relative, who has been posthumously awarded the highest U.S. military honour by President Joe Biden

U.S. Army Pte. Philip G. Shadrach was hanged in Georgia for stealing a Confederate train and causing chaos on the rails in 1862.

Stratffordville resident Jerry Taylor, 91, was presented with a Medal of Honor in a ceremony followed by a reception at the White House last week for his great uncle’s “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”

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Taylor’s parents were Americans who settled near Straffordville in rural Elgin County, he said.

“I’m overwhelmed with all the fuss that was made over me last week. Every time we moved, we moved with a motorcade with sirens and motorcycle,” Taylor said. “We were No. 1 down there.”

Shadrach, 21, from Pennsylvania, enlisted in an Ohio infantry regiment in 1861 before volunteering for the raid led by spy and scout James J. Andrews.

On April 12, 1862 Taylor’s great uncle joined other volunteers dressed as civilians in northern Georgia, where they hijacked a Confederate train called The General and drove it north, damaging railway lines and cutting telegraph wires as they went.

The mission, taking them deep into enemy territory, was called Andrews Raid and is also known as the Great Locomotive Race.

“Twenty-four men went on the expedition to steal this train and burn the bridges and tear up the track so the South couldn’t move their army. This was the main line,” Taylor said. “But they ran into a whole lot of troubles and had to abandon the train.”

Pursued by Confederates for 140 kilometres, they eventually ran out of fuel and water, Taylor said.

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Some of the raiders were able to flee but others were captured and convicted as spies. Shadrach and Wilson were hung on June 18, 1862, in Atlanta.

When Medals of Honor were awarded to other soldiers who took part in the raid, Shadrach and George D. Wilson were left out.

“They got missed and nobody knows why,” Taylor said.

Growing up Taylor heard stories about his great-uncle, who he and his family nicknamed Uncle Stealer.

“We got tired of saying Uncle Private Shadrach,” Taylor said.

The push by relatives to have his great-uncle honoured began decades ago and in 2008 the U.S. legislature approved it.

“The family was all set to travel to Washington during the Trump administration but their visit was cancelled after a mob attacked the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.  on January 6, 2021, intent on keeping Trump in power,” he said.

But on June 10 Taylor said he spoke with Biden after the president called him in Straffordville.

“He asked me if I was interested in coming to Washington and receive the medal,” Taylor said.

Taylor and 14 family members made the trip to Washington. Taylor and his daughter had a private escort who picked them up in Straffordville.

“I couldn’t have been treated any better,” he said.

HRivers@postmedia.com

@HeatheratLFP

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