April 12, 2012
Statehouse & Civil War Sesquicentennial Events : Honoring Andrew's Raiders: First Medal Of Honor Recipients
The Ohio Statehouse commemorates the 150th anniversary of the 19 Ohio soldiers and two civilians who volunteered for the most daring raid in military history.

Their plan was to board a train headed north out of Atlanta for Chattanooga, capture the train and continue steaming north, stopping frequently to cut telegraph lines and burn bridges, thereby disrupting Confederate lines of communication and aiding the Union Army's drive on Chattanooga.

Unfortunately, the plan went awry, and all the men were captured.

Eventually 19 of these men were awarded the Medal of Honor. The official citation for their award is: "Nineteen of twenty-two men (including two civilians) who, by direction of General Mitchell (or Buell), penetrated nearly 200 miles south into the enemy's territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Georgia, in an attempt to destroy the bridges and track between Chattanooga and Atlanta."

This program is presented in partnership with the Ohio National Guard.

Program participants include Sgt. Major Dwight Chambliss, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Mann, and Major Gen­eral Deborah Ashenhurst, Ohio's Adjutant General.